To find breastfeeding a 2 yr and 3 month old unsettling and slightly repulsive?

[Thinkingpositively]

I am guessing this thread might upset some people but really...? DH and i were shocked to learn someone we know is breastfeeding a child who can walk and speak and self determine...dh wouldn't discuss it over lunch...

I am still feeding my 3yo- just at bedtime and sometimes in the morning. I never thought I would, but it has just turned out that way. I'm sure she will stop eventually, it has just become normal to us now.

Whenever I mention it to people (I don't shout about it but don't hide it) I am surprised at the number of people who do feed toddlers aged 2 and beyond- it's more common than you think!

It's called extended bf op (that is, past 1 year old) and is quite common afaik.
Just not something I can get remotely worked up about, along with ff/bf, disposables/washables, sahm/wohm ....life's too short man!

Why is it any of your business? Get over it.

It's not something we really see to get used to. A baby until 9 months-ish will need feeds in the day, so that is seen in public and considered normal, less babies will be fed publicly beyond then as fewer feed through the day. I can't remember the statistics but the number who exclusively breastfeed at 6 months is low, and only a few percent around 12 months, so extended BFing is a minority activity whether public or private.

I fed until 13- DS1 would have continued to accept, but I was ready to stop. I wanted the freedom to be able to be out of the house at bedtime, and I wanted my periods back to help concieve DC2. I know a few people that have continued until 2ish years, and I have found it an odd sight watching a child running around then snuggling up to feed. Saying that I'd find it odd seeing a child of that age snuggling up in the middle of the day for a bottle. Maybe it's just that I'm used to an infant dropping off the day feeds and leaving their final feeds to times that are normally in the home. I know they happen, but they're unseen.

Nothing right or wrong on it. I have an open mind about how long I'll feed DS2 for. A year again seems like a nice target, it could be less, it could be more.

Haha Mrs I thought you meant 13 years for a second there

Op yabu. I know I am a little late to this thread & I haven't read it all but I have to say that I find your attitude repulsive, not breastfeeding a child. A CHILD! It is completely norm an healthy to breastfeeding to 2 and much beyond. Get a grip.

It's unusual (though that appears to be changing) for a toddler to still bf but hardly repulsive.

My DS put his postman pat toy on my boob the other day so he could have some milk. Feeding postman pat is weird I must admit. Feeding a toddler is completely normal. Not to mention good for them and for the mother, and a lovely thing to do. Yab very u op. what an uptight couple you two must be.

I can't believe how many of these threads get started!

I can imagine how magical & amazing it is to bond with your baby like that, but BF scares me, I agree with the idea of it 100%, but it's an issue of mine. The nurses were awful about it aswell.

chocolatemartini I watched a Postman Pat episode the other day where he was doing competition-standard ice skating. So that's where he gets the energy

TB perfectly H - I found extended bf-ing unsettling and repulsive till I had my DS, and said as much to my DH, although I can't remember whether it was over lunch or not. It's just one of many things you stop being judgey about once you're in that situation. DS is 18mo - I'll probably stop bf-ing when he wants to.

Good luck op

If you and your husband find something as natural and lovely as breastfeeding a child so disgusting I am fascinated to know how you managed to conceive a child...

And would love to know how you will both cope with the birth!

OP - you'd be surprised how common natural term breastfeeding is. DD is 23 months and has a breastfeed and a cuddle at bedtime. Lovely way of connecting after a busy day, especailly if I have been at work til late on. Loads of people I know have "admitted" they breastfed long-term, it is just that people keep it quiet, in case, you know, people call them "repulsive".

Some mums, like me would love to have been able to breast feed Full stop.
:(

Another one here is who is still bf at 15 months. Never planned it - it's just never seemed right to stop while DS enjoys it, gets comfort and when he's been poorly has been the only thing he can keep down. It's also sooo cute now that he asks for it.
We only feed now in the mornings and at bedtime so you would never know (unless you asked) that we're still going.

Must be an extra kick in the teeth to hear it described as repulsive, Happy :(

OP, women don't really plan to BF for over a certain amount of time, you know, it's more a case of BFing still being a worthwhile experience for both, the child most of all, of course, so why stop because of some arbitrary age hang-up.

I have 4 kids, BFd all of them. My sons self weaned at 11.5. 12, and 13 months respectively - just lost interest, I stopped offering, they never asked, very natural. My DD was a different story. She never self weaned. In the end I had to forcibly wean her using that horrible tasting stuff you put on your fingernails (It is safe!) on my nipples when she was 2 1/2, because I was really poorly and needed antibiotics which were not safe for BFing. What would you have suggested I do when she 12 months, she was finding so much comfort and eventually, quite literally shoving my shirt out of the way? Should I have stopped her then at enormous emotional cost to her - she was incredibly attached to BFing? Even now at 3 she tries to out her hand down my shirt and play with my boobs when she is tired or poorly. I am proud that I gave her what she needed for (almost) as long as she needed it. By the end it was mostly morning and night, not multiple times a day.

Op, if you find the thought (not even the sight )of feeding a toddler "unsettling and slightly repulsive",wait til you discover what happens when you give birth. And afterwards.

And you certainly won't cope whenyou discover how most women actually get pregnant in the first place. It's all much MUCH messier and more intimate than breast feeding

I wouldn't do it personally but its none of my business what anyone else does!

OP, I am a mother of four. Three of my children were bf for approx a week. One didn't bf at all. I am sick of the "breast is best" campaign because it guilt trips ff's and is just not always true.

My children are all happy and healthy. My bf friends babies are sickly and clingy.

With regards to bf for extended periods of time, I was involved, years ago, in a custody case where a mother was taking her ten year old daughter out of school at lunch time to bf her. This was not in the best interests of the child and THAT was repulsive. At 2? Or even 3? I don't find it repulsive, but I wouldn't have done it myself.

no. none event really, it follows WHO advice about how best to feed a child.

I think the biscuit, and a cuppa, and a post on the back should go to them breastfeeding mum :-)

JesusinTheCabbageVan

Reasons that breastfeeding a two year old is repulsive:

• Two year old is old enough to be sexually attracted to a woman's breasts, is breastfeeding for sexual pleasure rather than nutrition, therefore a form of incest. Especially creepy if it's a boy (or a lesbian girl two-year-old).
• Mother is breastfeeding for her own sexual pleasure, therefore a form of child abuse. Clearly after the first six months breastfeeding suddenly becomes sexy. Also, women who want their nipples sucked erotically would have a hard time finding a man who wants to do it, which is why they have to resort to their own kids.
• Mother is breastfeeding to foster dependency in the child, therefore a form of psychological abuse (and a sign that the mother is mentally ill). This is especially detrimental to the child, because it is trapped in the abusive relationship. Meanwhile other two-year-olds are no longer dependent on their parents for food, milk, help with toilet, comfort, cuddles, stimulation, tucking in, answers to questions about the world, guidance, love, companionship, security, approval, stories, getting dressed or play and are able to leave home and live independently.

Sparkly at 10 and being taken out of school. Far out!

Personally, I think slugging back juice squeezed from the breasts of a cow is more disgusting, when you think about it.