If you do 'attachment parenting'/BLW will you really let your child breastfeed until any age they do?

[porridgeisbae]

I just started watching this Dr. Phil episode.

If you do 'baby led weaning' or similar, would you really let your child breastfeed or suck on your boob to whatever age they want? Or would you have a cut off point really even if the child wanted to carry it on?

I'm aware that in other cultures they often breastfeed until an older age than we do.

My friend still breastfeeds her 3yo on demand and as much as I try my best not to be it does make me cringe slightly. I do understand it's not about me, but yeah that wouldn't be for me.

Im always very surprised by people who say their milk was very much there on only 1/2 feeds a day.

Mine started to drop rapidly as soon as a feed in the wee hours was dropped. Not much after at about 10m old my period returned and despite him still having (or trying to have) a feed at least 4 or 5 times a day, my milk supply then plummeted fast, he basically got very very frustrated trying to feed. It became an unpleasant experience and when around 1 i offered him a cup of milk he grabbed it in relief. He stopped feeding almost immediately, he had never been one who woke much at night.

With my second it was similar. Dropping below 4 feeds a day and with no feed overnight (i.e. between about 10pm & 5am) my milk supply just went really quickly. Neither were really comfort suckers - they didn't go in for dummies or thumb sucking either.

That's interesting! I've often wondered why my boy hasn't attached to a comforter or toy. He's never been interested. When I see other toddlers with them (and my own Nieces and nephews had them). He has been the only breastfed one.

Really unnecessary post!

You clearly haven't got a bloody clue how attachment works.

As DT’s are now in their early 20’s I’ve the advantage of being able to look back at their life. Neither had no issues with having a secure attachment to DH and I. Happy babies, toddlers and children.

I definitely didn’t want them to have any anxiety when we were separated from them. They always knew they were loved and that we would come to collect them after a day at nursery or school.

My two eldest were ff and didn't have a comforter/favourite toy, they just weren't the type of kid to want/need one

Please pay no attention to that poster. Ridiculous thing to say to you!

Not saying anything about the PPs children having a bad attachment but this poster is right about separation anxiety. It's very normal and it's actually a bit worrying if they have none at all at any point.

@S23 this is so true for us. My DD hardly ever tantrums. I was never sure if it was the breastfeeding or just her.

We didn’t worry that DT’s were happy social babies - made life easy for us and them. Nothing better than collecting them from nursery to be greater with big smiles and them laughing waving goodbye to their nursery key workers.

The WHO recommends two years of breastfeeding.

@Dramatic I thought the same thing

Yes I did.

Once past 1.5/2ish they only BF morning and bedtime or in the day if unwell.

All stopped naturally by 3.5 years.

Don't know why people seem to think natural weaning has to mean a child feeding like a newborn and a mum never having their boobs away.

I thought BLW was about how you give food rather than to do with breastfeeding?

DD1 stopped at about 3
DD2 at 5ish
DD3 at 7

I thought they stopped at 6m when they started eating food when I had my first. I thought feeding a school age child was odd when my second was a baby. I thought feeding two at a time was abit much until I had the third...

Definitely wasn't planned here, just happened that way, they stopped when they wanted to. I don't actually remember the last time I fed either of the older two, it just petered out.

@Daisies12 I wasn't sure what to call it, I suppose I mean 'baby led weaning-off.' :)

I breastfed to 2 1/2, 3 and just turned 5.
It became uncomfortable to feed past the ages of the first two due to pregnancies.
The 5 year old was probably down to less than once per week by tee time she stopped and somewhere between 3 and 4 I'd arranged it so she only fed once first thing on a morning and then before bed. She has her first two illness a few weeks after she'd stopped. We were abroad and i wished I'd waited to wean until after the holiday.

And both incorrect with regards to my DT’s.

I do miss the days boobs solved a lot of problems

I breastfed all my DC for quite a long time by most people's reckoning.

I think breastfeeding is something that feels completely normal whilst you are doing it, and completely bizarre the second you stop. Hence the polarised views you get, ie - "I breastfed till my child self-weaned after xx virus aged 13 months 8 days. Anyone who is breastfeeding a child aged over 13 months and 9 days is clearly doing it for themselves and has something severely wrong with them."

I guess everyone's different.

I can be away from DS for a few days and still very much still have milk when he wants it. Dropped the night feed at 7 months without any issue

I think it's the 'baby' bit. Babies don't tend to self wean, they can have a nursing strike but they need milk until two. If you'd said child led weaning I think that would make more sense, or natural term weaning.

The WHO recommends breast feeding until age 2. There are really only advantages to breastfeeding, do disadvantages, so what is the harm in continuing while mother and child are both happy? Regardless of what 'day and age' it is.