Do you have any opinions on how long is 'too long' to breastfeed your child?

[elephantonacid]

Feeling awfully judged and wondering if anyone has an opinion on this?

What you produce is not milk , don’t fool yourself only because it’s white . I understand it provides some comfort for your child but it definitively doesn’t provide nutrition. Sorry but Little Britain comes to mind here 😂he goes to nursery, he’s out of nappies , he feeds himself, I would stop before it became a problem.

Yes maybe I didn't articulate that very well.

What benefit exactly?

My nearly 3 yo chases me for bf, still feeds 2-3 times a day, and cries himself into hysterics if he doesn’t get it. It’s not about me at all. But his needs. He sees bf as comfort, the milk seems to help when he’s cold or under the weather, and he often processes his day at the breast. Lol he tells me about everything that’s happened to him at nursery during the day

Yes sorry I know that, I was asking CoatalWave what they thought you were getting from it as they thought you bf for you not your child

Not sure where you’ve got this from?

Breastmilk adapts to the child’s needs. Obviously a 4 year old won’t need as much nutrition from breastfeeding as a baby, but breasts still provide valuable antibodies tailored to the child’s needs.

Of course with that level of ignorance Little Britain will come to mind 🙄

Did you just say, it's not milk? Your opinion on it is your opinion but it most certainly is milk 😂

I never ask my toddler if she wants to breastfeed. She asks me when she wants some.

Ah sorry. My bad.

WHO thinks it’s still breastmilk and that it provides nutrition. New emerging research even says kids bf until 4 seem to live longer and healthier due to the dna transmission that occurs. I think I’ll believe them over some random troll thank you very much.

Once milk supply is well established it's much more flexible I've found. In both directions actually. So I'm going away for a few days this weekend, I'm taking my pump but don't expect to need to use it more than once a day (DD feeds much more often than that!). And when I get back, she'll soon enough have me back to usual production.

What the fuck do you think breast milk is if not milk?

what about me? I’ve got a 3 year old and a baby. Am I producing milk for them or your mythical nutrition free white liquid?

Oh dear lord. I expected the replies to be more educated than this.
I'm trying to cut down on my nearly three year old's feeds. Sometimes I say no or later when we're sitting together on the sofa. Now that is for MY benefit. Toddlers love breastfeeding

Haven't RTFT but I suspect it's good to continue as long as the child wants to, probably a bit like taking a probiotic. I don't believe the nutrition benefits have really been fully studied so I disagree with the assumption that extended breastfeeding is just for comfort. For example, I have read that babies breastfed to age 1 are less likely to develop Crohn's disease but the study stopped following the kids past age 1 - so maybe we should feed to 2! Or 3! Or 5! Who knows.

DD has allergies and a higher than average likelihood of developing Crohns so I will breastfeed her at least to age 2 and a half. I only want to stop when I conceive the next child.

Feeding at age 4 is a fantastic effort, you should be proud not having to worry about people judging you.

Just as long as mother and child both still want to.

I'm currently breastfeeding my 5 month old. I think age 2 will be my limit but that's more because I want my body back rather than finding it weird.

Personally though, I find 4+ too old to BF, in the same way I'd find it too old to have a dummy, or bottle, or to still be in nappies (barring SEN of course).

it definitively doesn’t provide nutrition

Can assure you it definitively does!

That doesn't sound like that op at all. It's fairly normal in a conversation to ask the other person to elaborate on their point or to explain it. I don't think the OP is asking unnecessarily why. If you voice an opinion you should be ready for people to ask you why you hold that opinion. What's wrong with that. If you don't have an answer to a why question then don't answer but it's not the OP's fault for asking why. She's just interested in this topic.

I should say that this is purely my own opinion though and what others do is none of my business!

Keep going for as long as it suits you both.

I carried on until almost three through multiple surgeries and serious health issues including a severely compromised immune system (DC not me).

It was not remotely about me, I did what I thought was best for DC at the time.

I was so pleased to stop by the time we got there.

Well you kind of need to be the one to answer that. If you think it's more for OP's needs than her child's, which needs of hers do you think she is fulfilling? You can't say 'it's about what mum wants' without having any basis for why she might want it surely? What do you think she's gaining (apart from the odd kick in the face)?

I think they lose the ability to latch properly once they lose their milk teeth so around 6 seems to be the natural stopping point. Personally I felt was done by 2/2.5, so that's when we stopped.

I think this is why it's better to wean children when they're a bit younger. As a child gets older and becomes more used to using the breast for comfort, there can be a lot of anxiety when it's withdrawn or not available.

I'm not judging women who opt to go on breastfeeding for longer - and I'm genuinely, really not because I think it's a personal decision. But for me, I think 18 months or so would be the max. I breastfed twins and I didn't have any issues with the transition, no anxiety etc. And I think that's because I didn't wait until they were 2-3yr old toddlers with greater cognitive awareness. But my decision/thoughts on the matter doesn't mean that other people are wrong to adopt a different approach.

A PP compared breastfeeding to hugs and I don't see it as the same. Hugs are a lifelong mechanism for comfort which never needs to change or be withdrawn, but that's not the same for breastfeeding!

Everyone's parenting journey is different. I have SEN DC and some of the decisions I make wouldn't necessarily be what others would do. As long as you're centring your child's needs and not your own, then do whatever feels right. It's not for me or anyone else to judge what you do for breastfeeding, and vice versa.

Yep, it takes absolutely ages to dry up completely. I combi-fed because of milk delay but limited BFs to 3-4 a day from 12 weeks for preference/convenience. You get more and more flexibility the longer you do it, and the constant feeding round the clock is only necessary early on to get your supply in.

BFs dropped to two a day from nine months and one a day from 18mo.

I had a month off BFing in the second year due to antibiotics and then just resumed one BF a day as DD still seemed interested.

It dropped to a few times a week from 2.5 years. She eventually stopped at 3.5 years but there was still milk there for several months afterwards (bearing in mind I am an under-supplier and have medical reasons for low supply).

I agree with this. I admit though that I’m in the judgy camp. Personally I was done after three months for both of mine, which others may also judge for not being long enough but if a kid’s running around, talking, eating and drinking independently then breastfeeding (in a first world country) seems strange to me.