Weaning a child from the breast can be challenging under any circumstances. Children with developmental delays may need more time to be fully weaned. If you are attempting to wean your developmentally delayed child, you can incorporate several different strategies to help you both ease through the transition well. According to La Leche League, you may need to breastfeed longer with your developmentally delayed child. As she grows older and more independent, she will likely be ready to wean. Having a few strategies in mind can help her let go of something that has always given her a sense of security.
Step 1
Replace one nursing session each day with a bottle or sippy cup of milk or a snack. Give your child an alternative to nursing, recommends Kathleen Huggins, Linda Ziedrich and William Sears, authors of "The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning: How to Bring Breastfeeding to a Close, and How to Decide When the Time is Right." Fill a bottle or sippy cup with milk and offer it instead of a nursing session. Offer your child his favorite snacks as another way to replace one nursing session.
Step 2
Continue replacing each nursing session with a bottle, sippy cup or snack by eliminating one every week or so. Eliminate the bedtime nursing session last because this is the one your child is likely most attached to.
Step 3
Offer your child her bottle, sippy cup or snack in an area where she did not nurse before. Seat her at the table in a chair or highchair rather than allowing her to eat on the couch or chair where she used to nurse so she begins to remove the association between a specific place and a nursing session.
Step 4
Distract your developmentally delayed child with several engaging and educational activities. Sing the ABCs, offer interesting toys to play with or count to 10 together, recommends La Leche League.
Step 5
Stop wearing your nursing clothes. Tell your child that you cannot nurse him because your clothes no longer work that way. Distract him with snacks or toys if he tries to lift your shirt.
Step 6
Play games, go for walks or do any other activity that will tire your child easily so she does not need to nurse to sleep, recommends La Leche League. Have your partner put your child down at bedtime to further reduce the association between you, nursing and sleep.
Tips and Warnings
- If you use nursing to calm and comfort your developmentally delayed child, make sure you have other means of comfort on hand as you begin to wean. Consider blankets, favorite stuffed toys, lullabies and snuggles as alternate ways to soothe your child.
- Do not wean just because others expect you to. Huggins, Ziedrich and Sears recommend that you allow your child's developmental needs guide when you make the choice to wean. If you do not feel that it is best for your child, wean when you are ready.
Things You'll Need
- Bottle or sippy cup
- Snack
- Toys or games
References
- La Leche League: Weaning a Child with Developmental Delays
- "The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning: How to Bring Breastfeeding to a Close, and How to Decide When the Time is Right"; Kathleen Huggins, Linda Ziedrich and William Sears; 2007
