Yesterday I was in the same room as several mothers who nurse their school aged children

[Babieseverywhere]

This was the annual LLL social coffee morning for nursing mothers of children over 4 years old !
It was so nice to discuss the good and bad points about nursing older children. :D

Roll on next year :)

Athrawhes, I bf'd DS once a day for a few weeks then stopped at14 mos. Had no problems with supply, though it was only for a few weeks. But I suspect it depends on the mother's body.

No reason why you couldn't stimulate milk production by manual expression for a few minutes every day. AFAIK it stimulates production better than pumping.

Rita - yup. The breasts work it out based on the different ways that kids of different ages suck.

SeeJane, you were being fairly derogatory and now we've stood up for ourselves you are crying victim. Please don't play silly games.

Arf at Lenin!

at "crying victim"

Where? When?

'It's the "Stridence" of you all...you seem obsessed with it...almost in a political way or something.'

the thing is, people get rather defensive when told they are perverted, or abnormal, or unwilling to let their child grow up. It kind of makes us more vociferous in our defence that we would otherwise have been.

iirc, the OP was a happy post about enjoying a meeting. What is strident about that?

Speedy, how does the breast "work it out"? Do you have to keep one breast for one child?

Speedy that is phenomenal! I am so impressed!

I have just started mix feeding and this is purely from a vanity pov, I bottle feed if out. Ds has started to make a song and dance about bf, I am bored with bf tops and don't quite have the gumption to show off my very unpleasant belly in public (fine from the top down but not upwards iyswim!)

seejane, who is being strident? The breastfeeders? I don't think so...its the people who don't understand it who are making all the noise. Most extended breastfeeders get on with it quietly IME.

Lenin - you've lost me by using sporting references

SeeJane, your "strident" post comes across as very defensive: "look at you all! You're so strident, leave me alone, stop picking on me..."

Rita - you can swap breasts as often as you like! The breasts calculate what they're got to do as soon as your child latches on!

My dd2 isn't breastfed any more, she's almost 18 months

I took advantage of what was probably a nursing strike to stop when she was about 13ish months as she only fed at night anyway and I was wrecked

She still likes my breasts though, when she comes up for a cuddle she likes to stroke them

Should I be concerned? No? Didn't think so.

Breasts aren't sexual unless their owner wants them to be.

Strident? No, not at all. When someone does something, anything, that is percieved by most of society as being outside of the norm then it's only natural that they would want to seek out other people who do the same thing - whether it be extended breastfeeding, knitting, trainspotting, whatever.

Wouldn't life be dull if we were all the same? Doesn't mean that anyone is right or wrong, just a case of different ways of getting through life.

Do you have any links for this Speedy - I can't get my head round how this can work In what way is the milk different for each child? So after the colostrum is produced the breasts start producing two (or more) different types of milk - is different milk produced for a pump as well?

It all gets a bit Leeds vs Cardiff doesn't it Lenin?

speedy...no....I never said stop picking on me

I made an observation. Not about me though.

My DS1, is now 5 and still likes to cuddle my boobs for comfort. He was weaned at 2 and a hlaf, I wish I'd fed him for longer now. I'm now feeding DS2 and will feed him for as long as he wants. DS1 knows that boobs are for feeding and comfort.

Well said Lenin.

SeeJane, perhaps I've misinterpreted you, then. But your post certainly came out as defensive!

Rita - sorry, no links, it came via word of mouth from my friend's NCT training on bfing. Why don't you contact them or LLL for more info? And yes, good question re pumping (and hand expressing, for that matter). I'm sure you're right.

Sporting analogies lost me, too!

I feed once a day usually - just before bed (my dd is 15 months), and milk supply is fine. There is the odd occasion (usually at the weekend when I'm stalling getting up) when she also has a feed in the morning and I feed her before her nap if she wants it when I'm there at the weekend. I also only ever feed from one breast now as the flow was slower on the other which meant dd would get a bit frustrated and I just wasn't comfy with her lying that way round. Thought I might get blockages or mastitis or something, but it's been fine.

Bodies are great aren't they - make a whole new person, then produce what's needed to nourish it

I always understood that breasts make milk for the youngest nursling. It's all hormonal, especially in the early months.

So if you feed during pregnancy your breasts will start producing colostrum (around 26weeks - I think), resulting in some interesting nappies. The milk will them 'come in' in the usually fashion, although perhaps slightly earlier and with less engorgement if you have an experienced toddler to help you deal with it

Prem babies also get custom-made milk which is fattier than milk produced for full-term newborns. Such awesome stuff we're made of.

Look at your bodies, girls! Just take a moment to look at your bodies and go "Unreeeeal!"

Yes, that makes more sense MummyBerryJuice - seems more likely to me that milk production is triggered hormonally.

Speedy, I am constantly looking at my LO totally in awe that I made her, and now her pudgy little hands and legs from me feeding her. It blows my mind!!