We’ve recently been discussing how old is too old to be breastfeeding in the forums. As a result of this discussion, I’ve realized that there’s lots of misinformation regarding child led weaning. Since we were already talking about weaning in the baby blog anyways, I though it would be helpful to start our discussion with what child led weaning is NOT.
It is extremely rare for babies to wean themselves before one year of age. I would actually go so far as to say it is not the norm for babies to wean themselves before 18 to 24 months. Yet lots of mothers claim that their babies weaned themselves before a year without encouragement. I think what often happens is that mother unintentionally encourages weaning but doesn’t refuse to nurse. . .but I’m getting ahead of myself.
The Nursing Strike
Child led weaning is not the same as a nursing strike. Nursing strikes are common especially between 6 to 9 months or during times of illness or teething. It is normal for babies to go through variations of how much they nurse. Some days it feels like they nurse constantly and other days nursing cuts down drastically. Many moms assume that this ‘nursing strike’ or lack in interest in nursing is really temporary. Healthy babies don’t starve themselves and so you don’t have to worry when the baby isn’t eating nearly as often. Rest assured, when he is really hungry again. . .he will eat.
Not Encouraging Extended Nursing
Also, lots of moms think that the child is weaning themselves when in reality they are unintentionally encouraging the weaning process. Because extended breastfeeding is not that common in our culture, many moms do not realize that what they are doing in fact encourages weaning. Giving pacifiers, bottles, starting solids ‘early’ (before 7 to 9 months), and even practicing ‘sleep training’ all are things that encourage weaning.
I have to note here that I am not saying you should not do these things or that if you do any of them, your baby will wean before a year. However, I did want to point out that many baby care practices that are very common in our culture do not encourage extended breastfeeding.
Look soon for my next blog on what child led weaning actually looks like.