weaning a breastfed baby

Weaning a breastfed baby should be a slow and gradual process for best results. Here are some tips.

Eliminate feedings one at a time ~ Eliminating one nursing session each week will help ease the transition for you and your child. If you wean abruptly or too quickly, your breasts may become engorged and painful, and you may even experience mastitis.

Your baby may have a difficult time emotionally since he is accustomed to the comfort of nursing, and your hormones will also experience a dramatic shift. Some women note that they become despondent, depressed and moody if they wean too quickly. Breastfeeding floods the body with Oxytocin, the "feel good" hormone, and eases the stress of motherhood. Attempting to wean all at once isn't best for you or your baby.

Make a nursing session shorter ~ If you are nursing for 10 minutes, shave a couple of minutes off and see how your baby reacts. If he is ready to wean, nursing for less time won't shock him and it will be an easy transition.

Offer other foods and liquids ~ If your baby is eating solids and drinking from a cup, he may accept other foods and drinks as a substitute for nursing. Talk to your baby's health care provider about how to replace the nutrition that he would have received from breastmilk.

Experts say that humans were designed to breastfeed for a period of years, not months. Why not consider breastfeeding a little longer? Your toddler continues to benefit both from the nutrition and emotional security of nursing. And the more months a woman breastfeeds in her lifetime, the lower her breast cancer risk. Go here to read more about the benefits of breastfeeding a toddler.