How to remove night feedings with GV: Komarovsky's methods and advice

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

Undoubtedly, breastfeeding is of great importance during the first years of a baby's life. With mother's milk, he receives all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients necessary for normal growth and development. However, sometimes it happens that the baby wakes up many times during the night, which gives the mother a lot of inconvenience. After all, how can she monitor the child during the day, if at night she practically did not sleep? Therefore, many parents have a completely logical question about how to remove night feedings with HB. Let's look into this in more detail and find out what methods you can use to accustom your baby to a normal daily routine.

Should wean?

Let's take a closer look at this. According to doctors, normally, natural feeding of babies shouldlast about 6 months. During this time, the baby's digestive system has time to form normally, so it becomes completely ready for transfer to regular food. But if the child is a year old, how to wean him from night feeding, because at this age this is contrary to the laws of nature. Before answering this question, let's see if it's even worth it.

According to experts, it is very important for children in the first months of life to constantly feel the presence of their mother. So they feel complete safety and security from the outside world. As for night feedings, they are also necessary. Babies cannot withstand long breaks between meals. And this is not a whim, but a natural necessity. But night feeding is important not only for the child, but also for his mother. Her body produces a large amount of prolactin, which is responsible for the formation of milk. If the baby has never eaten before morning, then over time its amount will decrease. In this case, you will have to transfer the baby to artificial mixtures, which is not advisable. In addition, a woman may have various he alth problems.

Therefore, if you are interested in how to remove night feedings with breastfeeding, then you should first think it over carefully. Until the baby reaches 6 months of age, it is better not to make any adjustments to the nutrition program, but to feed as needed. And then it will be possible to gradually accustom the child to the normal regimen. How to do this will be described in detail later.

When can I start?

So what do you need to know about this? Parents with more than 1 child in the family have no particular problems getting up at night to breastfeed. But the newly-made mother simply does not have enough hardening, so they want to teach their child to eat only during daylight hours as soon as possible. This is quite understandable, because during the day a woman gets so tired that in the evening she just falls down, so getting out of bed when the baby woke up is very difficult for her.

Therefore, the question arises whether it is worth feeding the baby at night. The opinions of qualified specialists on this matter differ. Most often, women who have to cope with two or more children at the same time want to wean from the breast as soon as possible. Therefore, as soon as they grow up to 6 months, they are transferred to baby food. But doctors are extremely negative about such a decision.

And the point here is not only that babies need mother's milk much longer. There is also a psychological problem here. After all, as mentioned earlier, babies need a mother not only to satisfy hunger. Due to her long absence, the baby can get a lot of stress. Therefore, if in a year a child asks for a breast at night, then you need to give it to him. There is nothing wrong with that.

Doctors say that you can start weaning from 11 months. As practice shows, at this age, children are already fully prepared to switch to "adult" food. And the desire to taste mother's milk is nothing more than a habit. But, again, no specificThere are no recommendations for this. Here it is necessary to take into account not only the wishes of the parents, but also the individual characteristics of a particular child.

How do you know your baby is ready?

Below will be described in detail how to remove night feedings with breastfeeding. But first, let's find out how to determine the readiness of the child to switch to regular food. Among the main characteristic features are the following:

• in addition to mother's milk, the baby receives various baits;
• reducing the number of breastfeedings;
• child is gaining significant weight;
• the baby has no he alth problems, he is very active;
• wakes up at night at the same time;
• portion is not eaten to the end, and while eating, the child's attention constantly switches to extraneous things.

As a rule, these signs occur when the baby is 10 months old. If you notice them, you can start accustoming him to regular food.

Gradually or instantaneously?

This is a very important aspect that interests every parent. To date, a large number of different methods have been developed that allow both quickly and slowly wean the baby from night snacks. Each of them has certain pros and cons, so in order to choose the best one, you need to consider the most popular schemes. These are:

• gradual way;
• instant;
• Dr. Komarovsky's system;
• Sears family method.

Let's take a closer look at each method and see what leading doctors and experts have to say about transitioning babies from breastfeeding to regular feeding.

The gradual way

This technique is the most optimal, since relearning is slow, and the child has time to adapt normally to the new daily routine, and his body gets used to "adult" food. Its essence lies in the fact that a special day regimen for a breastfed child is drawn up, based on an increase in the density of meals in the daytime. Before going to bed, in addition to mother's milk, the baby is given an additional portion of porridge or mashed potatoes. Thanks to this, he eats well and sleeps peacefully until the morning.

It is important to take into account one important nuance. Gradually, the amount of breast milk given should be reduced, and portions of complementary foods, on the contrary, should be increased. The main advantage of the technique is that the child gradually gets used to regular food and the psychological habit to the mother's breast disappears. As for the shortcomings, it could not do without them. Among the main experts are the following:

• it is very difficult to find a porridge that will appeal to the child;
• young mothers can not always correctly calculate the daily routine;
• Babies do not always agree to eat what their parents give them.

