to ask why there is so much negativity breastfeeding over 1s?

[rollerbladersrule]

DS is still breastfed, he is 13 months so it is not often, just on waking, to go to bed and sometimes once in the day for a nap or if feeling poorly.

I didn't aim to breastfeed longterm and my initial goal was to atleast get to 6 months but it just worked for us and it is now a lovely comfort and I also enjoy it, I am the only one left amongst baby group friends but their babies (same age) have formula or cows milk in its place at the same times DS would have a feed. Everytime feeding is raised in conversation one will ask "when will you stop" "Does he still need breastmilk" "he will be too old soon".

I find this odd when it comes from mothers also still giving their babies milk and most give a bottle rather than a cup so they are doing practically the same but I would never dare ask if they are too old for milk or too old for a bottle.

My DM asks me regularly if he still needs to be breastfed and how "unnecessary" it is now and she is convinced it is why he is clingy (I'd say more because it has just been him and I since he was very young -single parent) and says it is bad for his teeth.

I don't understand the negativity, I know its a choice that some may not be comfortable with but if a child has cows or formula milk it isn't questioned its just dropped when the child is ready.

Broomstick I'll have to take your word for it as I have no cleavage

duffy - same. I'm still bfing my ds. He's 2yo next week. He won't drink any other type of milk - physically shudders when he tries it, so my milk is all the milk he gets.

Not that I give a shit what others think when I feed him as often as I like/for whatever reason (hunger/thirst/comfort) in public. They can all fuck off. Not that I've ever really noticed and negativity. Perhaps because I'm not looking for it?

lookingforadvice I feel like the comments on breastfeeding in public vs a bottle/dummy is the kind of comments I was talking about as these aren't the same. Bottles aren't advised after a certain age as they should then be having their milk from a cup. If you saw a toddler having a cup of milk would this offend you?

roller I was not "offended" by the lady bfing her toddler at the swimming pool, I eye rolled because it was so unnecessary. Breasts nor breast feeding in public do not offend me. Funnily enough, I have breasts, was breastfed myself and breastfed my DS (albeit only for a few weeks).

No, I've already said above that a cup is what I would expect to see a toddler drinking out of. The perception about bottles and dummies is along the same vein, that they are generally "for babies".
Bf'ing to the extent that you need to suddenly do it in a swimming pool is very much "for babies" IMO. Most of the posters on here who bf past one have said that why tend to bf only a few times a day, not all day long, as you would a smaller baby.

I didn't mean that in response to the swimming pool, your original comment said if you saw a toddler BF in public you would eye roll as you would with a bottle or dummy.

But if a toddler drinking milk from a cup is acceptable in public in the day why not a breast? It is not a dig at you I'm just curious. I wouldn't be bothered to express milk for DS to have in a cup as that is far too much effort just for a strangers approval and would hardly buy formula/cows milk just for out and about when I have a free supply with me 24/7.

Ah, see above - I retracted that comment as actually, it's not true; I was wrong. I think the only time I've even noticed an older child being breastfed was said swimming pool, and I explained why this made me eyeroll.

And obviously it is completely different where a toddler won't / can't drink milk. Of course no one in their right mind would express all
the time, such a faff, especially for day two "feeds" a day.

I'm still bf my 3 year old. She is very much not clingy and is a daddy's girl. I didn't intend to bf this long, I had just aimed for 6 months. I'm really pleased that we've been able to continued to bf as there are a lot of health benefits for dd.

My ds only has milk in a cup first thing, and then he has a bottle last thing before bed. He has water the rest of the time, unless he specifically asks for milk, so I don't really think of milk as something a toddler drinks at random times of the day. But just to make my point crystal clear, if my DS asked for milk, whether in a cup or not, in a swimming pool, I would expect him to wait, at 21 months.

So it's ok for your DS to have a night time bottle which goes against current advice( no bottles after one)
But feeding a toddler which is recommended isn't ok.
How do you she was feeding to make a point? Could she have looked round to see if there was some judgy mcjudge ready to tell her off? Cause that's what's happened the last time I feed my DS in public.

All that matters is that we feed our children. The choices that others make are not our own, and should not concern us.

My mum's the only person whose ever voiced a negative opinion! DS is still feeding at 22months, I'm soooo ready to stop but he has other ideas.

Making the cup-fed child wait is because it’s not convenient to feed them, you don’t have access to the cup etc. This doesn’t apply to the bf child, so why make them wait, does it teach them something? I would not have fed in the swimming pool but this is because I’d expect to be judged not because it was wrong.

I wouldn't have bf in a swimming pool. If dd needed a feed for whatever reason I would not seen the point of staying in the water. She obviously had enough of swimming and needed to settle and feed so I would get out and wrap her up and feed her. But I did bf until she was 2.5 and received frequent negative comments about tha

Don’t do it past 4 months in my family due to severe vit d iron and calcium deficiencies being inherited - no point breast feeding if you can’t give any goodness to the child.

I had to explain to several people that there's nothing wrong at all with formula feeding

how did that come to be?

I'd get positive comments about my breastfeeding, to which I would say thank you. Then the comments would go on towards berating mothers who formula fed. I wasn't having that.