Still feeding at 2….

Do what works for you. My first dc lost interest at about 22 months. My second dc just before 2 started to bite a pull so I decided enough was enough. It was a decision I was very happy with and felt it was time. If you are still both enjoying it then I think its absolutely fine.

I agree @toastwithbutter it's a rare thing to be able to talk about. I have one friend in the same boat as me and I'm grateful.

@selkieselkie thank you so much for your response, I wasn't expecting it but I needed to hear that. I'm really heartened by the idea that it could be gradual and gentle. I would love that for both of us when the time comes.

That's one of those weird Internet claims thats taken on a life of its own, but if you look into it at all, there's no way its true.

That being said, if bf a just 2 year old works for both parties, I see no possible reason to stop. It's perfectly normal behaviour for humans anyway.

3 1/2 here. I was very ready by then.

You don't have to stop if you don't want to OP. Tell those making comments that you're not sure why people are so interested in your tits but any more comments and you'll add another month on.

I think we can’t help but have all the ‘it’s all for mums benefit’ shamey type comments, in our psyche somewhere so there is a question about doing the right thing. I fed my youngest till approaching 4 and I’d never have believed I’d do that if you told me when I first had babies. Two yes, because I knew that was recommended. But before babies I didn’t and couldn’t understand how bf was part of my way of mothering, not just nutrition. It was how we cuddled and I comforted her, how she felt safe. You know all this. As she grew past two other methods came in as well and there was a gradual move away from bf; age 3-4 she probably only fed a handful of times per week. When it was time to stop it felt clear to me. I expect that’ll happen for you.

If you’re not ready to stop -DON’T.

I breastfed mine until she was 3.5 years and she chose to stop.

Who cares what others think. It is your body, your child and your choice!

I breastfed my son until he was just over two and a half . I fell pregnant and my body was just drained and I had to stop. I put little plasters on, I said ow no mummy’s sore . He didn’t like the first few days but once your over that it’s done. He will still pull down my top now but I just say no no your not a baby I’ll get you a cup x

https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/guest/ruth_kamnitzer.html

A fascinating insight into a very different breastfeeding culture.

It is biologically normal to breastfeed beyond babyhood.

Where I live there are lots of Neolithic burial sites and some of the skeletons that they've found are in our local museum. Lots of them have had isotope analysis done and there are signs saying "likely breastfed until age 3" or whatever. Clearly our ancestors didn't think it was weird so probably explains why neither you nor your little one are ready to stop.

I'm tandem nursing and my oldest nursling is 3 and doesn't seem inclined to stop any time soon!

Carry on as you are if you're both happy. I always think of it along the lines of, realistically how many babies am I going to have? I might not get this opportunity ever again, I'm not going to cut it short just because of some stupid comment someone made.

There's no shame in feeding to sleep.

I breastfed my youngest until just before her 3rd birthday.
She would have happily carried on, but I reached the point where I just needed to not have her all over me all the time 🫣🫣🫣🫣
Breastfeeding is a two-way relationship, and when it’s no longer working for one of you, it’s ok to pull the plug!
I started by using distraction during the day, or offering a drink or a snack instead when she asked to breastfeed. Carried on with her bedtime feed for a while, then one night she only latched for a minute or two and fell straight to sleep. She did that a couple of nights in a row and then the next night I just didn’t offer. She was happy to just have a cuddle and fall asleep.

If you're happy then no need to stop. It's just social expectations which are total rubbish.

My DS stopped when he was 5 as he started loosing teeth and couldn't. From about 2.5 it was only just before bed and yes, shame on me I did feed to sleep because I was shattered and really couldn't face changing it.

So I'd say do whatever works for you and your child.

As long as you both want to that's all that matters. You've done an amazing thing and it's still beneficial at two! Ignore other people - their opinions are so irrelevant.

I fed DS2 until he was 2.5. I didn’t mean to, but he was a staunch bottle and dummy refuser, a velcro baby who cried all. the. time! We also co-slept and had no sleep for the entire time - he fed every 45 mins through the night. I was half crazed from lack of sleep. Eventually realised that the co-sleeping and feeding was keeping us both awake, weaned and put him in his own room. Bingo! Next disturbed night was him coming in pissed from the pub years later!
You will find your own moment and reason to stop, or DC might decide for you as my DS1 did (aged 10 months).

My youngest went to 4 and 3 months! My older ones were 18 months and 2.5 yrs.

My milk supply dried up whenever I got to 3 months pregnant,so 2 of them weaned at 18months. The other 2 carried on naturally until 2.5yrs (and I thought that was long!) With my last I was a bit more relaxed, and didnt really have a set end date. Once she turned 3 I began to think about it more.

