For a child, breast feeding is advisable especially during his or her formative years. As much as possible, do not disregard breast feeding baby. For a mother and her child, the act of breast feeding forms a bond between the both of them. When a child is directly signaling to be breast fed by no means refuse. Because the child is at the stage where he or she cannot easily comprehend things the gesture of refusing to breast feed especially when a child has been introduced to the process will be taken as a refusal towards the bonding of mother and child. For the mother, she does not need to undergo the discomfort from overfull breasts. With breast feeding, it is a win-win situation for the baby and the mother.
It will take some time for the baby to get adjusted to breast feeding so do not force anything to happen quickly. Take it slow. Also, be aware of how your child reacts to food. If there are times of the day when he or she enjoys solids rather than milk then by all means adjust the feeding schedule to fit his or her needs. Feeding baby during the earlier months will cause you to depend on pure milk or formula. When the time comes for the baby to be fed with solid foods, do not go for pure solids right away. Keep in mind that the process of feeding baby is always a transition period for the child and so combine solid foods with breast milk or formula until your child gets used to the idea of eating only solid foods and then you can slowly take out the breast milk or formula.
You can help your child alter his or her eating habits by using some simple tools like changing from milk bottles to sippy cups as the child grows older. Later on you can switch from milk as the main beverage and let your child try fruit juices and the like. Your child can have a slight distaste for solid foods at the beginning but this is a common behavior among babies. If this happens, skip a week then just try again later on. Eventually, your child will grow accustomed to solid foods. Start with vegetables then move to lean meats. Children will grow to like different foods and it is important to implement a balanced diet for your child.
Feeding baby can be as much of a challenge to you as it is to your child. When you first stop to breast feed then you will still be encountering the discomfort of full breasts and this will last for a couple of days. Sooner or later your breasts will start producing less breast milk relieving you of that overfull feeling. When the time comes that breast feeding baby stops, it can happen with the mother altering the manner of feeding or the child him or herself can give up the milk dependency by him or herself.
