I breastfed my child til she was 6yr old AMA

[needmoresleepnow]

DD was breastfed til she was 6. Ask me anything

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captainkirk yes she remembers. She is not in the slightest bit embarrassed and never was. She is proud of the fact and is happy to explain the benefits to anyone who says otherwise

At bedtime, did you feed and then brush her teeth? I’d be worried about the impact on her teeth, but presumably there are ways to ensure the milk doesn’t cause decay.

Good for you OP

May I ask- in what way did it help during toddler tantrum years?

I bf DS and I love it. he's only 10mo and I'm already getting bombarded with 'when will you stop?' did you get asked that a lot too?

If feeding is done correctrly the milk does touch the teeth Panda.

If it's for the health benefits why not just express it and give it in a cup or glass?

You wouldn't provide her any other drink via a teat I assume?

Props to you, op. I bf’d my daughter until she was three. The experience seemed to be mutually beneficial.

How did others react to your 6 year old being by bf?
I really do admire anyone who bf for as long as they can.
I couldn’t get any of my 4 to take it for longer then a few months.
But it certainly is a wonderful way to bond and totally agree about the health benefits.

Umizoomi the health benefits are more connected to the child if they feed directly as they introduce their germs into the mothers system and the mother produces antibodies for their child.
What is wrong with a child needing/wanting comfort?

How might those of us bond with our children who didn't breastfeed into year 2?

pandapie brushed then fed. When breastfeeding the mil doesn't pool in their mouth like with bottlefeeding so doesn't lead to decay.

gimble as a comfort and a distraction and General cure all!

umizoomi why create a job to do - expressing and sterilising - when my breast did a perfectly good job and we were both happy to? Aside from that it is not easy to express later on for most people. Plus the benefits to breastfeeding are enhanced by actually breastfeeding rather than just the milk itself

secretwitch

smellybean unless I told them no one knew as she only fed at bedtime by that age

BlanceM there are numerous ways to bond with your child. Breastfeeding was the one that stood out for me. That doesn't mean not BF means you haven't bonded.

I’m very pro breast feeding but I don’t find this lovely to be honest.

I’m very pro breast feeding but I don’t find this lovely to be honest.

Why?

continually can i ask why?

How long did you have no periods for?

I suppose in the same way I wouldn’t expect a six year old to have her nappy changed (special needs excepted) and so on. It’s something I connect with infants and babies, not school age children.

Dd was nearly as tall as me at 6

No chance

pebbles. 9 months - was gutted TBH she was still feeding loads at that stage!

continually the natural age of weaning is 4-7yrs In the UK we are woefully behind on natural term feeding and I can therefore understand why it is something you equate to a baby stage

martha height isn't directly related to their ability to feed

I don’t think any other developed country has a natural age of weaning beyond infancy.

continually I would have to check but regardless the biological natural weaning age is 4-7yrs

Why would you want a child bigger than a baby sucking on your breast. The image made me shudder!

sunstar you are entitled to your opinion. It wasn't as though I suddenly started to breastfeed a 6yr old tho! It is completely natural, albeit outside most people's ideas of the norm in the UK. For me the reason I did it was the health benefits to DD which have been immense

Are you one of those parents that doesn’t know how to tell your child no?

This isn’t to the op, but to other posters. My nephew has just started school (so 4.5) and still has a bottle of milk when he wakes up and before bed. Do you view that in the same way as you do extended breastfeeding?