To think BF-ing a 2yr old is, um, weird?

[Lucy85]

Well what do you think? I know it's a very emotive subject, but I've seen it a couple of times and it makes me come over all strange.
I BFed my baby exclusively until 7 months when I went back to work, but the thought of doing it now is just plain odd, - not wrong, it's just I can't imagine doing it to someone who can walk, talk, get their own drinks, eats proper food and is too big to lie sideways on my lap.

in the UK bf a child of 4/5 is not the norm, so i can understand how you would find that strange. but in terms of normal for BF then 4/5 is not an abnormal age to BF a child to. it happens in lots of countries.

MissIng - the point re cow's milk is that seems rather odd to say that it's weird to give your child breast milk that was designed for them but totally normal (preferable even) to give them something designed for baby cows instead.

How can it be 'normal' to give our babies the milk from another species but need to have long debates, justification, slanging matches etc to feed them our own milk?

PS I'm not really a fully paid-up ebf, I'm just explaining someone else's point

PPS I am a vegan, so all that calves milk and unfertilised ovum stuff you mentioned is a bit weird for me actually

Oyama, can you back your statement up with research, please?

Cakeandroses some of us have no choice but to give milk from calves, especially when bf goes wrong. If i were in the fortunate position to have been able to bf than i probably would have gone on till 2 than weaned myself. But as I say each to their own what others do.

should be labelled calves milk actually.

good points cakes

going to stop now as am at risk of message deleted by mumsnet.

piglet i dont think cakes was saying there is anything wrong with giving cows milk.

i think what she was questioning was the concept that finds people criticising mothers who breastfeed (i.e; human milk for human babies) and see that as more strange than giving calves' milk to a human baby.

I find that odd too especially if they are able to bf but each to their own I guess. I dont want to go down the bf and ff debate. When i asked my friend whether she bf she said no its icky and yuck, I do find that attitude a bit strange

sausage, if some women bf their tots in public in a 'fuck you' manner, as you suggested, it's because of people's narrow-minded, judgemental attitudes towards the fact that they are bfing a toddler.

I believe it's accurate to say that most people in this country have absolutely no idea of the emotional and physiological benefits of bfing a child at ANY age, which continue into toddlerhood. Did you know, for example, that breast milk alters itself according to the child's nutritional needs? Let alone the phenomenal facts about immunity which I wrote about earlier. This stuff doesn't stop when a child reaches age 1.

Most people in the UK know absolutely nothing about bfing and breast milk, yet they hold strong prejudices against it and believe that their ignorance is acceptable. And they consider it perfectly acceptable and somehow more 'normal' for parents to use 'unnatural' (meaning not developed by nature) methods such as soft toys, dummies and formula milk in place of all the roles that breastfeeding fulfils.

All credit to any woman brave enough to stand down such blissfully knowledge-free prejudice in such a public way.

booyhoo - in a nutshell!

I used to think it was all about the mother too, but Dd just keeps on...she wears shoes, talks, asks, going to nursery school in September...Now I think it's a great thing to do and she's very very healthy.

Speedy I do know about the physical and psychological benefits of bf thank you but do hold my views about bf beyond a certain age. And yes it is acceptable to hold differing views from the collective, as long as you are not rude or offensive, this is a democracy. I actually find your last sentence a bit narrow. Not everyone is able to bf for a variety of factors so yes we do have to use formula to nourish our young or they will die, and dummies are also used by mums who breasfeed too dont think that they are not Speedy.

Hi Solo!!! How you doing? You've just reminded me about when I watched the 'Extreme Bfing' doco on C4. I watched it twice: once before becoming a mother, then again after becoming a bfing mother. The first time, I thought it was a bit disturbing. The second time (i.e. once I knew what I was talking about from research and first-hand experience) I thought most of it really wasn't a big deal.

piglet - why do you find my last statement narrow? I have not cast any judgement on people using these methods. I hold no judgement against people using these methods. I said that they are 'unnatural' because they are not developed by nature, and I mentioned them because many people believe that they are more acceptable and more normal than ebf. That is a narrow judgement.

Thank god for formula then or my dd would not have got the nourishment that she needed. Dummies are also used by bf mums too, thank goodness for them it certainly helped to calm my colicky baby too. No I dont agree with dummies and bottles past a certain age either, thats why I weaned my dd off them before 3.

Dummies and bottles certainly should be withdrawn by...what is it, age 1? That's because they're bad for development of straight teeth. Also kids don't need formula milk after age 1, do they?

Until recently I considered using formula milk at nights to assist with DD's sleep when she gets a bit older, then I did some research and decided it wasn't for me. Although I don't want to use it, I certainly don't judge people who do. Were it not for some of the things that made me decide against it I'd quite possibly use it for night feeds.

piglet you seem to be finding offence where there is none. speedy didn't say there was anything wrong with dummies or formula. she wasn't criticising those who use either.

Hiya Speedy! I'm still breathing honey! how is that bump going? when are you due or have I missed the entire event in my brain fog existance?!!

I bfed Ds for 18 months and enjoyed it. I only gave up because I was ill(before having a dx)and my Mum said she thought I should give up for my own health sake...
Dd just wont give it up. She's here now demanding booby because 'I haven't had it yet'. I'll be going up to bed in a minute and she'll cuddle up with me to feed and will be asleep in minutes(usually)all happy and snuggly! can't imagine stopping tbh, though I think maybe this is the last 6 months I'll be going for now

Hey solo - no more bermp for me! It was replaced by a beautiful DD whom I absolutely adore..

Funnily enough I've been thinking about bfing DD for longer than DS (did 14 mos) because my work situation has changed. I'm going to wait and see how she behaves - DS changed from a bfing addict to take-it-or-leave-it at 11 mos, so I carried on until he'd had his MMR jab so that he could continue to benefit from my immunity.

Knowing so much more now about the amazing properties of breast milk I am considering whether to bf DD for longer...I will wait and see what she decides.

Hope you have a lovely snuggle with your DD, it sounds like a very sweet way to bond.

No Boo not offended of course everybody is entitled to their opinions. Just trying to state that formula has to be used when there is no bm. It would have been fantastic to have continued to bf but it was not to be. Given the choice of paying £7 for formula a time and giving something that was free and natural bf wins hands down.

booyhoo - yup, you understood me perfectly. To be fair, though, I think piglet got it in the end.

You know, piglet, there are some countries which have a 99% bfing rate. AFAIK there's no physiological reason why this should be so and why our bfing rates should be so low by comparison. I think that for UK women who struggle with bf (and I certainly did at the beginning, with both DCs) and give up, it seems to indicate that for some reason the level of support they are receiving is inadequate. That's a societal thing - not just about how the authorities (mws, hvs, bf counsellors) should support them, but also about how family and friends should support them.

What a crying shame that for something as easily remediable (is that a word?!) as quality of support, so many women give up and so many children lose the extraordinary benefits that bfing confers. I wish I knew how we as a society could remedy this.

that's ok, i just felt that you were reading something into the posts that wasn't there (criticism of formula feeders). of course formula is a fantastic thing and has, no doubt, saved many lives when no BM is available.

Congrats to you Speedy! I was away from MN for a while and obviously missed the anouncement! well done to you! want pictures.
Are we FB friends? I'm Willow Grace.

Off to bed now to snuggle and bfeed...night!