A baby pacifier will help you beat off cravings faster. It is given to the baby at night, so he, on a subconscious level, seems tois next to his mother, thanks to which he will feel completely safe, and his sleep will become strong and calm.

Instant way

This method is applicable in cases where you need to wean the baby from the breast in a very short time. But you need to use it only if the reason is really worthwhile. For example, if the mother works and, due to constant nightly rises, chronically lacks sleep. The technique lies in the fact that the rate of feeding an infant with milk decreases sharply, and it is replaced with cereals, fruit purees or infant formulas. Thanks to a sharp transfer of crumbs to a new diet, it is possible to save a lot of time, which is a big plus. But the disadvantage is no less significant. For the baby, such measures will be a lot of stress, which can adversely affect his he alth. Therefore, in order to reduce the likelihood of developing negative consequences, it is recommended to start weaning no earlier than 11 months.

Dr. Komarovsky's system

This is another common technique in our country. According to the most famous pediatrician Komarovsky, night feedings should be stopped at 6 months. In his opinion, at this age, for normal development and vital activity, the food that they receive during the day is enough for children. And craving for the breast at night is a common habit that the baby just needs to be weaned from. Moreover, if you continue to breastfeed a child at the first whim, then this will do more harm than good. Constant overfeeding can lead todysfunction of the digestive system. The doctor highlights the following rules that will help you quickly transfer your child to a normal daily routine:

1. Don't give your baby too much food for lunch, but before going to bed, feed him well so that he does not feel hungry until the morning.
2. In order for the baby to sleep better, it should be bathed before the last meal. Also give him a baby pacifier at night to mimic a mother's breasts.
3. Create a suitable microclimate in the apartment. According to experts, people sleep much better when the air temperature is cool, not exceeding 20 degrees, as well as high humidity. Therefore, shortly before sleep, the room should be ventilated.
4. Shorten your lunch time. So the child will be more tired during the day and sleep better at night. And if he does not wake up, he will learn much faster to do without a mother and feeding. At 6 months of age, babies are enough for 14 hours of sleep.
5. Start accustoming your baby to a normal routine from the first weeks. So he will immediately develop a habit of eating at the same time, which will subsequently remain for life.

According to Komarovsky, following these rules, you can quickly get rid of night feedings of an infant and begin to sleep well, so you will be cheerful and full of energy in the morning. But you must understand that all of the above are not strict canons, but only recommendations. When raising your children, you must take into account their individualpeculiarities. Only in this way will you be able to do everything right and achieve good results.

Sears family method

If you do not have the slightest idea how to remove night feedings with breastfeeding, then ask those who know firsthand about it. Such connoisseurs include William and Martha Sears. The head of the family worked all his life as a pediatrician and wrote more than 30 books for young parents. In his opinion, it is not necessary to forcibly wean the baby from the breast, but to continue lactation until he himself stops taking it. If the craving for breast milk persists after a year, then the following recommendations will help you:

1. When breastfeeding, the amount of physical contact between mother and baby should be increased to avoid attention deficit.
2. Before you go to bed, wake up your baby and feed him so that the baby does not wake up at night and does not require food.
3. Stay as a baby in a crib, not in bed with your parents.
4. When a one-year-old reaches for the breast, move him to another room.
5. When feeding infant formula, the mother should get up at night alternately with the father. So both will be able to rest normally, and the child will be less capricious.

The authors of the methodology argue that when using the above recommendations, it is necessary to constantly monitor the condition and behavior of the baby. If the tantrums are excessive, then the system needs to be adjusted.

What not to do?

Above, it was described in detail how to wean children from nighttime breastfeeding in various ways. Now let's talk about what is better to refrain from. Experts say that you should not do the following:

1. Follow the child. This is very important with children who have reached the age of 12 months. If they are not immediately accustomed to the fact that they will not be able to get everything they want, then in the future parents will have problems with manipulation.
2. Don't give your baby to grandparents until you completely wean him from nighttime breastfeeding. The absence of a mother is a huge emotional shock for children, which will only increase if they do not get milk.
3. Throughout the withdrawal period, try not to expose your child to any other adverse manifestations.

All this is forbidden because young children do not yet understand everything that is happening. If at some point there is no mother nearby, whose smell is the most dear to the child, then this will become a great stress. And your task as parents is to create the best possible conditions for him, protecting him from everything negative.

Conclusion

Now you know how to deal with the problem of nighttime breastfeeding. But no matter how tired you are, do not rush to wean the baby from mother's milk, because it is the best food for him, containing all the nutrients necessary for normal growth and development.substances. Wait until the baby is at least 6 months old before making any decisions.