No formula can compare to breast milk. But the moment comes when the feeding must be completed. Indeed, for children over one and a half years old, breast milk becomes more like a habit than a food. But weaning a baby away from breastfeeding is a difficult task.
Instructions
Step 1
You can just wait for natural involution. This will stop the breast from producing milk on its own. The baby's sucking reflex by that time will be completely satisfied and weaning will be most natural. But this case takes a long time, which a young mother sometimes does not have. After all, the modern world implies that a mother goes to work in the period from one and a half to three years of a child. In addition, this method has another disadvantage: both the physical and emotional health of a young mother can be greatly reduced.
Step 2
There is a so-called grandmother's way of weaning. It is named so because this is how our mothers and their grandmothers weaned us. The child was sent to relatives for several days so that he would not see his mother. At this time, the woman was dragging her breasts with a sheet. But this method is currently considered very traumatic for both the woman and the child. The baby at one point is left without the best way for him to get rid of stress - the breast. At the same time, he also remains without the closest person in his life - his mother. For a mother, this is also stress - constant worry for the child greatly impairs the emotional balance of a woman. In addition, a woman may suffer from physical ailments - a breast overflowing with milk becomes stone and very painful. Lactostasis may form. In some cases, there is an increase in body temperature. It is the possibility of the formation of lactostasis, and subsequently mastitis, that makes this method of weaning from breastfeeding the most extreme.
Step 3
The method most often recommended by doctors is called medication. Its essence is in taking a drug that sharply reduces the level of prolactin in a woman's body. Most often, doctors suggest Dostinex for taking. It is enough to take the drug once or twice and lactation will decrease to a minimum.
Step 4
Do not forget about the side effects of taking drugs such as Dostinex. In particular, women may experience dizziness, nausea, drowsiness, heart palpitations, abdominal pain, anxiety, diarrhea, and flatulence. Therefore, it is necessary to take such drugs strictly according to the prescription of the attending physician.
Step 5
After taking the drug, you should not feed the baby with breast milk. Therefore, many mothers come to a variety of tricks to wean the baby from the breast. Some just try to distract the child, walk for a long time on the street, play. Someone gives the child to relatives for several days, and someone smears the nipples with mustard or brilliant green. Mustard sharply repels the child's desire to suck, as it has a sharp unpleasant taste for the baby. Zelenka simply scares the child away. But the latter method can also be considered quite traumatic for the child. After all, such a dear mother's breast for him becomes unpleasant in taste and scary in appearance.
Step 6
The most optimal way is considered to be a smooth and gentle weaning of the baby from the breast. But this process takes a lot of mom's time. This method differs from the first in that excommunication occurs consciously and gradually.
Step 7
First of all, it is necessary to abolish the irregular daytime feedings. Most often, a child who eats complementary foods uses their breasts in the daytime only to calm down. Some mothers even notice that more and more often the baby does not suck, but simply holds the nipple in his mouth. These feedings are the easiest way to clean up for mom. It is enough just to distract the child at the moments when he asks for a breast. Mom or dad just need to play with the baby in these moments.
Step 8
Now you need to wean your baby from feeding before or during naps. Here, feeding is more of a ritual for the baby. You can try weaning your baby out of breastfeeding before bedtime, replacing it with another ritual. This can be rocking in your arms, reading fairy tales, singing a lullaby, or stroking a baby. Thus, mom will replace one ritual with another.
Step 9
The next stage is weaning from morning breastfeeding. Mom will just need to wake up a little earlier to feed the baby not with breast milk, but with freshly brewed porridge. The same goes for dinner. Gradually, you need to replace breastfeeding at night with dinner feeding before bedtime. In addition, before going to bed, you will also need to create a new ritual for the child. It will replace the usual breast for the baby for the night.
Step 10
The remaining night feedings, if they take place in the life of the mother and baby, should also be replaced with stroking when the baby wakes up. If the child does not fall asleep, then you can try giving him a little warm water or herbal tea to drink.
