Five Tips For Weaning Your Breastfed Baby
Hey Mama,
Is it that time in your breastfeeding journey? Or maybe you’ve been thinking about it and want to prepare? Either way, I hope these five tips help make this process doable and easy for you and your baby.
First, let me give this disclaimer:
I am not a lactation consultant. I am also not a doctor. These tips will be from my own experiences having breastfed four children.
With that being said, I pray you are not looking to wean your child based solely on the advice of others. People with comments like, oh your baby is too big to be breastfeeding, or how old is he, you should of been stopped breastfeeding him are not your people. Trust me.
However, if you’ve come to a point in your breastfeeding journey where it’s necessary for you to wean or perhaps you yourself want your time or body back, then these five tips for weaning your breastfeeding baby are for you.
Number 1: First step in weaning your baby is to set a date and make a commitment:
Weaning takes just as much time and dedication as breastfeeding does so keep that in mind. When you set your date make sure you give yourself plenty of time. (At least 30 days) It’s important that you understand your child is used to having you, not just as a food source but as a place of comfort. So it will take time for them to get used to this new normal.
Number 2. Wean slowly. There’s no rush for weaning your baby:
This is for your benefit and baby’s. Doing it overnight or trying to go cold turkey can cause you to get engorged, maybe even mastitis. Also you’ll probably have one miserable baby. – now if for some medical reason you do have to quote cold turkey that is completely different.
Number 3. When you are weaning your baby it’s easiest to remove one feeding per week.
An example would be: Koehn currently breastfeeds at 5 am, 11 am, 3 pm, 6:30 pm. So I would start by removing the 3 pm feeding. Then I would wait 7 days before removing another feeding.
This slight decrease will keep you from being in too much pain. However if you are in too much pain, pump. The key here is to not empty your breast. Only remove enough milk to decrease your discomfort.
Number 4. Distraction baby. Rule number 1 when weaning your baby, distraction, distraction, distraction:
Once you’ve chosen to remove a certain feeding if baby wants to breastfeed at that time distract him. This can be offering food or water to ensure he isn’t hungry. Or if you know baby isn’t hungry toys, books, music. Anything to take their mind off of feeding. I have also employed others to help. So daddy take Koehn to the store at 3 pm so he won’t want to breastfeed. Or grandma can you do bedtime routine tonight. Things like that.
Finally number 5. Take it slow. When it comes to weaning our baby my number one tips is to take it slow:
There’s no rush. It can take weeks or it can take no time at all. Whatever the case, don’t compare your experience to anyone else’s and do what works for you. Same goes for when you decided to start. Don’t start because some else thinks you should. Start when you’re ready.
Hope these tips help! Make sure to check out my Youtube where I cover these tips here.
Leave any questions in the comments below 😉
