Breastfeeding past 6 months and how it affected baby???

[yummymummy06]

Hi. I am just interested to hear from people about this question and wondered if any of you would be so kind to help.

My DD is 9 months and I have just finished BF as I didn't want her to become dependant on me and want BF all the time. My theory is once they reach a year or so they are quite clever and it is alot harder to give up BF. (if that makes sense!)

Would be very interested to hear from other people who have breastfed and if people who BF for a long time wait for their babies to self wean.

Thanks in advance and hope you don't mind me asking!

[lemonaid]

I'm BF DS who is (counts on fingers 28 months), and I'm planning on waiting for him to self-wean.

From around 9 months (when I went back to work FT) he's only nursed twice a day, though (we sometimes have one extra feed at weekends if we're at home, and he nurses more often if he's ill), and if I'm not around (for an evening if I'm going out, or several days -- I've been away for a week a few times with work) he manages fine without. But if I'm around it suits both of us to have a morning and evening feed.

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

Hi yummy - I bf ds util he was 22m approx - He was by then only feeding at night or when he was unwell - and I had a new baby and did not enjoy tandem feeding at all. By the last feeds I could tell he didn't really need them and was not concerned about them stopping - hugs, kisses and stories were good substitutes.

Although when I had ds I only expected to bf to 6m I found no good reason to stop and co-slept till he was 19m so it was easier to cont. Ds has always been very independant I never felt he was overly dependant on me but I valued the special relationship and health benefits of bf. He weaned over a long period but very quickly forgot how to do it and as I was still feeding him when dd arrived the comfort he recieved from feeding wasn't immediately snatched away.

I am still feeding dd now 14m she shows no signs of quitting yet - she started drinking cows milk at 12m and this has slowly replaced daytime feeds along with water and juice. At nigh I feed her several times still and 1st thing in morning. I will probably ease her into weaning completely the same way as ds - but without additional pressure of new sibling (hopefully). So expect not to feed beyond 2yrs.

I found it great for a lazy arse like me not to have to deal with bottles/formula sterilising - ds and dd only ever use beakers and cups. It suits the way I parent - but I am sure it is not for everyone.

[LizaRose]

I bf ds2 until he was just turned 3. He did not want bf all the time, we settled into a routine of feeding first thing in the morning and at bedtime, and he learnt that it was not available at other times. It can be invaluable as a means of comforting a distressed toddler, e.g. when he fell down the stairs at 18m and cracked a bone in his leg, at the hospital I was able to keep him calm by bf.

[hebetalbot]

I bf my DD until she was 21 months. She just wanted a morning and evening feed but soon self weaned when I became pg with DS. She just drank cows milk when I went back to work and just had lovely long feeds when I came back from work. Plan to do exactly the same with DS but because he is my last baby I will carry on until he wants to stop. Interestingly when I first had DS and expressing the odd bottle of milk, DD would insist on having a bottle of her own. I offered her the boob (was hoping to tandem feed) but she refused.

[duvet]

I b/f dd2 til about 18 months the last 3 or 4 months was down to only morning and evening gradually stopping the eve then finally the am. Stopping wasn't difficult at all, I think doing it gradually helped. She certainly didn't seem to miss it once we stopped altogether.

[harrisey]

I bf dd1 to 12 months - I couldnt continue as was pg and it was waaaaaay too sore, plus milk was reduced.

bf ds to 16 months, also became pg (unexpectedly) and so same symptoms - in fact was my first pg symptom as wasnt expecting it!!!

and dd2 - 22 months. One day when she was that age she got into bed, patted my boobs and said 'mummy milk all finished'. She didnt ask again for 2 weeks, and then when she reied she suckled for about 5 mins and said 'no Mummy milk all finished' and that was that.

IMO 9 months is quite early to finish. It is so good for the baby to keep on feeding. One of my aims with dd2 was we were traveling to Central America when she was 18 mos and I wanted her to be fed when we were there - and indeed she was the only one who wasnt sick when we all got dysentry.

But even here, I was doing the best for her, until she was ready to stop.

