Once you have an established breastfeeding routine, the question is, when is the right time to stop breastfeeding? Several health organizations recommend that babies are fed entirely on breast milk for the first six months. After that, they continue to receive breastmilk alongside other foods until at least the age of two.
Breastmilk alone will not give your baby enough nutrients after six months of age. However, it does do other things. It gives your baby a natural comfort when your baby is worried, tired, or sad. Breastmilk also has immunity-booting components that will increase significantly when your baby is sick. But still, you must figure out the right time to stop for you and your baby.
Whenever you have decided it is time to start weaning your baby, you want to ensure that you do this gradually. If you stop suddenly, you are at risk of engorgement, blocked milked ducts, and mastitis. On top of that, you can affect your baby’s digestive and immune systems, and it may also cause emotional stress to your baby.
Here are some tips on how to stop breastfeeding:
- Pay attention to the signs that your baby is ready to stop breastfeeding. Here are some signs your baby is ready to wean: Holding their head upright, showing interest in eating food, losing this active tongue-thrust reflex, sitting with support, and acting different or cranky while nursing them.
- Set a schedule for weaning and start slow. Give yourself time with this process and slowly decrease feeding sessions. If your baby is over nine months old, it would be best to wean using a bottle.
- Provide emotional comfort for your baby. This time can be very emotional for your little one. So extra snuggles may be needed during this time.
- Do your best to let your baby lead. If you are comfortable, try the “don’t off, don’t refer” method. If your baby is not interested in nursing, this could be an easy method.
- Switch up your feeding routine. If your baby will not take a bottle from you, try to have someone else give your baby their bottle.
- Learn how to prevent or soothe engorgement. This is another reason this process takes time, and you want to do it slowly. Your milk ducts will not know immediately that they need to reduce the amount of milk they produce. You can use ice packs or acetaminophen to soothe the pain. You can also use your pump to remove milk and put it in a bottle or baby’s cereal.
- Consider partly stopping breastfeeding. Some mommas find it easier to nurse babies at night too, which could help their babies get a good night of sleep.
- Lastly, understand your emotions. Just know that your baby is not the only one going through this process, and this could also be an emotional time for you.
Here at Family Futures, we want you to know that you are supported and a rock star. You got this, mommas. If you need more support, feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns at navigation@familyfutures.org or contact us on our website. We are here to support you in this journey.
