Weaning is gradually introducing a baby to his adult diet. Departing from milk is essential, and should be done in a proper way. Though it naturally evolves over time, it is important to know when the child is ready. It can be done by the mother or initiated by the baby.
There are various ways in finding out when a child is ready for weaning. Apta Club tells that it should be done not earlier than 17 weeks and not later than 26 weeks.
A baby having a lot of solid food earlier than this period may suffer from irregularity with digestion while introducing her to solids later than 26 weeks may compromise her nutritional needs. Sucking their fists and taking interest in what you are eating may also be signs to consider finding out if a baby is ready for weaning.
There are different ways in weaning a baby. Some parents consider the forceful weaning wherein the action is initiated by the mother. This involves putting substances such as hot sauce or other spicy sauce on the mother's breast to shock the child.
Another way is to draw a scary face on the mother's breast or the crying out method, where the mother pretends to be hurt whenever the baby asks for breast milk. However, the above mentioned strategies are not really ideal as it may create confusion to the child suddenly being deprived of her favorite way to cuddle with her mother.
The Bundoo talks about the baby-led weaning, which is considered the least stressful method both for the baby and the mother. With this method, the child little by little shows less interest in breast milk.
This usually comes when she begins to explore and is being distracted by a lot of things. You may take advantage of this opportunity by removing the easy access to breast milk or feeding bottle. Setting a date and offering alternatives to milk can be a great help.
However, you want to wean your child it is important to introduce her to varities of nutritious foods so as to avoid making her a picky eater. It will also help to always seek the advice of the experts and those who have gone ahead of you so as not to overdo things and to always consider the benefit of the baby.
