Page 5 | To ask for your thoughts on extended breastfeeding?

awmamma · 2019-08-22T11:46:31+00:00

Catching up on Teen Mom UK and watching the bit about Charlie telling Shannon it was weird to still be breastfeeding her 2.5 year old. Is it really that weird?

SaffronFields · 23/08/2019 16:15

Absolutely love breastfeeding my now 14 month old. She is such a Mummy’s girl and we have a very special bond that we wouldn’t have had without bf. She had conjunctivitis recently and it was the only way to comfort her.

I’ll keep feeding her until she no longer wants to. I’d recommend breastfeeding to anyone, I almost have up after a few weeks as it hurt so much but friends told me to persevere and I’m so glad I did!

ethelfleda · 23/08/2019 16:26

No. It’s not weird.
I’ve another thread on breastfeeding- my son has abruptly stopped at 22 months. If a child doesn’t want to nurse, they won’t. You most definitely cannot force them.

CmdrCressidaDuck · 23/08/2019 16:28

I fed DC1 to a little before 3. Weaned him then because I was 4/5 months pregnant with his sibling and didn't fancy tandeming or dealing with the impact of colostrum on his system during potty training.

DC2 still feeding at 18mo and will continue til, I dunno, I feel I want to stop or he does. One thing I do notice is that when a bug runs through all the kids in our nanny share, DC2 often skips it entirely or gets a shorter version than the others. (I, tragically, get it full force, presumably because he's getting all the good antibodies). I probably would've found it weird when I had no kids and had never breastfed, but that was symptomatic of my ignorance and of our crappy culture, which has managed to instil some very weird ideas and practices indeed around baby feeding and milk. Fortunately, once I started breastfeeding I felt able to just go with something that was so obviously working so well for both of us, and I have thanked my stars for its benefits a zillion times since DC1 turned 1.

BooseysMom · 24/08/2019 07:14

i can assure you that a breastfeeding toddler is absolutely not in a babylike state. The difference between feeding a lively toddler and a sleepy newborn is astronomical. The breastfeeding relationship changes and grows just as the child does

This is spot on. My 5.5 yr old is only just starting to lose interest except sometimes when he has had a bump and he wants "moo" as a comfort tool. He used to say "milky" and now he calls it Moo like its a pet! If my m-in-l snd s-in-l knew this, they'd destroy me. One dried up ages ago but the other keeps producing. I think it's amazing tbh

MarthasGinYard · 24/08/2019 07:24

'I saw a mum on this morning still breastfeeding her 9 year old.
I cant see how that would benefit a child.
And I thought it was strange.'

9

Bloody hell

heartburn888 · 24/08/2019 07:50

Each to their own really but I’ll be stopping when my child has a full set of teeth and can eat a ham sandwich

sungreenleaf · 24/08/2019 08:08

Sandyy2k - you really are wrong. I stopped feeding my 2.5 year old because I hated it after a while and had done for months but she wasn't ready to stop. I don't understand this keeping her as a baby - I didn't even enjoy her being a baby particularly!! Plus I had another baby and still fed her.

I fed her because it was nutritionally and emotionally great for her. I did it for her.

pooboobsleeprepeat · 24/08/2019 08:18

Do you drink cows milk? An adult drinking milk made for a baby calf is weird.
Not bfing a 2yo

TheBadCop · 24/08/2019 08:22

Each to their own really but I’ll be stopping when my child has a full set of teeth and can eat a ham sandwich

so no milk for your DC once it has teeth? really?

K2608 · 24/08/2019 08:31

I have just finished feeding my 2.5 year old. It felt like the right time to stop feeding her. To me, it was the most natural thing. From 12 months she had a bottle a day whilst I was at work but she definitely preferred 'mummy milk!'

0lga · 24/08/2019 09:48

Each to their own really but I’ll be stopping when my child has a full set of teeth and can eat a ham sandwich

Yup, best to stop all that free milk full of all that good stuff that can’t be replicated and get them onto cows milk full of antibiotics and growth hormones. Or better still, fruits shoots and cola.

Moominfan · 24/08/2019 09:51

Yup, best to stop all that free milk full of all that good stuff that can’t be replicated and get them onto cows milk full of antibiotics and growth hormones. Or better still, fruits shoots and cola.

