Until what age should a baby breastfeed?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The first years of a little man's life are magical. At this time, the mother with special strength wants to give her baby all the best and most useful. For a newborn child, tenderness, warmth and affection, and, most importantly, natural breastfeeding, will be the best gift from a mother. The question of how much you need to breastfeed your child often comes up in the company of young mothers. This question is of concern to many in our time.

Until what age should I breastfeed?

Experts differ on this issue. Some of them believe that feeding is a personal matter for every woman and her child. Mom decides when to stop feeding, focusing on the behavior of the baby. Others suggest that feeding after a year is not advisable, as the milk loses its nutrients. Still others indicate the optimal age - a year and a half. So which of them should a young mother listen to? How long should you breastfeed your baby for? Tough question.

First six months of feeding

Howhow long to breastfeed a newborn baby? Public opinion, statistics, and the personal experience of millions show that up to six months, a baby should receive mother's breast milk, and in the amount that he asks for. Exceptions are cases of problems with lactation in a woman in labor. At this age, the child eats only mother's milk. Only occasionally, in extreme heat, is it allowed to give the baby some boiled water.

Baby's first food

After the baby reaches the age of six months (in different cases this can happen a month earlier or later), the mother begins to introduce other foods into his diet, continuing active breastfeeding. Gradually, the baby begins to drink special infant formula (up to 8 months), then try various purees and cereals. Very soon the menu of the child will expand significantly. During this period, the mother has a natural question: how many months are breastfeeding? Maybe I should start weaning my baby now?

General information about the properties of breast milk up to a year

Mother's milk is an extremely valuable food product for a newborn baby. Breast milk contains all the vitamins a baby needs.

Milk consists of various substances that stimulate the normal development of the brain of a newborn.

Children fed on breast milk have good he alth, high immunity, and in the future they adapt to the world around them much faster and easier. So don't worry andworry about how long a newborn is breastfed. In any case, this is more helpful than harmful.

Psychological basis

An important factor in feeding is the relationship between the child and his mother. The very process of unity between mother and child is priceless. It is the psychological foundation for their future relationship. Due to the modern rhythm of life, even a non-working mother, a child may experience a lack of maternal warmth. Do not forget that mother's milk, sincere care and love are vital for your baby. Your presence is important for the baby, no matter how often you breastfeed and up to what age. Breastfeeding your newborn baby is a wonderful process that unites the souls of mother and child.

Let's look at the stages of weaning

Weaning from mother's milk in children older than ten months is quite easy, provided that complementary foods are introduced in time.

Usually at this age, the baby is breastfed twice a day - in the morning and in the evening, before going to bed. Sometimes the baby asks for breasts during the day, but more for his own comfort than because of hunger, because a ten-month-old baby receives complementary foods about 3 times a day. This feeding regimen can last up to a year, in some cases even longer. Try not to break the basic regime, regardless of how the baby eats and how much. It is necessary to feed the baby with breast milk according to his desire, but the time for complementary foods and sleep is according to the regimen.

First - where to start?

First you need to specifically decide on your desire - do you want to wean your baby from the breast completely or reduce feeding as much as possible? Of course, twice a day is not so much, especially after six months of breastfeeding 8-10 times a day, but these last two times are the most difficult.

And yet, how much to feed a newborn with breast milk? If you are going to go to work, it is advisable to wean the child from morning feeding. Perhaps you are not going to go to work, but for some reason you have more freedom in the morning to be alone with your baby. Then skip the evening feeding. In the event that there is no difference, it is preferable to leave the evening time, since closer to the night nothing will prevent you from putting the baby to your chest and slowly enjoying togetherness. Dinner with mother's milk will provide the baby with a good, sound sleep, and it will be easier for the mother to "lay" the tomboy in the cradle.

