What Is Weaning From Breast Feeding

Author: Jillian Smith

When your baby has stopped breast feeding and gets all of his
nutrition from other sources than the breast, he's actually
considered weaned. Even though babies are also weaned from the
bottle as well, the term weaning often refers to when a baby is
stopped from breast feeding.

When weaning is a mother's idea, it normally requires a lot of
patience and can take time, depending on the age of your baby or
toddler, and also how well your child adjusts. The overall
experience is different for everyone.

Weaning is a long goodbye, sometimes emotional and sometimes
painful. It doesn't however, signal fo the end to the intimacy
you and your child have developed during the nursing stage. What
it means, is that you have to replace breast feeding with other
types of nourishment.

Starting weaning Your the best judge as to when it's the right
time to wean, and you don't really have a deadline unless you
and your child are actually ready to wean. The recommended time
for weaning is one year. No matter what relatives, friends, or
even complete strangers tell you, there is no right or wrong
time for weaning.

How to wean You should proceed slowly, regardless of what the
age of your child may be. Experts say that you shouldn't
abruptly withhold your breast, as they results can be traumatic.
You should however, try these methods instead: 1. Skip a
feeding - Skip a feeding and see what happens, offering a cup of
milk to your baby instead. As a substitue, you can use a bottle
of your own pumped milk, formula, or a cow's milk. If you reduce
feedings one at a time, your child will eventually adjust to the
changes. 2. Shorten feeding time - You can start by cutting the
length of time your child is actually at the breast. If the
normal feeding time is 5 minuts, try 3. Depending on the age,
follow the feeding with a healthy snack. Bed time feedings are
usually the hardest to wean, as they are normally the last to
go. 3. Postpone and distract - You can postpone feedings if you
are only feeding a couple of times per day. This method works
great if you have an older child you can actually reason with.
If your child wants the breast, say that you'll feed later then
distract him.

If you've tried everything and weaning doesn't seem to be
working at all, maybe the time just isn't right. You can wait
just a bit longer to see what happens, as your child and you
have to determine the right time to wean together.

About the author:
To learn about chihuahua training and chihuahua health, visit the About Animals website.