That escalated quickly

Moominfan · 24/08/2019 09:52

This is spot on. My 5.5 yr old is only just starting to lose interest except sometimes when he has had a bump and he wants "moo" as a comfort tool. He used to say "milky" and now he calls it Moo like its a pet! If my m-in-l snd s-in-l knew this, they'd destroy me. One dried up ages ago but the other keeps producing. I think it's amazing tbh

Breastfeeding a 5 years old...amazing wouldn't be my choice of words

Cherryade8 · 24/08/2019 09:55

It's just breastfeeding, nothing extended about it. I bf my first dc to 22 months then stopped and bf my second dc until nearly 4 years. As they got older it was just at bedtime as I was working during the day. I think they benefitted from the nutrition and we both benefitted from the cuddles/time together. What anyone else thinks I dont care, they can raise their kids how they like.

ethelfleda · 24/08/2019 10:17

Breastfeeding a 5 years old...amazing wouldn't be my choice of words

No, but then you’re probably a bit ignorant.

Moominfan · 24/08/2019 10:33

No, but then you’re probably a bit ignorant.

Touched a nerve

CecilyP · 24/08/2019 11:03

so no milk for your DC once it has teeth? really

You’ve written that as if you’re incredulous at this strange behaviour. The poster did say a full set of teeth, so some time around 2 - so not really odd at all.

TheBadCop · 24/08/2019 11:21

You’ve written that as if you’re incredulous at this strange behaviour. The poster did say a full set of teeth, so some time around 2 - so not really odd at all.

well, she clearly said that her DC once having a full set of teeth will get ham sandwiches. not drinks. And yes, I do find it odd to not give milk in any shape or form to a 2 year old. maybe I am weird to expect a 2 year old to get nutrition in solid form only.

MRex · 24/08/2019 11:34

The NHS recommends 12oz milk or two servings of food made from milk (e.g. yoghurt or cheese) up to age 5. Stopping all milk at age 2 with no medical reason seems foolhardly to me; it's creating unnecessary difficulties in trying to fill up the child with all the calcium, fat and protein they would normally get in dairy form.

Those breastfeeders with difficulty from biting - it's worth having a big push on teaching the baby not to. I've loudly said "ouch" for any bite from day 1, mostly they are just teething pain, but DS tries really hard never to bite even when he's teething now. If he's starts being silly then I just remind him "tongue" and he does a kind of silly-me grin then pokes his tongue right out. It's definitely saved my poor nipples, I was quite worried with initial teething.

CecilyP · 24/08/2019 11:38

well, she clearly said that her DC once having a full set of teeth will get ham sandwiches. not drinks. And yes, I do find it odd to not give milk in any shape or form to a 2 year old. maybe I am weird to expect a 2 year old to get nutrition in solid form only.

No she didn’t. She said, ‘I’ll be stopping’ which on a thread about breastfeeding meant stopping breastfeeding, no stopping all available drinks!

JacquesHammer · 24/08/2019 11:40

Breastfeeding a 5 years old...amazing wouldn't be my choice of words

And yet you don’t have the courage of your convictions to actually be honest. One wonders what your motives were 🙄

ShiftHappens · 24/08/2019 11:44

No she didn’t. She said, ‘I’ll be stopping’ which on a thread about breastfeeding meant stopping breastfeeding, no stopping all available drinks!

why is it that people think BF a 2 year of is odd because they have teeth but don't find it odd to give their DC cow's milk. after all, the DC can eat a sandwich and doesn't need breast milk. Why doesn't the same logic apply to cow's milk - just replace it with sarnie?

Strugglingtodomybest · 24/08/2019 11:50

I don't think it's weird, each to their own. I fed both mine until they were 1, then ds1 gave it up himself and with ds2 I stopped it because I wanted to.

CycleWoman · 24/08/2019 11:57

This thread is fascinating. Echos much of the negativity I have heard in real life.

‘Beyond x age it’s just for mum’- these people have not come into contact with a BF 2 year old, they love it.

‘They can have cows milk after one’. Sure they can but they can also continue to have human milk made uniquely for them.

‘It makes them needy’- they are two of course they are needy! BF meets an awful lot of their needs

It’s just a cultural thing. In our culture formula is the norm and people aren’t used to seeing children BF (I was asked when I was stopping from 3 months!).

CecilyP · 24/08/2019 11:57

I think because cows milk is taken in many different forms - yoghurt, cheese, ice cream, poured on cereal. DS didn’t really drink cows milk as such when I stopped breastfeeding - very dilute squash was his tipple of choice. Though these days would be water of course!