August - 13, 2024

How to Wean Your Child

Are you considering weaning your breastfed child and need help figuring out where to start? In this blog post, we’ll go over strategies to wean your child and what you can expect during the weaning process. 

Weaning Strategies

Depending on how soon you want or need to wean your child, you may have to change how you do so. Ideally, you would want to gradually wean your child off of breastmilk over the course of a few months to give your child and your breasts time to adjust, but sometimes circumstances arise that would require the mother to wean their child very quickly and sometimes even cold turkey. If you have the time to wean your childly slowly over time, try the don’t offer, don’t refuse method. 

Don’t Offer, Don’t Refuse

Sometimes when we are breastfeeding, we offer our breasts as a pacifier alternative to help settle our children down when they have gotten hurt or are upset. While this is a great way to reconnect with our children and help them calm down, it’s not a great solution when trying to wean. Instead of automatically offering your child the breast, try different comforting solutions first and if your child asks for milk, then go ahead and give it to them. 

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For the first week or two, your child will likely ask for milk right away, but over time they will ask less and less. This method can take a while to fully wean your child, and you may have to incorporate other strategies into your weaning journey to finish it off, but it is great for starting out and building foundations for your child to get used to being comforted without breastfeeding. 

Reduce Time Breastfeeding

This strategy can be used along with the don’t offer, don’t refuse method and can help your child wean at a little bit faster pace. Before giving your child breastmilk, tell them that they will only get to have milk for a set amount of time, like five minutes, and set a timer. The following week, bring that time down to three minutes. Keep reducing the amount of time spent on each breastfeeding session each week until your child is down to 30 seconds. At this point, you can try using distractions before giving them milk and they may forget that they wanted milk in the first place.

Change Your Routine

If you offer breast milk to your child before getting them down for a nap or bedtime, change your routine so that they are breastfeeding at the start of your routine, then finish the rest of your sleepy time routine as usual. Children who have been breastfed to sleep will not like this and will likely have a hard time adjusting to having their milk at the beginning of the routine, just take extra care to give them comfort and love during this time. If it’s easier for your child, have your partner do the bedtime routine until your child has adjusted to this new routine. 

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During the day, if your child regularly wants breastmilk around the same time of day, switch up your day-to-day activities around those times. Take them on a walk, to the park, or play an enticing game. This should distract them from wanting milk at their regular times and can help break up the routine. 

Weaning Quickly

When it comes to weaning at an accelerated rate or cold turkey, we worry about the mother’s breasts becoming engorged which can be painful and potentially cause mastitis, when the breast becomes inflamed and can lead to an infection. It’s important that when you wean your child quickly, you still express some milk to help prevent mastitis, but not so much that your body will continue to make milk. 

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Weaning this way can cause emotional distress to both the mother as well as the child so the more preparation you give your child, the easier it will be for you both. Consider how much time you have to wean and gradually reduce breastfeeding sessions each day as previously mentioned, but reduce the time at a quicker rate. Giving your child extra love and comfort during this time becomes increasingly important the faster you wean them. 

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While we don’t recommend weaning your child cold turkey, sometimes it is the only option. Explain to your child that there is no more mommy milk, but you can give them their favorite snack, cuddly, or blanket. 

What to Expect During Weaning

Because children often breastfeed as a source of comfort and security, you can expect some pushback from your little one. They may have more tantrums during this time and may even become more clingy to you, especially if you are weaning quickly or cold turkey. This is normal, though it can be emotionally draining for both of you. Take care of yourself well and let your child know that you will be there with them every step of the way. 

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When we wean, our hormones take a dip, specifically oxytocin and prolactin. These hormone drops can make us feel anxious, guilty, agitated, and sad. You may feel like you are grieving for the end of your breastfeeding journey. You may also notice a difference in your libido, weight gain, period changes, and sleep may be harder to accomplish. Just take it day by day and recognize that this is only a transition period, it is not permanent. 

For more information on weaning your child, call our midwives today!