According to many pediatricians, a child should be breastfed for up to one and a half years. If the baby is already two years old, and he is still receiving breast milk, it will not be easy to wean him from such nutrition.
When is it best to wean a baby
In America, it is customary to breastfeed a baby for only a few months. In Hong Kong, a woman stops breastfeeding six weeks after giving birth to return to work. In some countries, the mother's lactation period can last up to seven years. In Russia, many women do not take their breasts away from their babies until they leave the decree, or the baby goes to kindergarten.
Weaning can be timed to coincide with the second birthday, explaining to the baby that now he has become an adult and he no longer needs his mother's milk.
Normally, a baby should only receive breast milk for up to five to six months. Later, complementary foods are introduced, and breastfeeding is reduced. By the age of one year, the baby can receive all the necessary nutrients in abundance and without breastfeeding. Some breastfeeding experts advise weaning not in the summer, but in the cold season.
How to wean a baby
There are two methods of weaning: gradual and non-contact. With gradual weaning, breastfeeding is canceled out in a few weeks. To do this, you just need to reduce the amount of application day and night. As a result, the woman's breast milk supply is reduced, and the baby begins to receive less and less of it. You can wean from the breast right away. This is exactly what they used to do in Russia: they stopped feeding children in one day. With a non-contact method of weaning, it is advisable to isolate the mother from the baby for a few days. At this time, the upbringing of the child can be shifted to the grandmother.
On the day of the weaning of the child from the mother's breast, it was customary to guess who the baby would become. Various objects were laid out in front of him: bread, a spindle, money, a knife and looked at what the crumb would reach.
The difficulty of weaning from mother's milk arises from the need to explain to the baby that there will be no more milk. At two years old, the child already understands a lot, and it will not work to cheat. Some mothers smear their breasts with brilliant green, mustard, even soy sauce. This method has also proven itself well: to glue the plaster on the nipples.
How to stop the lactation process
If the baby does not breastfeed, milk will still accumulate. Expressing it is not only useless, but also harmful, because it will stay again and again. You can tighten the chest with an elastic bandage or diaper. On the second day of cessation of feeding, discomfort may occur, which is considered normal. If the pressure in the chest is unbearable, it is allowed to express a little, but then the process of suppressing lactation will slow down significantly.
The following drugs are a medication solution to the problem: Parlodel, Dostinex, Duphaston, Primoluta-nor. Consult your doctor for advice on how to use them. Lactation suppressants contain hormones. In this regard, they have a wide range of contraindications.
