Breastfeeding, an instant tool to calm a baby comes with an expiry date

So one more tick on the mommy checklist is achieved and this is a BIG ONE. I am no more a breastfeeding mom. Since a few months my parents, in laws and well wishers have been asking me to stop breastfeeding, however I was not convinced. I was like if me and my child doesn’t have a problem then why should others have. However in the last few weeks I was feeling uncomfortable and having a few health issues. My daughter was also getting very addicted to this, starting to open my shirt in public places, sucking the whole night. I was worried how I would ever manage to wean her. However, my supportive child just cried once. Whenever I said it’s over and we need to drink in a bottle she accepted it. It was tough for me and her. She was possessive about me and wanted me to cuddle her, something that even I wanted. It’s not like she did not sleep unless breastfed, even I did not sleep till I nursed, such was our way of sleeping since the last 18 months. So how did I manage to get her off my breasts? I did it a little differently and would like to share the key points.

  1. Prepare yourself mentally – You should be firm that whatever happens you will not breastfeed the child anymore. Trust me this is the toughest and 80% of the work done. It’s easy to calm the baby if they fall down, throw tantrums or are cranky. Breastfeeding is the best resort to soothe the baby, your instant tool while driving, watching movies and keeping the baby happy. But everything comes with an expiry date .
  2. Slow and steady wins the race – First try to stop the day feeds and then the night one. Initially I started to avoid nursing her during the day. Whenever she used to come to me hoping for a feed, I diverted her attention by showing her outside the window and talking about the objects that we could see. Many friends and doctors advised that I should sleep in a separate room and let my husband manage the nights. My husband job involves travelling so I started when he was travelling. Whenever she got up at night, I cuddled her, hugged her, offered bottle but not my breasts. Once you are not offering your breasts to the baby, the baby becomes emotionally vulnerable, if at the same time the mother is also away and not seen around, it can be tough for the child is what I feel. Better to stay together and make it happen
  3.  Introduce variety of solids – Once the child is a year old, you can try different semi solids and this helps in weaning. Also substitute formula for breast milk
  4. Practice self care – It may happen that once you stop nursing, you may feel a certain heaviness in your breast, headache but in a day or two it will get normal. Avoid taking dairy products like milk, curd etc at that time. You can also use ice, cabbage massage to get relief from breast pain.
  5. Talk to your child – Give them a reason. She still asks me for milk and I tell her its finisihed her now and you need to drink from the bottle. She delightfully nods her head and says Yes

Priyanka Sharma