A few months later I was completely set on weaning and my milk was drying up through dieting. But then she got a really nasty virus, became dehydrated from a very high temp and raging sore throat, and had to be hospitalised. Breastmilk was one the thing she was taking willing to take.

That whole experience unsettled me so much, I carried on another whole year. She has bouts of croup in between too, and I figured she NEEDED the immunity boost.

You say you little one is small, I'd say your natural instinct to carry on is probably spot on. Keep going as long as you feel necessary! X

OP I don't think age 2 is weird personally, I don't think I could feed much longer than that personally but that's just me. But people are so judgemental about breastfeeding I totally get it! My baby just turned 6 months old and is EBF, and already I am getting comments like "how much longer are you going to breastfeed her for?", "she'll be one of those who is still breastfeeding in school if you don't stop soon", "she's going to get teeth soon and then what are you going to do?". She's only 6 months old, its perfectly normal to still breastfeed so I think these comments are ridiculous! Ignore people's opinions, it's not hurting you or your child, maybe avoid discussing it with the judgemental people and shut them down before they have time to get into conversation about it.

I fed DD up until her 4th birthday. I was ready to stop and started introducing the idea to DD around three and a half years, she was very sad to stop at that point so we agreed on 'stop when you're four', which she did, didn't even ask on her birthday. She had dropped right down, mostly it was just the first feed in the morning. Her older brother fed until 2 yes, I encouraged him to stop when I was pregnant because I was sore and uncomfortable.

For DD, breastfeeding gave her such comfort, could calm her when nothing else would. On a practical note it was the only way I could get her to nap at home (she would sleep out in the buggy). She's 16 yrs old now, bf seems a long way behind us. DH was always supportive, which helped. My DM did comment from time to time but in the end she could see that I wasn't going to be embarrassed out of something which had such benefits to DD

I bf one child until almost 6, but that was very intermittent, by that stage. Another child until 5 and this current little one is almost 2 with no plans to stop anytime soon. If you're both still happy and your DH is supportive, don't worry about what other people think! It's such a lovely thing to do into toddlerhood and really handy when they pick up every bug going!

Two is tiny! I fed one of my children to 5. At some point she stopped asking out of the house so my family didn't know she was still breastfeeding.
At one point I must have decided I wasnt feeding through the night, then I think we went to just at bedtime. By the time she stopped she'd only been asking about twice per week and it just naturally dwindled.

Just to reassure you, when my daughter was 3 I couldn't imagine her ever giving up. I wanted to let her self wean but in the end I did encourage it as I was tandem feeding her and her little brother and it was just getting a bit much. I limited the time she fed for until she just stopped asking. It was gradual and gentle and there was no upset from her at all. She was 4 when she had her last feed. It doesn't have to be distressing.

4 was the eldest I definitely till. The others were 2 and 3. They were still getting benefits, as was I. One of my children got chicken pox so bad they were in their mouth and they stopped eating. Thankfully they were still feeding. It's a lovely experience feeding your child. I had family that were not very supportive but it wasn't their business

I fed until almost 3. By then it was just once a day when she woke up first thing. It was a nice gradual finish and she self-weaned so it felt really natural. Didn’t have any problems with milk drying up or anything because there was barely any left anyway. Wasn’t emotional either because it was a minor part of our routine but that point anyway. So I didn’t miss it at all, it just kind of fizzled out. think it’s a nice, easy way to stop breast-feeding, just letting it run its course. We never did it out of the house or anything and no one ever saw us doing it and I didn’t really talk about it so it’s wasn’t really a social issue either, no one was commenting that it was getting weird or anything.

Also, apparently average global age of weaning is between 4 and 7… were the weird ones really for stopping before then!

I fed both my children until they were 4. When my daughter was born I intended to breastfeed for a year but a year came and went and, like you, I had no reason to stop and she definitely wasn't ready. I did start to feel a little self conscious by the time she was 18 months and that was when I discovered the Breastfeeding Older Babies and Beyond Facebook group and also read Breastfeeding Uncovered by Dr Amy Brown. I also read an article about breastfeeding in Mongolia and started to wish I lived there! I learned so much and felt more confident in my decision to continue until either my baby or I was ready to stop.

I always think it's strange to be asked why I fed for so long... the benefits never go away. All the reasons you started breastfeeding in the first place are still valid. When mine were going through phases of fussy eating it was reassuring to know they were still getting nutrition from me. When they were ill they would find comfort in breastfeeding and so would be getting some nourishment even if they had little appetite. When they were hurt it provided comfort and natural pain relief. It helped them to relax and fall asleep at nap time and at night... the list goes on.

Please don't be influenced by family. Stop only if your baby wants to or if you want to. It may be culturally weird but it is biologically normal to feed well beyond babyhood.