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Weaning Between the Ages of 1 and 2 Years
By Carma Haley
A child's first birthday is cause for celebration. Changes in the child's life will continue to occur, lessons will be learned and adventures will happen almost daily. Weaning at this stage of a child's life can be just one of those adventures.
Weaning an older child who has developed a routine which includes breastfeeding can be a time of trial and error. Older children are more equipped to express their feelings related to their wants, needs, likes and dislikes. Children entering their second year have learned various skills to aid them in verbalizing their inner feelings.
An older child may also express his/her disapproval of being weaned through behavior changes. This can offer a signal to the mother that weaning is not progressing in the manner she had hoped. Gale Prachniak, lactation consultant and program coordinator at Woman and Infant's hospital in Rhode Island says, "Older children may act out as a result of being weaned and it is not always easy to determine the reason for the behavior. If the mother notices that the toddler is suddenly very irritable, is having trouble sleeping, is toilet trained and goes back to having accidents, begins stuttering or needs a toy or blanket for security where they didn't before, it is possible the process is going a little too quickly for them."
Just as a toddler can become accustomed to breastfeeding, mothers often find it hard to allow their babies to wean. The interaction between mother and baby has benefits for both, and weaning can often become an emotional time for mom. Elissa Sonnenberg, mother of two and writer from Cincinnati, says, "I gradually weaned both my sons from breastfeeding when they were around 1 year old. I guess you could just as well say they weaned me. By the time they were giving up the breast, I was really unsure whether I was able to let go. In the end, I think it was harder on me than it was on my boys."
