Expert: Sally Wendkos Olds - 4/22/2009

Question
my son will be 6 months in and due to the fact that i will soon have to return to work i was hoping to get some practical advice on how to stop breast feeding without causing him any distress.he is breast feed all day except for a bottle of sma gold at bedtime.i would like to do the process slowly so we are both comfy with it.i would like to know things like which feed ti stop first and how long the  whole process takes.

Answer
Dear Clare,

First, congratulations on giving your son the best start in life by breastfeeding him! You're wise to want to wean him slowly and gradually, which will be easier for both of you. Stop the feed that he seems the least interested in first, wait several days, maybe a week, and then substitute formula for the next feed. If you can allot a couple of months for the whole process, that's best. Continue to give him formula, not whole milk, until he is one year old. I have an entire chapter of my book (see below) devoted to weaning, so I can't put everything here! But I will attach an excerpt.

Good luck.

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D.
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If you’re ready to wean, but your child hasn’t shown any sign of losing interest, you may want to start the ball rolling yourself.
  Try to initiate weaning at a time when your child doesn’t have to make other adjustments. If he’s teething or has a cold, or you’ve just gone back to work, or there’s a new baby-sitter, or the family has just moved, or there’s some other major disruption of routine, put off the weaning for a few weeks. It’s always easier to manage only one change at a time.
* Pinpoint the nursing session your child shows the least interest in, probably the early evening or noontime feeding. Eliminate this one first. Using the “don’t offer, don’t refuse” method can often identify the child’s least important nursing session and can be the first to go.
  If your baby is under a year old, you’ll need to substitute formula. Most babies enjoy sucking on a bottle, but not all find them appealing. If your baby doesn’t seem interested in drinking from a bottle, don’t try to force it on him. Instead, substitute something else, like a cup of formula or juice, or a few spoonfuls of applesauce.
  For an older child, the substitution can be any of a number of things—a game, a cuddle, a walk to the park, a reading session with a favorite book, a piece of fruit or other healthful snack. Most important is your involvement with the activity, so that you show your child that you can show your love for him in many ways. For suggestions on weaning the older nursing child, see the following section.
* Wait several days (up to two weeks) and then eliminate the next lightest feeding of the day. Keep doing this until you’re down to one nursing a day, probably the first one of the morning or the last one at night. By now, you’ll be producing very little milk and your child may give up this last feeding easily. Or you may decide to continue this one favorite feeding for a while longer. Many children wean easily during the day but want to continue nursing at bedtime for some time. Weaning this way should take from a couple of weeks to a couple of months or longer.