How to Stop Nursing

Nursing your child is important on many different levels. It provides your baby with the nourishment she needs to get a healthy start on life and it enables you to form a significant and beautiful bond with your child. Because you can't nurse your little one forever, the time will come when you and your child move on from breastfeeding. When to stop depends heavily on your personal beliefs. Whenever you do decide, however, how you choose to stop nursing is crucial to alleviate any anxiety that your child might feel and for ease of transition.

Instructions

• 1

  Reduce nursing sessions gradually. Drop one breastfeeding a day per week. Determine which time of day is the easiest to begin the weaning process but hold off on eliminating the first or last nursing sessions of the day. It is during this time that your baby is the most tired and likely to be resistant to feeding any other way. Once you have successfully eliminated breastfeeding at the selected time of day, choose another time to eliminate during the following week until your baby is no longer breastfeeding or expecting to nurse.

• 2

  Allow your child to be your guide. For some children, especially those who are using sippy cups, eating baby food or are accustomed to drinking from a bottle, the desire to nurse may naturally wane. If your child is content without nursing, continue to feed her baby food and supplement her meals with baby formula or milk as instructed by your pediatrician.

• 3

  Avoid nursing triggers and try distraction. During the times that you would normally nurse, avoid those places or habits that might naturally trigger the desire to nurse. Stay away from the room where you would normally nurse in or refrain from sitting in the chair that you typically use for breastfeeding. Instead of feeding your baby at the exact same time, feed her a little earlier or later and play or otherwise entertain her during the time that she would normally feed.