Weaning a baby from breast-feeding

When you begin to wean your baby from the breast, replace your breast milk with enough iron-fortified infant formula to make up for fewer nursing sessions. A baby should have at least 16 fl oz (473 mL) to 24 fl oz (710 mL) of formula each day. If the baby is age 4 months or older, make sure he or she eats solid foods high in iron and vitamin C.

Use iron-fortified formula. This is the only type of nutrition acceptable for babies younger than 12 months.

The following suggestions may be useful:

• Try letting your 6- to 9-month-old drink from a cup; if your baby is not ready, begin weaning by switching to a bottle.
• Slowly reduce the number of times you breast-feed each day or decrease the length of each feeding. Each week, replace one breast-feeding with a cup- or bottle-feeding.
• Offer the cup or bottle before each breast-feeding. Some babies may not accept a bottle or cup until they have nursed.
• If you breast-feed before bedtime or a nap, lay your baby down before he or she is asleep. Help your baby learn to fall asleep without the aid of breast-feeding. A new bedtime ritual can help.
• Hold and cuddle your baby to make up for the loss of skin contact during breast-feeding. If a baby asks for more breast-feedings, make them up through touching and holding.