Second stage - supplementation

For an easier and more imperceptible adaptation of the baby to a change in nutrition, you need to do supplementary feeding. If you decide to leave the evening for breastfeeding, then in the morning, before giving the baby a breast, feed him infant formula (up to 8 months) or kefir (8-9 months). 50 grams will be enough. Then attach the baby to the breast and feed. With each subsequent day, slightly increase the portion of kefir (up to 100-150 g), as a result of which the child, unbeknownst to himself, will stop suckling himself. Thus, you gradually wean the child frommorning breastfeeding. Each mother has her own time for “supplementing”; it can last from several weeks to several months. By the time the baby gets used to eating mother's milk only once a day, in the evening, he will be about 1-1.5 years old. If your baby is already older, it's okay, slowly continue the process - the result will come, no matter how often you feed him and until what age. Breastfeeding is a long process, and gradually weaning it is even longer.

The benefits of breast milk after a year of feeding

No need to rush to cancel this feeding. Your milk is still very valuable for the baby. After a year of feeding, mother's milk brings vitamins A, C, calcium, proteins, folates and other equally useful substances into the child's body.

The fat content of milk increases several times, which contributes to the formation of the child's gastrointestinal tract.

Breastfeeding after the first year is also beneficial for the mother, significantly reducing the risk of breast cancer and other cancers. Keep this in mind when considering until what age to breastfeed your baby.

Last step

When you realize that your baby is asking for breasts not because of, in fact, milk, but more for bodily contact with you - it's time to completely wean him from the breast. For a child, this process is a lot of stress, he will begin to miss close contact with his mother, he may become irritable and eat poorly. To prevent this from happening, duringweaning the baby from the chest, pay more attention to him, hold him tightly to you, hug him, play with him more often. It is desirable that during this period it was the mother who bathed, dressed, fed, and also walked with the child, and not anyone else. This will help the child avoid the stress of parting with his mother, as well as its consequences. Thus, weaning will be comfortable and easy, both for the baby and for his mother.

How the baby's mother is going through the process

With a gradual decrease in the attachment of the baby to the breast, the mother's milk becomes less and less, after a certain amount of time it disappears completely.

However, there are situations when milk continues to be produced in fairly large quantities, even with rare feeding. In such cases, if it becomes necessary to wean the baby at an early age, the following should be done:

• express as much milk as possible;
• cover chest with clean medical cotton;
• tighten your chest with a wide bandage.

Do not remove the bandage for several days. Express a small amount of milk if you feel your breasts swell and hurt. Drink less liquid and soon the milk will disappear. If this method does not help you, consult your doctor - you may need to take medication.

Important

It is strongly discouraged to stop breastfeeding when the baby is sick. Especially if the baby has stomach problems, breast milk will be the best andsafe medicine. There is no longer a question of how old to breastfeed, no matter how many months or years old your child is - he needs natural nutrition. During an illness, a child is especially in dire need of his mother, her care and participation. It is not necessary to wean the baby from the breast in the summer heat, as well as immediately after the mandatory vaccination. At this time, the children's body is especially at risk of getting an infection.

Due to the need for medication, some mothers have to refuse breastfeeding, as the treatment can harm the he alth of the baby. Often mothers are simply reinsured. There is a fairly large selection of drugs approved for use during pregnancy and lactation. In addition, according to experts, most drugs prescribed in a standard dosage have practically no effect on the he alth of the child, since their content in milk is negligible.

If you become pregnant during lactation, you can also continue to breastfeed your baby, at least in the first months.

Did you get an answer to the question "until what age to breastfeed"? Have you found a suitable option for weaning your baby from the breast? Was the process of weaning a child from breastfeeding at 1.5-2 years considered optimal?

Every mother thinks exactly what her baby needs. What time to bathe him, when to give him the first nipple, what and in what order her baby will do: first sleep, and then walk, or vice versa. For a small, just bornA man's mother decides everything. But at the same time, she magically feels what her baby wants. She understands his crying without words, feels what exactly hurts him or what he wants at the moment. The same goes for breastfeeding. When deciding how much to breastfeed a newborn, trust your feelings. They won't let you down!