Before you gave birth, you may have decided how long you would breastfeed your baby. Life hands out little surprises, such as serious illness or your child deciding it is time to stop nursing. Or you are the one who has to decide the nursing has to end. Weaning brings significant change to you and your baby, and you will both feel the emotional impact of this change.
Emotional Changes -- Mom
As you give up breastfeeding your baby, you may feel a little sad as you lose one form of emotional closeness to your baby. This phase of your relationship with your baby is an important one as she grows and begins transitioning to solid food and a sippy cup. You may also feel surprised to feel a sense of freedom. Now that you don't have to be available when your baby needs nourishment, she can take milk, water and juice from a cup. As you wean your baby, you may even experience mild depression, mood swings and anxiety caused by the lack of oxytocin stimulated by the nursing. If your depression is more than mild, consult your doctor.
Loss of Interest -- Baby
When your baby is ready to wean, he sucks from your breast a few times, then stops nursing. Eventually he loses interest completely in breastfeeding and expresses more interest in drinking from a cup. This stage usually develops after a baby has begun to crawl or walk.
Your baby may initiate the weaning process by refusing your breast as he decides he is ready to transition to another way of getting liquids. Some of this transitional process is helped along by your child using a cup or being with a caregiver for long periods.
Baby Resisting Weaning
You may be ready to wean, but your baby still wants to keep nursing. Ensure that she continues to get the nutrition from your breast milk by offering it to her in a cup before you breastfeed. She may have the most difficult time giving up the nighttime breast feeding, so looking for another enjoyable activity to replace breast feeding might help her to make that transition.
Introduce the idea of weaning with a quiet conversation about how big your child is getting. As you talk to her, make the idea that she is growing big a positive event so she doesn't begin to feel bad about losing the nursing sessions. Include your partner in this transition time so he can help you wean your child.
Baby's Emotional Needs
As you prepare to wean your child, keep his emotional needs in mind. Look at his readiness to drop one feeding, then a second. Do not wean him when he is sick, cutting a tooth or starting day care, or when you are going through a significant transition, such as moving.
Drop the feeding he is least interested in first. Five to seven days later, drop the next feeding. As you drop feedings, introduce a cup or sippy cup so he can learn to take liquids in a new way.
Reaction to Abrupt Weaning
You may need to wean your baby suddenly because of a health issue. Emotionally, your baby may respond by beginning to suck her thumb as she refuses to drink out of a cup. You may miss the closeness you and your baby developed as you breastfed her.
If your child is old enough to understand the concept of something being bad for her, show her medication you are taking and explain that it could be bad for her to drink it in your milk. You may need to talk to her about it more than once for her to understand.
