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Ask Dr. Sue
BREASTFEEDING AND WEANING
Dear Dr. Sue,
I've been breastfeeding my baby for 10 months now, and
I'm trying to go for a full year. Since
she's getting close to that, I need to know how to wean
her when the time comes. I don't have any idea how
to start.
Breastfeeding Mom
Dear Breastfeeding Mom,
There are several different ways to wean, some that are
easy and some that can be painful for both you and the
baby, so I'm glad you asked first. Some people
decide to wean and just refuse to nurse from that time
forward. This is the painful method! The
baby is confused and may feel rejected, and mother has
painfully engorged breasts that can more easily become
infected. The abrupt
hormonal changes, as well as the distress your baby is
going through, can also leave you feeling sad and
depressed. Don't wean this way unless an emergency
makes it unavoidable.
Another option is to wean only partially, gradually
eliminating most nursing sessions but continuing to
nurse once or twice a day as long as baby shows any
interest. This is a very viable option, but one
that few American mothers are interested in continuing
for many months beyond a year of age.
Closely related to this method is the natural wean,
which means letting the baby decide when he is done
nursing. The mother is still involved in helping
to direct her baby toward independence, however, by
offering a cup, offering other foods or interesting
activities in place of nursing, or asking the baby to
wait longer periods from when he first shows interest in
nursing to when he actually does. (Some children
will continue to nurse until four or five years of age
if this method is chosen.)
When the goal is actually to move from breastfeeding to
not-breastfeeding within a more limited time frame, the
best method for both mother and baby is gradual weaning.
Choose the feeding that your baby is least interested in
to eliminate first. Offer milk (if your baby is a
year old) or formula (if less than a year) in a cup at
this time, as well as finger foods. Plan to spend
lots of time nurturing your baby in other ways during
this period, by reading to him, rocking, or playing on
the floor with your attention fully on him; this way you
will be changing only the manner of feeding, not the
degree of closeness your baby has gotten used to.
When the baby and your breasts have both adapted to this
change, choose the remaining feeding that he is least
interested in to replace. Continue in this way until all
feedings are replaced, leaving several days to a couple
of weeks between each change.
The feedings that your baby will resist giving up the
most are usually the last feeding before bed and the
first one on awakening. You can continue those
feedings indefinitely, or substitute other methods of
being intensely close to your baby at these times.
A bedtime ritual, including reading books, rocking, soft
music, low lights, and a certain soft toy to snuggle
will help to ease the loss of the bedtime nursing
session.
Remember that as you are decreasing the number of times
you breastfeed you are also taking away your child's
most important source of excellent nutrition. If
you have not started feeding meat products to your baby,
please start them at this time. Other foods
including fruits, vegetables and cereals are important,
but may not replace the protein, zinc, iron and B
vitamins that your baby was getting from nursing.
If you give her formula because she is less than a year
old, these nutrients will be supplied, but after a year
of age cow's milk from a cup (not a bottle) is
appropriate. If you feel your baby does not get
enough fluids, offer water frequently from a cup.
She can also be offered up to six ounces of juice per
day, but more than this may interfere with her appetite
for other foods, in addition to being harmful to her
teeth.
 
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