Many women who breastfeed their children beyond six months have doubts about when to stop, how to do it, and whether it will affect the little ones. We give you a series of tips on how to do it respectfully.
The Spanish Association of Pediatrics, in agreement with the WHO and UNICEF, recommends breastfeeding exclusively up to six months and combined with other foods, up to two years or more. This is something very personal so you can start weaning at any time you consider. The two-year recommendation is based on medical and nutritional issues only; But there are many other factors to take into account such as conciliation, physical and mental fatigue.
How do I do it?
There are two basic rules for weaning a child : One is "do not offer, do not deny." Don't offer her the breast if she hasn't asked for it, but when she asks for it, it's better to give it to her without arguing. The other is "give him something better in return." That is the most complicated part since the bond that exists through the breast and breastfeeding is very powerful .
How long does progressive weaning last?
In reality, weaning begins with the start of complementary feeding . From there, breastfeeding decreases until it disappears since until 9 months it will be almost 80% of daily calories, but then it begins to decrease. Left to its natural evolution, the weaning process usually lasts between two and three and a half years, although it is very variable . If you decide to speed it up, the duration will depend on the pace you set. The faster you go, the more it will probably cost your little one.
It is evident that if you are not present, weaning will be easier and faster, but it will be replaced by great separation anxiety. It depends on what the objective is: to wean quickly or not to suffer, and they are contradictory objectives. To avoid suffering, it is better to dedicate a lot of time to the child, as much as you can. Of course, during that time, the child will have many opportunities to ask for the breast...
When the child wants to breastfeed, do I offer him another food?
It is evident that whenever there is a demand for food, it will be resolved, except that, in this case, when he wants to breastfeed it will probably be due to an emotional need. Breastfeeding is not only nutrition, but also affection, contact, caresses, comfort ... As for food, if the child asks for the breast, you give him a glass of milk. The difficult thing is to give your child so much emotional contact through other means that he no longer needs the breast. That requires great physical and mental effort.
Can he be traumatized if I deny him the breast?
There will not be trauma, but he will not like it since it is something he is very attached to. The fact of not denying the breast has a rational basis and that is that if we deny it it will have a more intense response since what is prohibited is always more appealing to children.
To remove some shots, you have to do it spontaneously: the children themselves 'remove shots' if they are given enough time. By the age of one and a half or two years, they tend to breastfeed less and less, until they only breastfeed to sleep. Then they usually go through a period in which they breastfeed at all hours, as a kind of final fireworks, and finally they reduce the number of feedings again and only breastfeed to sleep. If the mother is not at home due to work reasons, she will be forced to take off feedings and this will make her accept the new reality more and more.
Is it better for his father to feed him?
It is usually indifferent, it depends on the child's preferences. Yes, it is usually useful for your father to participate in other things. It is unlikely that a child who is playing and entertaining with his father would prefer to stop what he is doing to ask for a breast.
How does it all end?
Depends. Sometimes it ends suddenly. There are children who have said: 'Mom, when I turn X years old I will stop breastfeeding.' It is more common for the end of lactation to be evanescent. The child has not breastfed for four or five days and another night he asks for it again. He hasn't breastfed for another three days, and then he asks for it twice in a row. Suddenly, the mother realizes that everything ended weeks ago and that a sudden process was not necessary but a progressive and respectful one.
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