Weaning Your Baby

The Best time to Wean a Baby from the Breast of Bottle

Weaning a baby from the breast or bottle can prove to be a tough endeavor for any parent.  If you wait to long, it becomes so deeply embedded in your child’s routine that it seems they will never let go of it.  If you do it too soon, you may worry that you are depriving your child of something. The best time to wean a child depends largely on your child’ but there are also other factors that parents must consider in order to make an informed choice. 

First, it is recommended that a child take breast milk or formula until at least the one year mark.   During this time the nutrients and vitamins provided by milk is essential to their growth and development.  At the year mark, it becomes acceptable to offer while milk to a child to satisfy their nutritional needs.  This makes weaning at one a prime age to do so. 

Another reason that the one year mark is good is because they are just starting to develop their reasoning abilities.  At one, most children are still out of sight out of mind and don’t long for items that they cannot see.  Basically, they are more prone to forget.  But given a few months, they will remember the bottle or the breast and ask for it by name making weaning even more difficult for you and them. 

Another reason that the one year mark is a good time to wean is because you will be able to protect their teeth and mouth by reducing their suckling habits.  This includes a pacifier.  The American Dental Association reminds parents that both bottles and the breast require a sucking action on behalf of the baby which is one of the things that causes detrimental development in the mouth and teeth.  They actually recommend introducing a sipper cup around the 5 -6 month mark and not using the spill proof tops so babies learn to drink without sucking. 

In order to wean a baby you have to prepare yourself and your baby.  Introducing sippy cups early in life and saving the bottle and breast for night time and going to sleep routines will give you a good start on the weaning process.  Make sure you offer up formula or expressed breast milk in sippy cups as well so your baby realizes she can get her needs and desires met by other methods besides the bottle or breast.  Talk about your child being a big girl or a big boy and try to keep bottles hidden so that they aren’t constantly reminded of them. 

As you get closer to your weaning date, being eliminating one bottle or nursing at a time until you are down to just one or two a day.  Continue this weaning process for a few months so that it is not so drastic on you or your baby.  Eventually, you should be down to the one bottle or breast given only at night.  Of course, this is the hardest habit to break because it serves both nutritional purposes and comfort.  If you are breastfeeding, you may have to get someone else to lay your baby down at night for a week or so.  If your baby takes a sippy cup, then try to offer that at night continuing with your normal bedtime routine. 

If your baby resists the process of weaning will be emotional.  After all, even at a year babies are still quite small.  If it doesn’t seem to be going well, then waiting is not the worst thing you can do for your child.  In fact many parents don’t wean until the 2 or even 3 year old mark.  The bottom line is that each child is different and will have personality issues that affect how easy they are to wean.  By doing it earlier, around a year you can more easily bypass some of the struggles that are sure to ensure as your baby matures and becomes more demanding. 

The choice of course is yours.  Consider the health ramifications and the needs of your baby before hand and consult with a pediatrician if you have any dire concerns.  Weaning will happen at some point, no matter what efforts you make and just because it is easier at the year mark doesn’t mean you or your baby will necessarily be ready.