Weaning: What You Need to Know
You decide when you want to wean. When someone else decided to wean their kid doesn’t matter. It’s extremely personal, and not really up for debate with anyone except your partner…and even then…
What to expect: some temporary physical discomfort, a different hormonal landscape (mood might be better or worse or you might notice no change at all) and an adjustment period for your child.
The process may not be linear. One day you might successfully reduce to just a couple feeds and the next day your willpower may be less, and you let your kid feed at will.
If you wean earlier than 6 months, it’s recommended that you supplement with formula until baby is at least 9 months old. Even though babies start eating around 6 months, they often start with miniscule amounts so most of their nutrition continues to come from either human milk or formula for a while.
It takes about 3 months for the human breast/chest to involute and return to its pre-pregnancy state. During this time the breast undergoes cell death of lactation-specific cells and tissue remodelling.