Tips for Weaning and Complementary Feeding

What is Weaning and Its Types

Weaning is the process that marks the end of breastfeeding. Just like breastfeeding, weaning has a progression and specific timing to consider during the process. There are different types depending on the situation and family context:

• Natural weaning, which occurs without intervention in stopping or continuing breastfeeding, happening innately and inherently due to genetics, usually between 2 and 7 years of age.
• Mother-led weaning, where the mother decides to start the process of stopping breastfeeding, which may involve eliminating either daytime or nighttime feedings, or just one of them.
• Baby-led weaning, which may have an underlying cause since babies depend on milk and it is not natural for them to stop on their own. This could be due to premature introduction of complementary feeding (before 6 months, especially before 17 weeks), starting mixed feeding, pain while nursing, etc. It is necessary to find the reason.
• Premature weaning, which usually happens at the beginning and is based on some difficulty starting to nurse, either for the mother or the baby.
• Unwanted weaning, often caused by social pressure or family or healthcare environment, due to comments about breastfeeding practices, such as questioning the child's age for continued breastfeeding or claiming the milk no longer provides any benefit.
• Respectful weaning, which is a gentle way to carry out progressive weaning that respects the timing of both mother and baby equally.

Practical Tips for Weaning Your Baby

During pregnancy, we emphasize the importance of women educating themselves and gaining as much knowledge as possible about what breastfeeding is, and similarly, during breastfeeding it is important to educate oneself to adapt the weaning process.

It is common for the desire to wean to appear suddenly, and when this happens without any knowledge about weaning, managing all aspects of the process can be complicated.

When is the Right Time to Start Weaning

We could divide weaning into many age ranges, but in reality, we can make two main divisions: before one year and after one year. This way, we can observe the peculiarities of each stage and help you understand the challenges and options of each. In general, the challenges will be:

• Offering the baby alternative food appropriate for their age.
• Tricks to get them to accept that alternative food.
• Reducing breast milk production.

Often we wonder if there are moments or situations when weaning is easier. Knowing the developmental milestones of babies and children, we can affirm that yes, there are stages when weaning may be simpler to achieve, and in other situations and ages, weaning can be somewhat more complicated.

This does not mean that if you find yourself in one of these stages we will mention, weaning is impossible, only that you may need to dedicate more time to the process.
Some weanings can last days, often due to urgent need; months or even years. Generally, what we know is that night weaning tends to be faster and more intense, while daytime weaning is slower but more peaceful.

Night weaning with the “father method” should not last more than 5-7 days, while daytime weaning can last much longer. What we must keep in mind with any type of weaning is that setbacks often occur.

Bibliography

American Academy of Pediatrics Work Group on Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics, 1997; 100:1035-1039

Burmgarner, N.J. Mothering your nursing toddler. La Leche League International. 1982.

Bowlby, J. The making and breaking of affectional bonds. Tavistock Pub. 1979

Stuart-Macadam, P.; Dettwyler, K.A. Breastfeeding, Biocultural perspectives. Aldine de Gruyter editors. New York 1995.

Garza, C.; Johnson, C.A.; Smith, E. et al. Changes in nutrient composition of human milk during gradual weaning. Am J Clin Nutr 1983; 37:61

Goldman, A.S.; Goldblum, R.M. Immunologic components in human milk during weaning. Acta Paedatr Scand 1983; 72:133

Guide for Weaning from LactApp

Brazelton, T.B. Infants and mothers: Differences in development. Delacorte. New York 1969