[MummyPossum]

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[morocco]

stopped with ds1 at 9 months cos I got pregnant and was having a lot of bleeding and it was suggested bf might be causing uterus to contract. I was really sad about it and it was hard for me to see him have a bottle instead. prob cos it wasn't a time of my choosing for giving up i spose

with ds2 i bf til about 14 months and can't really remember much about stopping. he only bf 2x a day and I don't remember him being bothered about stopping, we just moved on to stories and cuddles

[Twiga]

I bf our dd until she was 16 and half months. She gradually dropped all feeds one at a time by herself. We eventually stopped at her instigation because I think my milk failed/changed taste with being pg - I was around 4 months pg when things stopped. I would have loved to have kept on feeding her but was really glad that things worked out the way they did with it being her decision. Very much looking fwd to bfing the next one when they arrive in a couple of weeks and hoping things will go the same way but who knows?! Think what I liked best as she got bigger was that it was a good source of comfort when she was ill, teething, unsettled etc often wish I still had the option to feed her now sometimes when she's under the weather. Will be interesting to see how much interest she takes once I'm feeding the new baby - am quite up for letting her have a shot if she asks.

[terramum]

I'm not sure its any harder to wean (as in mum led) a toddler than it is a baby...it's just that they are able to communicate their feelings in a more obvious way as they get older! Im a great believer in letting a child self wean from bfing and I think there is a a bit of a myth about surrounding the whole process...that if you dont start mother-led weaning then the child will never give up bfing....but that simply isn't true imo - some children just need to feed longer than others.

DS will be 3 next month & I am letting him self wean. I really dont see bfing as something a child does to manipulate or be "clever" about...its just something he needs, just like he needs a hug or a banana or to hold a particular toy .

[KristinaM]

I am exactly teh same as twiga - toddler self weaned at 16 montsh, i suspect because i was 6 montsh pg. still feeding teh next at 18 montsh and hoping he wont stop so soon. no sign of it so far as he still feeds lots

[MrsSpoon]

I had a self-weaner at 16 months. I was out one evening and rushing home to feed DS2, when I got in I found that DH had already put him to bed and he wasn't bothered that I hadn't fed him. The next two nights he wasn't bothered either but the night after that he screamed for about 5 mins, think he quite fancied a feed that night but I had got used to the shop being shut and decided to stick with it, he was fine again the next night.

[ClarenceC]

I'm still bf ds at 14 mths. Now I only bf once a day in the evening before his bedtime. I was bf 3 days a day for a while after solids were well established, then at about 11 months I dropped the daytime feed, then at about 12 months the morning feed. At the moment he has cow's milk in the am from a cup, water during the day, then bf in the evening. He always feeds enthusiastically but doesn't seem remotely bothered when i've dropped bf's and doesn't pull on my top or root around for the boob! Am probably going to stop bf entirely this weekend but am a bit sad and reluctant. However, it is difficult sometimes as I have to rush back from work to get him to bed plus I want to get pg again. On the plus side, bf has kept him really healthy vs his bottlefed mates and I've always found it great not having to prepare bottles and stuff.(only slightly smug!

[barbamama]

I bf exclusively for 5 months then mixed (one bottle a day) til 12 months. Ds just gradually reduced himself and drank more from a cup and then decided to give up on his first birthday (was down to just 2 bfs am and pm by then). I was happy to leave it to him really and never worried he was over dependent, don't think it really affected him one way or the other really.

[blueshoes]

I intend to continue to bf ds after I go back to work at 11 mths. It is such a special part of our relationship and my way of re-connecting with him after our daily separation. I also intend to continue co-sleeping.

With dd, she went on a nursing strike at 17 mths. I weaned her almost cold-turkey because bf-ing all night was not helping her sleep. Otherwise, I would have been happy to continue.

Plenty of time for developing independence. Agree with mummypossom.

[kels666]

My 11 mth old gets 4 x feeds per day. He can drink milk from a cup - caught him a number of times drinking his sister's cow's milk. I'll keep on feeding him as long as he wants me to. The only thing I'm strict about is night feeds. He doesn't need them at this age and I refuse to give them. He gets a cup of water in his cot (mean mummy that I am!)