What is Weaning
UNDERSTANDING WEANING
STEP 1
Weaning is practically a process to transfer from the breastfeeding to solids, eventually. Your baby is considered weaned when he stops nursing and gets all his nutrition from sources other than the breast. Although babies are also weaned from the bottle, the term usually refers to when a baby stops breastfeeding.
There are basically 2 types of weaning process that a mother can consider when choosing the best approach to wean your baby.
- Baby-led weaning
- Your baby is the one who gives a cue that she lose an interest in nursing or high interest in starting solids.
- Mother-led weaning
- The mother decides to implement some strategies to get the baby familiarize with foods due to several factors.
No matter which method you chosen, always put the baby interest first. If the baby need to start solids, it is important to introduce the food as soon as it permitted. In general, the Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia suggest to start solid food starting from 6 months onwards to replace the iron-birth store lost gap. However the breastfeeding journey shall continue until the baby reach 2 years old.
There are few cues to watch for to estimate whether the baby is ready for solids:
- Baby doubled their birth weight;
- Baby can lift their heads up strongly;
- Baby can sit with support;
- Baby shows significant interest when watching others eating;
- Baby brings almost anything to their mouth;
- Baby makes a chewing motion;
- Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
Sometimes the baby shows all the right symptoms but still rejecting foods when being fed. This is normal for the first time eater. Allow more time for the baby to finally embrace the weaning process.
