Breastfeeding is the very first and closest relationship between mom and baby. Therefore, when it comes time to finish breastfeeding, the baby is very worried. This period is also difficult for a woman, because it is easier to calm the baby by giving him a breast. But with age, the baby will have to learn to be sometimes without a mother, without her affectionate hugs and without a “tasty treat”. And mom needs to learn to calm her child in other effective ways.
How to wean a baby
You can't just stop breastfeeding in one day. Of course, this happens if a mother or baby needs urgent medical attention, but it is better to plan this matter carefully. Choose a period when the child is not sick, eats complementary foods well, does not have teeth teething and does not have a stressful situation in the form of moving or medical examination.
First of all, remove feedings between meals. That is, feed after breakfast, then only after lunch, and then after dinner. Be sure to first offer complementary foods, and then "tasty".
In the next step, leave feeding just before bed. Lay your baby to bed for a quiet hour and at night. Do not remove the night feedings yet, we will leave them at the very end. Also, do not remove feeds immediately after a quiet hour if your child often wakes up in a bad mood.
After a week, when the baby gets used to not giving him the breast whenever possible, remove another feed. Let it be before bedtime. It turns out that you need to lay the baby without breast. You can rock him in your arms to quiet music, you can lie down next to him and pat him on the back. The child will be capricious and demand breast, so be patient and believe that he will definitely fall asleep. For such laying it is convenient to choose a day when he got up in the morning ahead of time, and at lunchtime he is already ready to fall asleep quickly. At the end of the quiet hour, feeding can still be left off if required. If not, also clean up without regret.
If your baby has been without a breast all day long, falls asleep calmly at a quiet hour and wakes up in a normal state, then it's time to remove the feeding for the night. And later the night. An hour before bedtime, be sure to feed your child with porridge. Carbohydrate food prepares the body well for sleep. The child will be full, and, at the same time, the food will not lie like a heavy stone in the stomach. Lay your baby in the same way as for a nap. It's good if you already have rituals after which you go to bed. If not, it's time to introduce them. For example, feed the baby, bathe, read a bedtime story and start laying him down. Conversations and chatter ends there. You can sing a lullaby. And then, patting and stroking, persistently put the child to sleep.
Night feedings are removed at once. You just stop feeding at night, offering in return cool boiled water from a cup or from a nipple bottle. At the same time, the chest should be well covered so that the child on his own could not get himself a "tasty". Of course, you will have to endure a few nights, because the baby is not used to rejections. But then you will be rewarded with quiet and peaceful nights.
How to distract your baby from the breast
Every mom has many ways to distract her from her breasts. This is when the child demands, pulls your jacket, picks it up, and you have already firmly decided that everything.
If the child already understands you well, then we can say that your chest is sick. Let the baby stroke her, blow her, hug her, regret it. Alternatively, stick a bactericidal patch on the nipples. So the baby will see that they are really sick and unavailable.
Entertain your child with games you haven't played before. Perhaps it's time to get acquainted with plasticine or watercolors. Maybe role-playing games with toy characters will get his attention. These games, and even together with you, will distract him for a long time. If the weather is pleasant outside, then go out for an extra hour. In the evenings, you can read books, watch cartoons or collect puzzles.
