Daytime Weaning: How To Do It?
One of the most effective ways to get your baby to stop breast-feeding is daytime weaning. As the name implies, it consists of stopping breastfeeding during the day and reserving this type of food only for bedtime. Is this effective? How can I do? Below, we tell you all about this subject.
Generally, mothers must wait for the baby to be eight or nine months old before starting the first attempts at daytime weaning. The main reason is that the little one has already started complementary feeding at that time, so there will be no shortage of nutrients due to the fact that he ingests less breast milk.
Furthermore, as this type of weaning requires a certain maturity and the ability to focus on other stimuli, it is necessary that the baby’s senses have already reached a certain degree of development.
However, it doesn’t always end up being a simple task . There are babies who are very attached to their mother’s breast, even when they are not hungry. Calm! Nothing is impossible and here you will find some suggestions that you might find useful.
Reasons to start weaning your baby
As we said earlier, daytime weaning is a first step in the transition from exclusive breastfeeding to other types, which also include breast milk.
formula
.
The most common arguments that usually lead to the decision to stop breastfeeding are the following:
- Mother’s decision.
- Loss of interest on the part of the baby.
- Little or no production of breast milk.
Advice to achieve daytime weaning
1.-Do not offer the breast during the day
As obvious as it may seem, many mothers fall into the temptation to offer the breast to their baby and thus waste the advance achieved in days or even weeks. So, your main mission for daytime weaning is to gradually change your baby’s eating habits.
So instead of feeding him you can try offering him a fruit puree, yogurt for babies, or some other type of savory recipe of your choice. Also, you can resort to other distractions if the baby has recently eaten. Examples: games, songs, tours.
Keep in mind that this is an ideal time to experiment with new textures, flavors and ingredients. Use this circumstance to your advantage to achieve daytime weaning.
2.-Get the baby used to feeding with other people
In the first months of life, feeding the baby is synonymous with its close connection with the mother. However, at the time of weaning, it is essential and necessary for him to be able to eat with the other members of the family. It would be nice if, during the afternoons, someone else was responsible for feeding him.
In addition, it turns out to be very useful for mothers who plan to work or return to work in the short term. Likewise, it also helps to develop a sense of the baby’s independence from his primary attachment figure.
3.-Do the process gradually
Once again, we emphasize the importance of this change not being carried out overnight . This will present problems for the baby, as it will not allow him to progressively adapt to the new
diet
, and also for the woman, who may experience pain and stiffness in the breasts due to excess milk.
Furthermore, it is also not good for a baby’s fragile digestive system to drastically change feedings. Adapting to the new diet has to be done with patience and constancy.
4.-It should not coincide with stressful moments
If the baby is going through a difficult phase such as the mother’s return to work, daytime weaning is not going to be a viable possibility. This is linked to the previous point: excessive sudden changes can be detrimental to changing habits.
Finally, if we plan to make any changes in the baby’s diet or life, the ideal is to carry out daytime weaning before or after that.
5.-Start by not breastfeeding when it is far from bedtime
The mother must follow a kind of “continuity” in the baby’s feeding routine. From there, you should first eliminate breastfeeding that is not associated with sleep habits. This breastfeeding occurs mid-morning, mid-afternoon or after bathing, for example.
The others, more linked to the approaching time to sleep, will be more complicated to be reduced. Formula milk – given by the mother or not – can be an excellent first step in this direction.
Finally, it is necessary to consider that each baby is unique, as is the bond that unites it to its
Mommy
. Therefore, the mother will know better than anyone how to start with daytime weaning and when to do it. Your baby’s adaptability may surprise you; it’s a matter of trying, analyzing and evaluating how to proceed. If necessary, of course you can go back for a while.
