Newborn And Infant Weaning
What is "weaning"?
Weaning is the process of transitioning a baby into a more solid-food diet. Weaning can happen whether you're breast-feeding or bottle-feeding; it's just the method whereby a baby goes from relying mostly on liquids to relying mostly on solids, like an adult.
What is "abrupt weaning"?
Abrupt weaning happens when, for some reason, the mother immediately needs to change from breastfeeding to either bottle feeding or usually, just to solid food. Abrupt weaning can be very frightening to a small child and should be avoided. However, if abrupt weaning does have to happen, make sure you contact a lactation consultant to know the best way to go about it.
Is it ever appropriate to abruptly wean a child?
Abrupt weaning is very traumatic to a small child, especially if you've been breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a part of the mother and baby dynamic, and so abrupt weaning should be avoided at all costs. If, however, something has happened in your medical status so that abrupt weaning must occur, make sure you contact a lactation consultant to discuss how to do it properly.
What do I do when weaning from the breast becomes a struggle?
If weaning from the breast is a struggle, most likely the baby has an attachment to the mother that's not being satisfied in other ways. Look to see if, when the baby is not breastfeeding, perhaps you're not giving it the same amount of attention. Give the baby lots more attention when you're not breastfeeding than when you are breastfeeding and the child will probably pretty quickly stop struggling to wean.
Are there times when I should not wean my baby off the breast?
There are definitely times when weaning a baby from the breast would be inappropriate. Those would be if you're under a lot of stress, or if anything about your family dynamic has changed. For example, if Grandma was there for a month-long visit and has just left, it's probably not a good time to introduce another change to a baby who will be slightly upset for a while. If, however, it has to happen, just make sure you call your pediatrician or lactation consultant to discuss why and how to do it appropriately.
