Breast Feeding Archives -

Weaning From Breast Feeding

When your baby has stopped breastfeeding and gets all of his nutrition from other sources than the breast, he’s actually considered weaned. Even though babies are also weaned from the bottle as well, the term weaning often refers to when a baby is stopped from breastfeeding.

The Weaning Process: Patience and Timing(Weaning From Breast Feeding)

When weaning is a mother’s idea, it normally requires a lot of patience and can take time, depending on the age of your baby or toddler, and also how well your child adjusts. The overall experience is different for everyone.

Weaning is a long goodbye, sometimes emotional and sometimes painful. It doesn’t however, signal the end to the intimacy you and your child have developed during the nursing stage. What it means, is that you have to replace breastfeeding with other types of nourishment.

Starting Weaning

You’re the best judge as to when it’s the right time to wean, and you don’t really have a deadline unless you and your child are actually ready to wean. The recommended time for weaning is one year. No matter what relatives, friends, or even complete strangers tell you, there is no right or wrong time for weaning.

How to Wean

You should proceed slowly, regardless of what the age of your child may be. Experts say that you shouldn’t abruptly withhold your breast, as the results can be traumatic. You should, however, try these methods instead:

1. Skip a Feeding(Weaning From Breast Feeding)

Skip a feeding and see what happens, offer a cup of milk to your baby instead. As a substitute, you can use a bottle of your own pumped milk, formula, or cow’s milk. If you reduce feedings one at a time, your child will eventually adjust to the changes.

2. Shorten Feeding Time(Weaning From Breast Feeding)

You can start by cutting the length of time your child is actually at the breast. If the normal feeding time is 5 minutes, try 3. Depending on the age, follow the feeding with a healthy snack. Bedtime feedings are usually the hardest to wean, as they are normally the last to go.

3. Postpone and Distract

You can postpone feedings if you are only feeding a couple of times per day. This method works great if you have an older child you can actually reason with. If your child wants the breast, say that you’ll feed later, then distract him.

When Weaning Doesn’t Seem to Work

If you’ve tried everything and weaning doesn’t seem to be working at all, maybe the time just isn’t right. You can wait just a bit longer to see what happens, as your child and you have to determine the right time to wean together.

How To Choose A Breast Pump

Choose A Breast Pump: The milk production in the breasts, much like so many other things, works on the sheer principle of supply and demand. The more breast milk your baby consumes, the more your body will need to make.

Breast pumps are generally used to insure continued production of breast milk when you cannot feed your baby – whether you are back to work, traveling, taking medication, or just out of town.

Basic types of pumps(Choose A Breast Pump)

Breast pumps can either be battery-operated, hand-operated, semi automatic electric, or even self-cycling electric.

Hand pumps(Choose A Breast Pump)

Manual hand pumps are designed to use the strength of your hand or arm muscles to pump one breast at a time. You can also get pumps that will use the leg and foot muscles to pump both breasts at one time. Mothers that with carpal tunnel syndrome may want to consider using a pump designed for the arm or leg muscles or even an automatic model.

Battery operated pumps

Pumps with battery operation are the best for women who have an established supply of milk and want to pump once or even twice a day. These pumps use batteries to create suction, minimizing any type of muscle fatigue. Most battery-type pumps are designed for pumping one breast at a time and are recommended for occasional usage.

Electric pumps

Even though electric pumps are more efficient than hand or even battery-operated pumps, they also tend to be more expensive. You can however, rent them if you need to. Electric pumps can normally plug directly into an outlet and are designed for pumping both breasts at a time and even for frequent use. Hospital-grade pumps are the most efficient for initiating and maintaining milk supply and are available for rent or purchase.

Sudden breast refusal and nursing strikes | Refusal To Breast Feed

Refusal To BreastFeed Sometimes, a baby that is breastfed may suddenly decide to refuse breastfeeding. The baby will pull away from the breast, and then toss his head from side to side. This can happen at any time, so there really is no way to predict it happening.

Refusal To Breast Feed: Reasons why

Refusal to feed from the breast could occur when the baby is in pain. Normally, this can be due to an ear infection, sore head from vacuum delivery, thrush in the baby’s mouth, or teething.

The use of dummies, teats or nipple shields may also contribute to refusal. Some babies actually find it difficult to feed from the breast and bottle as the sucking action is very different. Some become confused, therefore it’s always best to avoid using any type of teats or dummies.

Sometimes, the milk just tastes bitter. This can be due to antibiotics if you starting or in the middle of your period, or nipple creams. If the milk tastes bitter, your baby will normally not want to feed.

Solving the problems

First, you should always try to identify what may have caused the breast refusal then begin to treat the cause. Always remain patient and gentle with your baby. Be sure to hold your baby next to you, skin to skin, so that he can take the breast when he wants to, so that he begins to realize that breastfeeding is both enjoyable and comfortable.

Older babies may suddenly take shorter and fewer breastfeeds, although this can be normal with some babies. Therefore, it’s always best not to try and make the baby feed longer, but instead, let the baby decide how often and also how long each individual feeding will last.

Breast Compression How to use breast compression

The sole purpose of breast compression is to continue the flow of milk to the baby once the baby no longer drinks on his own. Compression will also stimulate a let down reflex and often causes a natural let down reflex to occur. This technique may also be useful for the following:

Poor weight gain in the baby.
Colic in the breast fed baby.
Frequent feedings or long feedings.
Sore nipples for the mother.
Recurrent blocked ducts
Feeding the baby who falls asleep quick.

If everything is going well, breast compression may not be necessary. When all is well, the mother should allow the baby to finish feeding on the first side,
then if the baby wants more – offer the other side.

How to use breast compression

Hold the baby with one arm.
Hold the breast with the other arm, thumb on one side of your breast, your finger on the other far back from the nipple
Keep an eye out for the baby’s drinking, although there is no need to be obsessive about catching every suck. The baby will get more milk when drinking with an open pause type of suck.
When the baby is nibbling or no longer drinking, compress the breast, not so hard that it hurts though. With the breast compression, the baby should begin drinking again.
Keep up the pressure until the baby no longer drinks with the compression, then release the pressure. If the baby doesn’t stop sucking with the release of compression, wait a bit before compressing again.
The reason for releasing pressure is to allow your hand to rest, and allow the milk to begin flowing to the baby again. If the baby stops sucking when you release the pressure, he’ll start again once he tastes milk.
When the baby starts to suck again, he may drink. If not, simply compress again.
Continue feeding on the first side until the baby no longer drinks with compression. You should allow him time to stay on that side until he starts drinking again, on his own.
If the baby is no longer drinking, allow to come off the breast or take him off.
If the baby still wants more, offer the other side and repeat the process as above.
Unless you have sore nipples, you may want to switch sides like this several times.
Always work to improve the baby’s latch.