Help me with facts for family member...

[Longtalljosie]

... who is having difficulty with my continued feeding of my 12 month old, and although she knows I'm planning to move to cow's milk soon, she can't get her head around the idea I don't want to move to follow-on milk. I've printed off "Reasons To Be Proud", but I think I'll need more... She asked this morning if DD still actually wanted to BF (as DD guzzled away at the boob). Sigh...

I'd like to have a proper chat about this tonight, so any useful info would be, well, useful.

Oh and as a sidebar - Saturday DD and I passed the one year BF mark. Yay me. Although I'm actually feeling got at rather than celebratory...

Well done :o

Who is this, and what business is it of hers?
Just tell her you are really pleased to have got this far, and hoping to get to at least...

Congratulations 20 months here, still not sure how.

Personally, I wouldn't bother trying too hard to convince her as you will get frustrated (or I would anyway)

Follow on milk is a con, and unneccessary. It may be ok for a FF baby after 6m as it is a bit cheaper than the infant first milks.

Your baby still benefits from breastfeeding in the same ways whether she is 10 months or 14 months, your milk doesn't suddenly change at 12m. Plus at 12m it is generally pretty easy, and nice, and a pleasant addition as well as varied diet, drinks of water etc.

You can offer cows milk when you want to, see how your DD gets on. There's no rush to change anything.

TBH if it was my sis, I would feel obliged to say that I will be feeding until 5 years at least, just to see her face.

Mind you, my sister was v shocked when she realised I was still feeding DS past 12months, I don't tend to go on about it except on here. But I just didn't get round to making him stop, and still haven't got round to it. I mean I will, when I can think of a reason to No, my mind is still blank.

I'm in the same position - I like to trot out the fact that worldwide, the average age to stop breastfeeding is 4 years old!

I recently read (sorry can't remember where so I might be an unreliable souce!) that the natural weaning age for humans is between 2.5 and 7 years old. So, if we all just let our babies get on with it we would all probably be feeding beyond 2.5 years never mind one year!

Its so frustrating when people try to persuade you that cows milk is best for your baby - tell her that cows milk was designed for calfs not human babies! Your breast milk has been designed just for your baby. This is a good link.

Congratulations on making it to 1 year. I am almost at the 5 month mark and hope to keep going just like you

I can't even imagine what would happen if I said that - I haven't even mentioned the WHO advice yet!

Hurrah for the one-year mark; well done you!

I had these conversations when I BFed past the 'magic' six-month mark, then a year and so on. It's easy to feel got at by family and friends, but often it's ignorance combined with concern for you. For instance, some of my family felt that giving up BF would be the cure for me being knackered, getting too thin etc. But actually I was down about going back to full-time work when DD was six months and BF was one of the things that really kept me going through a dark time.

So, my advice is to share your knowledge about the benefits of BF in the context of just how normal feeding beyond a year is, globally and historically, if not in our society. Or you could just leave a copy of 'The Politics of Breastfeeding' lying around

I do like the WHO advice about 2 years, it tends to make people raise their eyebrows and then they usually shut up!

Well done on your 1 year mark!

Could it be that your family member is feeling a bit guilty for not having bf her own DC for long? That can make people a bit hostile towards it.

good luck!

WHO Link Here

"who is having difficulty with my continued feeding of my 12 month old" - this thing is it is her problem.

Your only problem is making sure she doesn't make your life a misery.

Try the broken record technique..

I had quite a good chat with her in the end. She was worried by the Cow and Gate advert with that great big sippy cup.

Worried about it - in what way?

Sounds like a marvellous example as to why follow on/toddler formula advertising should be banned!

Some one may be able to correct me on this but as i understand it follow on milk was only invented as a tool to get round the ban on infant formula... Why would anyone want to feed their baby a marketing gimmick?

(surely even ffers can continue to use regular formula after six months?)

The iron in breastmilk is easily absorbed, unlike the iron in formula. So a breastfed toddler probably gets more iron than one on a "follow-on" milk.

MoonFaceMama Your right, formula advertising for babies under six months is banned. Follow on milk is an invension used to get round the ban. And a good reasion why they should just ban infant formula advertising altogether.

Yes you can continue to use regular formula untill 12months. I believe they say so on the tins to.

Longtalljosie your relative has just proven how addvertising works. I have a sister like this to she still believe's that certain baby products are better as supposidly advertised as being the best. Haven't been able to convice her otherwise.

As for good reasions to carry on BF and handling critisum try this website. Full of lots of usefull information

www.kellymom.com/bf/criticism.html

MrsTittleMouse - I did talk her through that, and also explained that comparing follow-on milk to cow's milk wasn't a straight comparison because you wouldn't depend on cow's milk for your iron, you would depend on meat / pulses / brocolli / dried apricots etc.

She did get it, I think, but I don't think she was quite ready to believe how cynical the advertising is!

MigGril thanks for the link.

My equilibrium is now restored - the morning I wrote the OP I was just having a bit of a low. Support from family's dropped away really since we've got to 12 months. I hadn't realised how important it was to me before it went. Never mind - DH still very much on side which is good.