Breast milk is the most valuable and irreplaceable thing that a mother can give her baby. It meets all the needs of the child, nutritious and filled with vitamins. Mother’s breast milk contains unique proteins and fatty acids that cannot be found in any mixture, even in the best and most expensive one. Another, most important feature of breast milk is that it contains immunoglobulins and biologically active and necessary substances to maintain immunity in a tiny little man. Despite what is written on the boxes with the mixtures, those very important trace elements cannot be found in synthetically created mixtures.
But sooner or later, a question will arise before mom: how to end breastfeeding? But before you start this process, you need to figure out when to do it. With a competent and timely approach to this issue, problems with excommunication will not arise.
When is the best time to end breastfeeding?
There is an opinion that the longer the baby is breastfeed, the more beneficial it is for him and for mom. This is not quite a myth, but not entirely true.
The optimal time for breastfeeding is the age of up to one year. Only after this period can one ask how to properly end breastfeeding.
Why not delay the feeding?
Many mothers feed their children not only after a year, but even after two and three years. This is an absolutely unnecessary and useless activity at this age. Firstly, a child one and a half years old and older receives a nutritious diet along with adults. He uses the first (soup, borsch), the second (meat, cereals), fruits and vegetables. From food, he receives a sufficient amount of the necessary vitamins and minerals for full growth and development.
Breastfeeding after a year is, rather, pampering for a child. From milk, he no longer receives those nutrients in the amount that he consumed in the first six months of life.
In addition to unnecessary attachment to my mother’s breast at the age of one and a half - two or more years, for the nurse herself this phenomenon is more likely an inconvenience than a necessity. The nursing mother of an adult child has repeatedly faced an unpleasant situation when the child wanted to "piss" here and now, even if there are guests around or you are in a restaurant and so on. It comes down to the public "goal achievement", which introduces mom into the paint. This is one of the possible examples that a mother may encounter.
Therefore, the optimal time to finish breastfeeding - per year (plus or minus a couple of months) - will be comfortable for mom and baby. A big plus of choosing this age is that the baby does not experience excommunication as much and for a long time as at an older age.
How to finish breastfeeding in 1 year?
The first six months of the baby's life, the chest is the main and only source of nutrition. After six months, pediatricians recommend introducing complementary foods into the baby’s diet according to a certain pattern. Most often, they start with vegetables, later meat, cereals and so on.
After this innovation in the nutrition of the baby should be careful. When a child eats a full serving, such as soup, do not give him breasts. He, of course, will ask for the first days, but this is nothing more than a habit. Three days later, in this meal, the baby will get used to the fact that he is not laid on his chest, and will cease to demand it. This is not difficult, but the first step regarding the question of how to end breastfeeding is painless for mom and baby.
Later, after entering the following products, you should stick to the same strategy. If the baby had a hearty breakfast, lunch and dinner, ate all the necessary servings, he no longer needed his chest. So, gradually over the course of several months, the question for mother how to end breastfeeding will not cause difficulties.
Final stage
Thus, the last step will be night feeding. After it, there are no problems with the breast, milk gradually burns out, without causing pain, lactostasis and other unpleasant consequences.
When should you not wean?
There are several unfavorable periods during which you should not wonder how to end breastfeeding.
Such moments include:
- Child is sick. Whether it’s a cold, intestinal infection and so on. During this period, the baby is in a stressful situation, and excommunication will affect only in a negative light.
- Graft. If the baby is prescribed a preventive vaccination in the coming days or has just been done, it is worth waiting five to seven days. Immediately after vaccination, the temperature can rise, which lasts on average up to three days. Another couple of days will be spent on the full restoration of the baby's body.
- Adventure. If you have planned a trip to another country where there will be a climate change. During this period, it is also worth waiting for a while with excommunication.
If such situations are not foreseen, then the question of how to properly end breastfeeding will become an urgent topic for mothers to think about.
Grandma's methods
Many years ago, our grandmothers, and even great-grandmothers, used more radical methods of weaning babies. This is due to the fact that maternity leave was only a few months, and some of them did not hatch due to difficult times. Therefore, they resorted to drastic measures of excommunication, and they probably forgot how the child reacted. Probably not one young mother heard advice from the older generation on how to end breastfeeding, and they are often repeated.
1. Give the baby to her grandmother for a few days.
A child about a year is very attached to his mother. This feature of age is inherent in absolutely all children. The abrupt disappearance of the mother for the baby will be severe stress, which is unlikely to lead to the expected result. In addition, a grandmother with a headache from the constant cry of her beloved grandson will also not jump for joy. But the most important thing is that the attempt to excommunicate will be unsuccessful.
2. Spread breasts with a bitter product.
This is also not the best option. Firstly, the selected substance may cause an allergic reaction. Secondly, a latent hostility is formed, which will manifest itself in the future.
3. Replace attachments with a bottle.
Some mothers try to replace frequent applications with a bottle of compote or sweet water. This threatens the early development of caries in the baby.
4. Bandage the breast so that the milk disappears.
This advice is the most dangerous of all of the above. Breast ligation often leads to severe lactostasis in the chest, hardening in the mammary glands. This quickly develops into mastitis, which brings incredible pain to mom. Mastitis is not always possible to cure without surgery.
Cessation of lactation
After it was possible to finish breastfeeding, milk will not leave immediately. In the case of large flashes of milk, before its quantity decreases, you can resort to artificial methods to stop lactation. There are several options:
- Drug termination of lactation.
- Folk methods.
- External use of funds.
- Restriction in products.
Medical termination of lactation
The most common and easiest way to stop lactation is medication, which contains substances that can reduce the flow of milk. These drugs are:
- "Bromostin".
- "Sinestrop".
- Dostinex.
- "Bromhexine" and others.
Before purchasing a certain drug, you must consult with a gynecologist.
Folk methods
Recipes of traditional medicine are also widely used for the early termination of lactation. These are herbal teas with sage, elderberry, horsetail, peppermint and basil leaves.
When choosing a particular herb, it should be poured with boiling water and let it brew for 5-7 minutes. Mint, sage and horsetail are used separately, without mixing with each other, with other herbs. Elderberry and basil leaves should be brewed together.
External use of funds
The use of external compresses also has a good result at the end of lactation.
Compress with camphor oil affects the synthesis of milk in the glands. Apply oil should be on the skin of the chest, bypassing halos and nipples. Top with a woolen cloth. It is recommended to keep no more than half an hour.
A cabbage compress removes excess fluid from the body and inhibits milk production. A leaf of white cabbage should be previously kneaded and applied to the chest. Top with a woolen cloth. Keep the compress for 2 hours.
