Weaning Your Baby: A Brief Guide

About

A transition phase where a baby is introduced to new foods like fruits, dairy, and vegetables after 4 to 6 months, instead of exclusively taking breastmilk.

Poor weaning practices contribute to malnutrition and impaired cognitive/physical development in children. (1)

- Doesn't want to eat solids after 6 months
- May experience anemia, tooth decay, or obesity
- Frequently wakes up at night
- Refuses to drink from a bottle or eat from a cup

Weaning issues refer to difficulty transitioning your baby from breastmilk or formula to solids. Your baby may refuse to eat certain foods and react by spitting out newly introduced foods. This is normal and it takes repeated attempts to get your baby to get used to the new tastes and textures.

Symptoms

Your baby may refuse to eat certain foods, spit out from his mouth, and frown when attempting to be fed.

People also experience
Headaches
Nausea
Mood swings: Mothers may feel stress or experience feelings of estrangement when stopping breastfeeding initially
Hormonal changes: mothers may experience tenderness in the breasts and plugged ducts

Treatment

Self-care: Bond with your baby in other ways besides breastfeeding like cuddling, sleeping side-by-side, and by playing together. For babies, introduce them to different textures and tastes slowly and try 8 to 10 times since they're new to the experience.

Medications: No medications are recommended. You can try partial weaning where you feed your baby fruits, vegetables, and other solids while giving him breastmilk the remaining time and slowly cutting down on it.

Specialists: Our midwives at mfine understand the challenges and problems when trying to wean. Talk to our healthcare specialist and book a consultation with us to learn more about our holistic treatment programs.

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