What is the age range for doing this? We also learn the advice of experienced mothers on how to wean a child from sucking at the breast.

The process of breastfeeding can take years.

Kristina, 25 years old: “I think that the optimal age to stop breastfeeding is somewhere around 1.5 years. My daughter has already gone to kindergarten at this age, so I decided. We did it pretty easily."

Of course, the ideal time to stop breastfeeding is when the baby has given up on their own, but few mothers wait until that time.

Statistics show that in recent years, only 50% of women have been breastfeeding, and most breastfeed for up to 1 year. Only a few keep this invaluable product in the second year.

Signs that the baby and mother are ready for weaning

1. The baby has doubled its weight since the day it was born.
2. Receives all kinds of complementary foods.
3. A baby can survive without breast milk for 12 hours or more.
4. The child does not suck on the pacifier, fingers, bottles.

In order to wean a child from breastfeeding, there is three ways:

• separation of mother and child;
• medical method;
• planned, gradual, soft.

"Soft" way of weaning

One of the safest methods in terms of maintaining psychological comfort is systematic weaning.

Weaning of the baby should not be in the following periods: the child is sick, feverish, the baby is teething, the vaccination period. It is better to wean a baby from the breast in the cool season. You can not take away in the summer, in hot weather.

How to properly and gradually wean a baby from the breast?

1. If you have eliminated these four points, then you can safely prepare for weaning. You should start by giving up one feeding. It is better for mom to choose from which one.

   Distract the baby with games, walks in the fresh air. Include dad and grandma in the weaning process. The child should feel your care, love.

2. Observe the child for three days. As a rule, refusal of one feeding by babies is well tolerated.
3. After three days, we move on to giving up two feedings already.
4. And so, gradually, we remove completely daily feedings.
5. We will talk about refusing to feed in the evening and at night below.

Do not replace breasts with bottles and nipples. So you will not get rid of the desire of the child to suck. Use cups, drinkers.

Hold your baby more often. Do not undress in front of the child.

Natalia, 30 years old:“When I started weaning my baby, I tried to surround her with care. We walked longer, distracted by games.

Of course, it is more difficult to wean when the child is already over a year old, and he understands a lot. On the one hand, it is difficult to explain that “you can’t sishu”, but you can agree with some kids.

Some mothers smear the nipple with green. It can be said that my mother's breasts are "sick" and should not be touched. Also, some women cover the nipple with a band-aid. I would not recommend this method, since then tearing off is painful and traumatic for the delicate skin of the areola. With these "cruel" methods, not everyone succeeds in weaning from the chest.

How to wean a baby from the breast at night?

Probably the worst thing for any nursing mother is the problem of how the child will fall asleep without a breast. After all, most children fall asleep while sucking, as this is a very energy-intensive process. How to wean a child from night feedings? Consider some tips:

1. Create rituals in which the child will fall asleep - a fairy tale before bedtime, evening kefir, turned off the lights. You can leave a night light that the baby will specifically choose for himself.
2. Often children love to fall asleep to their mother's lullaby.
3. Bathe your child before bed. You can use soothing herbs - chamomile, valerian root.
4. You can replace the sucking process with motion sickness in your arms, pressing it to your chest.
5. Try to put the baby separately, in your crib. When the baby sleeps with you, he smells milk and will be even more capricious.

If the child began to eat poorly, rolls up strong ones, then wait a bit with weaning. So, until the baby is ripe for this.

At night, 2 - 3 hours before bedtime, you can feed the baby with porridge, give kefir. Sleep better on a full stomach. Weaning at night is a long process, be patient.

"Pill" against women's milk or how to quickly wean a child from the breast?

If it is difficult for you to endure and prepare for a gradual weaning for a long time, but you want to quickly discourage this habit from your baby, then on the modern market there are drugs to suppress lactation as soon as possible.

A prominent representative of this group is the drug Dostinex.

Its action is based on a decrease in the production of the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for the production of milk. The drug has a selective effect, does not affect other hormones.

Its disadvantage is the side effects that occur in 70% of cases. This is a rapid heartbeat, headaches, nausea, vomiting, deterioration in general well-being, apathy.

This drug is taken ½ tablet with an interval of 12 hours for two days. The courses are used only for the treatment of disorders associated with excessive production of prolactin.

Elena, 25 years old:“I learned from my gynecologist how to stop breastfeeding with Dostinex. 2 months after giving birth, I had to go to work. One tablet solved my lactation issues. True, there was a very severe headache and weakness throughout the body, but this went away in just a couple of days. The milk is gone."

Another drug from this series is Bromocriptine. It also reduces the secretion of prolactin and suppresses physiological lactation. Unlike Dostinex, it must be drunk in a course. Has more pronounced side effects.

If we compare these drugs with a price position, then Bromocriptine is two times cheaper than Dostinex.

Weaning by weaning

This is one of the less enjoyable ways to wean. It consists in the fact that the child is sent to live with his grandmother or other relatives for a few days. During this time, the child not only loses his breast, but also does not see his beloved mother. This can cause a sharp psychological discomfort in the baby and, as a result, stress and hidden resentment towards the mother.

Komarovsky E. O .: “When a child is weaned from the breast, you can send him to his grandmother for a couple of nights. Nothing wrong with that. So the child will learn to fall asleep without a breast. But keep in mind, here you need to look at the degree of attachment of the child to the mother. If you know that your child will not be able to get along with his grandmother and will cry, then it’s better not to risk it. ”

Of course, weaning is stressful not only for the child, but also for the mother.

In a nursing woman, her chest may begin to hurt, harden.

If you notice a sharp soreness of the mammary gland, redness of the peripapillary region, fever, consult a doctor immediately. Perhaps mastitis develops.

You can manage these symptoms in the following way:

• if you feel swelling of the mammary gland, then you can express it manually or with a breast pump until the condition is relieved;
• apply the cabbage leaf for a couple of hours, softening it before that. It's better that it be cold. This will relieve the symptoms;
• you can drink No-shpu or;
• a warm shower will also help in facilitating the emptying of the breast;
• gentle massage of the mammary glands from the base to the nipple.

These symptoms occur, as a rule, with a sharp interruption of lactation. Therefore, a smooth abolition of breastfeeding is recommended.

To prevent a lot of milk from coming, you do not need to express often. It is necessary to do this only with severe pain and swelling of the glands.

Weaning is a complex multi-step process that both mom and dad need to be involved in. The most important thing is that the child feels your care and love. Do not scold the baby if he cries, is naughty at the moment of life. Keep calm and the question of how to wean will be decided soon.