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Home › Articles › Weaning › Weaning Before the Age of 1 Year

Weaning Before the Age of 1 Year

Tips on Weaning Before Their First Birthday

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

Pages:  1  2  3  

"Weaning gradually is usually the most comfortable situation for both mother and baby," says Prachniak.

One method of gradual weaning is eliminating one daily feeding at a time, creating a new schedule for both mother and baby. An alternative activity can be offered in place of the feeding, such as a story, play time or a walk. Once it is determined that the child has accepted this new schedule, another daily feeding can be eliminated. This process continues until the child is weaned from the breast.

Keeping the Quality Time
Babies who are breastfed become accustomed to the one-on-one attention that they receive from their mothers. Weaning from the breast does not mean an end to this quality time. "Children really do flower and grow best when they get individualized attention," says Prachniak. "Breastfeeding is a wonderful way to start, as it demands that you give that to baby. Just the act of sitting down to breastfeed increases the child's sense of self-esteem because it is telling them at every feeding how important they are."

"You can continue to do that sort of thing in a number of ways," explains Prachniak. "Reading a book, taking a walk or even just eating lunch together can offer the same one-on-one time the child wants and needs while still weaning him/her from the breast. Regardless of what the activity is, substituting the personalized attention with a different variation of the one-on-one attention is an important factor."

Deciding when to wean is a personal decision that should be made by you, taking your baby's individual needs into consideration. The appropriate age to wean is often the topic of hotly contested debate, and you may be subject to criticism weather you wean your child as an infant or as a preschooler.

Prachniak's advice: "Go with what you feel."


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