Hi,
My baby has just turned a year and i am planning to wean.But the problem is she is not allowing me to wean.she drinks atleast 5 to 6 times a day and night too..Can anyone give me an idea to easily wean..And also when tried to avoid giving her milk she cries a lot which i cannot stop.even i tried to divert too ,that didnt help.She got used to pacify herself with it when she is sleepy and she gradually goes to sleep..is there anything i can apply...please do help me out..my inlaws are arriving in a week and they are so orthodox.She wants the baby to be breastfed atleast three years which i cannot tell her..and it is very difficult for me to stop if she grows old..I was planning to wean before she arrives..so please do reply me soon..
waiting for your answer mom replied. Dear Worried Mom,
Like TejMom said, breasfeeding your baby through the second year is good for baby. So, don't worry. Slowly, very slowly introduce all the other meals one by one and she will forget breastfeeding. Do nottry to stop abruptly at atime all the feedings otherwise baby will be really upset and demand more because she is afraid you are not going to give her breastmilk.What is wrong if a sweet little baby soothes herself on the mom's breasts. When your inlaws will come, she will play with them and sometimes forget and might as well help herself to wean, so don't worry. Breastfeed your baby in the second year, your daughter willgrow upto be confident and very intelligent, don't force her to wean, the more u introduce other foods, she will slowly cut down and it might take6months for some, even 1 year for others.
Take care tejmom replied. let me introduce myself first, iam a doctor. i have a baby too. u said u have not started weaning though your child is 1 year old. u should have stared weaning when She was 6 months old. u should first know what is weaning . weaning is giving extra food along with mom's milk. stopping mom's milk and starting a different food is not weaning. but feeding a baby with only mom's milk even after 6 months will lead to malnourishment. u said your inlaws are orthodox and they will not let you stop feeding your baby for 3years. 3 years is too long but feeding the baby for 2 years is ideal, once you start feeding your baby with other food, she will not disturb u too much. if u r not working, y not continue the feeding for another year. even those who work feed their babies in the morning and express milk using breast pump or manually and leave it for the baby, u can keep that milk for 6hrs in room temp. just imagine even the doctors who work in some institutions and have no timing for their jobs also feed their babies for 2 years. those babies fed for 2years are said to perform better in schools. if ur baby has been sucking often from you, its because ur baby has always been hungry again because mom's milk alone is not sufficient at this time, weaning is a must from 6months. WEANING- HOW TO WEAN YOUR BABY? INITIALLY SHE IS NOT GOING TO TAKE LOTS SHE WILL TAKE ONLY ONE SPOON THE FIRST DAY, THEN 2 SPOONS, INCREASE IT GRADUALLY. FIRST START WITH RICE KANJI, MAKE THE RICE INTO POWDER. TAKE 1 SPOON OF RICE POWDER AND HALF SPOON OF DAL POWDER AND ADD 1 GLASS OF MILK AND 1 SPOON OF SUGAR, COOK IT NICELY, KEEP STIRRING, MAKE IT WATERY IN THE BEGINNING AND SLOWLY INCREASE ITS THICKNESS, AFTER 1 MONTH START WITH IDLI, THEN COOK RICE NICELY ADD MORE WATER AND COOK IT NICELY , MASH IT NICELY, ADD COOKED DAL AND START FEEDING HER. ONCE YOUR CHILD GETS USED TO RICE KANJI START ADDING 1 SPOON OF GHEE TO HER FOOD. ADDING GHEE IS V.ESSENTIAL FOR HER TO GAIN WEIGHT.A BABY SHOULD NORMALLY BE ABLE TO EAT 3/4 OF ADULT FOOD BY 8MONTHS, OFCOURSE IN A MASHED FORM. ANY WAY DONT WORRY, DONT RUSH YOUR BABY , START IN SMALL QUANTITIES, INITIALLY SHE WILL NOT DRINK EVEN 1 SPOON THEN PUT 3 OR 4 DROPS IN HER MOUTH,SLOWLY SHE WILL PICK UP. INSTEAD OF STOPPING THE MILK BEFORE YOUR MIL ARRIVES, START WEANING HER BEFORE SHE ARRIVES,SHE MIGHT GET ANGRY WITH YOU FOR NOT WEANING FOR SO LONG. STOPPING THE MILK AFTER 2 YEARS IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT. I HAVE DONE IT SUCCESSFULLY. I WILL GIVE YOU THAT IDEA AFTER 1 YEAR. BY THE WAY WHATS HER WEIGHT NOW, SHE SHOULD BE ATLEAST 8.5KGS