Product Description

If you are a breastfeeding mother, then you probably have the same questions that most new mothers have: when is the right time to wean, and what is the best way to go about it? The new, revised and updated edition of The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning has the answers. Experts say that breastfeeding success depends on getting off to a good start, and much of this book is devoted to advice for resolving breastfeeding difficulties that often lead to early weaning. This book also explores the hygienic, nutritional, and emotional concerns that make weaning from the breast such an important and often difficult transition. Best-selling author and lactation expert Kathleen Huggins and co-author Linda Ziedrich make it easier than ever for you to bottle-feed safely, introduce solids gradually, and find new ways to keep a growing child secure and happy during and after weaning.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37839 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Released on: 2007-04-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
Praise for the first edition: A thorough, thoughtful, and detailed handbook that explores the various reasons for weaning and provides practical how-to advice for the breastfeeding mother considering weaning. --Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nurses

Praise for the first edition: The book goes beyond the usual how-to approach...the advice given is wise, practical, and baby-friendly: a nice touch. --Booklist

About the Author
Kathleen Huggins, R.N., M.S., is the best-selling author of The Nursing Mother's Companion and The Expectant Parents' Companion and co-author with Gale Pryor of Nursing Mother, Working Mother, Revised Edition. She is a registered nurse, a board-certified lactation consultant, and owner of the maternity shop Simply Mama. Linda Ziedrich is the longtime parenting-book editor for The Harvard Common Press. She was in the process of weaning her third child when she and Kathleen Huggins began writing the first edition of The Nursing Mother s Guide to Weaning. Ziedrich has also written two cookbooks, The Joy of Pickling and Cold Soups.

Customer Reviews

Only the Title Needs Changing
While I really enjoyed this book, I will concede that the previous reviewers have a point: calling this book "The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning" makes it sound like it's just, and only, a how-to manual on weaning your baby. In fact, it is a somewhat condensed primer on weaning patterns throughout history that transitions into a breakdown of the nursing relationship by age group (under 3 months, 4 months to 1 year, 1&2 years, older than 3) and then discusses characteristics, challenges and possible solutions to these challenges other than full weaning before discussing weaning techniques. Thus, this book, in it's entirety, is for the nursing mom who is thinking about weaning and wants some things to ponder when making this decision. One point that I liked was also touched on in "Mothering Your Nursing Toddler," the fact that it's tempting to feel frustrated and tired and blame this on the fact that you're still nursing. This seems to me to be an oversimplification, however, a too-simple solution for a multi-faceted issue. For the mom who has absolutely decided to wean, as is stated in the introduction, the author has colorcoded bars at the top of the short segments at the end of each chapter that detail the weaning techniques by age group. (The setup of the book is similar to her breastfeeding book in that it contains full chapters and then important information condensed at the end, which I liked.) By skipping the chapters and just reading the pertinent colored pages, a mom could get just the info that they need very quickly. For a mom needing to wean immediately, certainly this book would be useful, though it would probably be prudent to just check it out of the library. I am glad that I bought it, though, and will be revisiting it in the next couple months as my son's and my nursing relationship winds down.

Very helpful
While it's true that this book encourages extended nursing, it also contains useful strategies for weaning at any age. If you're on the fence about weaning, read the whole book and then decide. If you're sure you want to wean, skip the "whether to wean" sections and go straight to the "weaning ideas" pages. The book offers a variety of strategies and stories from numerous parents.

Why not to wean
I also loved the Nursing Mothers Companion and am very pro-breastfeeding, but I am sad to say that this book is not what it purports to be. As pointed out in other reviews, much more time is spent telling mothers why they shouldn't wean than how they might wean. A great disappointment.