How to wean quickly? Reducing milk supply first is the key

When it comes to weaning, everyone's first reaction may be that the baby is in pain, but in fact, the mother is also in pain. Especially when the mother has enough milk, weaning can be described as torture. The following is how to wean quickly. The key is to reduce the amount of milk first.

How to wean quickly

The correct way to wean is to give yourself and your baby a period of adaptation.

1. Reduce the amount of milk first

If you insist on weaning when your baby has a lot of milk, it is very risky because it will cause milk stagnation and in severe cases may cause mastitis.

2. Eat a light diet

Try not to eat too much meat and fish during the weaning period. After these foods enter the body, they will first be converted into calories needed for breast milk. Secondly, they may also cause milk blockage due to greasy food and the baby eating less.

3. Keep a happy mood

Emotional instability can also affect the progress of weaning and may even cause milk stasis.

4. Clean up the milk accumulation

Although mothers are often ready to wean their babies, their bodies are still producing milk, so if this is the case, remember to learn how to clear the accumulated milk in time (massage or use a breast pump, etc.).

In addition, it is recommended that mothers can separate from their babies for a period of time if necessary. Although we all know that companion weaning is good, in fact, this method of weaning is very tiring. For example, some mothers will have milk swelling when they hear their babies crying, and mothers like this are not suitable for weaning in this environment, otherwise they can only fight a protracted battle.

Weaning is not just the mother's job. We should learn to get family members involved, such as having fathers spend more time with their children, thereby reducing the contact between mother and baby and making weaning easier for mothers.

Misconceptions about weaning your baby

Myth 1: Applying irritating food to nipples

Some mothers will smear some chili oil, bitter melon juice and other foods on their nipples when they choose to wean their babies, so that the baby will feel bitter and spicy when sucking the mother's nipples, and thus no longer like to drink the mother's milk. In fact, this practice is very wrong.

First of all, bitter melon and chili oil are not suitable for babies. Because babies are still young, their body functions are not fully developed, especially the digestive system such as the stomach and intestines, which need to be well maintained. Once they eat overly spicy or bitter food, it is easy to cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and other discomfort symptoms in babies.

Secondly, it is not good for the baby's physical and mental health. When the baby wants to breastfeed but eats irritating food, he will feel cheated, which will not only cast a shadow on the baby's physical and mental health, but in serious cases, it will also cause the baby to reject and refuse to drink breast milk in the future.

Misconception 2: Being anxious to separate from your baby

Some mothers will choose to separate from their babies immediately when weaning them so that their babies can adapt faster, but this is actually an unscientific method.

Because breastfeeding is the most intimate action between mother and baby, and it is also a time to enhance the relationship.

When the baby can no longer breastfeed, he needs the mother's care even more. If the mother chooses to separate from the baby or stops holding the baby at this time, it is likely to cause the baby to cry incessantly, become irritable, or even suffer from symptoms such as loss of appetite.

When the baby really shows these symptoms, mothers need to spend more time and energy to take care of and comfort the baby.

Myth 3: Dad just sits back and watches

Many fathers think that their baby’s weaning period has nothing to do with them, so they continue to do what they usually do. In fact, this is very wrong.

During the weaning period, the father must participate in the process and help. On the one hand, playing with the baby more can distract the baby's attention and help the baby adapt to the weaning life more quickly. On the other hand, the father must also give the mother enough care and concern to promote the relationship between husband and wife and family harmony.

When is the right time to wean your baby?

According to the research, the best time to wean a baby is not between 1 and 1.5 years old, but between 1.5 and 2 years old. Breastfeeding can enhance the baby's resistance and immunity between birth and 2 years old, and the baby will get sick less as he grows up. Therefore, the best time to wean a baby is between 1.5 and 2 years old, not between 1 and 1.5 years old.

What to eat after weaning

The diet arrangement for a one-year-old baby throughout the day: five meals a day, three meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner, and two snacks, emphasizing balanced diet and the combination of coarse and fine, rice and flour, meat and vegetables, with the principle of minced, soft and rotten. After being completely weaned (breast milk), the diet is mostly fixed to three meals a day, and transitions from porridge to thick porridge and soft rice, from meat paste to minced meat, and from vegetable paste to minced vegetables. When the baby is almost one year old, you can train the baby to eat by himself and must be weaned (breast milk). If you continue to feed the child with breast milk, the child may not drink milk, have a poor appetite, and all aspects of nutrition cannot keep up with the baby's growth needs. But at the same time, you have to follow a step-by-step method to add complementary foods to the baby, from less to more, from thin to thick, from fine to coarse, get used to one and then add another, add when the child is healthy and has normal digestive function, and stop for two days when there is a reaction, and then resume health. An 8-month-old baby must slowly adapt to the transition from milk to food, and I believe that the baby will definitely adapt.

After weaning, infants and young children need about 1100-1200 kcal of energy and 35-40 grams of protein per day, which is a relatively large amount. Since infants and young children have poor digestive function, they should not eat solid food. New varieties should be gradually added on the basis of the original complementary food, and liquid and semi-liquid diets should be gradually changed to solid food. Soft and easily digestible food is preferred. In view of this, the diet of infants and young children can include dairy products, cereals, etc. When cooking, the food should be chopped and cooked. It can be boiled, stewed, roasted, steamed, etc. It is not suitable for frying and irritating ingredients.

After weaning, infants and young children cannot eat all cereal foods, nor can they eat the same meals as adults. The staple food should be thick porridge, soft rice, noodles, wontons, buns, etc., and the side dishes can include fish, lean meat, liver, eggs, dried shrimps, bean products and various vegetables.

The staple food should be rice and flour, about 100 grams per day, gradually increasing with age; soy products are about 25 grams per day, mainly tofu and dried tofu; one egg a day, which can be steamed, stewed, boiled, or fried; meat and fish are 50 to 75 grams per day, gradually increasing to 100 grams; soy milk or cow's milk, 500 milliliters per day, gradually reducing to 250 milliliters after 1 year old; fruit can be supplied appropriately according to the specific situation.

The number of times infants and young children eat after weaning: generally 4 to 5 meals a day, divided into breakfast, lunch, dinner, pre-noon snack and afternoon snack. The quality of breakfast should be guaranteed, and lunch should be lighter. For example, milk or soy milk, eggs or meat buns can be provided for breakfast; lunch can be soft rice, fish, vegetables, and egg shrimp soup; dinner can be lean meat, chopped vegetable noodles, etc.; pre-noon snacks can be given some fruits, such as bananas, apple slices, pear slices, etc.; afternoon snacks are biscuits and sugar water, etc. Try to rotate and renovate the daily menu as much as possible, pay attention to the combination of meat and vegetables, and avoid the same meals every day. In addition, cooking techniques and methods can also affect the eating habits and appetite of infants and young children. If the color, fragrance and taste are complete, it can promote the appetite of infants and young children, increase food intake, and strengthen their digestion and absorption functions.