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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

how long do people in general bf for?

54 replies

slowangels1 · 09/05/2011 16:21

Just wondering really. I know obv there is a large difference in ages bf up to but I wondered what the av was. I also heard somewhere that something like only 5% of babies are still bf at 6 months and wondered why that was. I was assuming I would bf DD (now 10 weeks) until about 1 yr but obv would be less and less as solids introduced. Never occured to me that so many people stopped so early and just wondered why as there must be a reason for it

OP posts:

culturemulcher · 09/05/2011 16:30

I think the reason for people stopping bf at around 3-6 months is often the mum going back to work, or feeling that they've given their DC the best possible start, but they want the freedom to leave the baby more often or get the baby into more of a routine.

FWIW I read that babies could have cows milk from 1 year, so it just made sense to me to feed until they could switch directly to cows milk. Both my DCs were bf until just after their first birthday.

Cosmosis · 09/05/2011 16:34

I think a lot of people stop very early (ie in the first 6 weeks) due to problems with bf, I think a lot stop at 6m because they see the recommendations of exclusive bf to 6 months, as bf till 6 months. I had originally intended to bf till 1 so he could go straight to cows milk, but he?s 8m now and I find the thought of stopping quite upsetting so I think we?ll probably go on longer.

bigbumum · 09/05/2011 16:36

7 months for me,
i was going back to work and couldnt express so continued to express at home and freeze it for mixing in foods for ds. kind of wound it down that way.

I got free formula milk from my sister so used that till ds was 1, then went onto full fat cows milk. He had a pint a day till he was about 5 as i recall, loved it.

mousesma · 09/05/2011 16:39

I think alot of people plan to BF until 6 months because the guidance says its best to EBF until 6 months and people misinterpret this as you should only BF until 6 months.

For myself I planned on EBF until at least 6 months possibly longer. As it happened though I just couldn't cope with the time demands of EBF and mix fed from 4 months and stopped BF completely at 7 months. My DD never managed longer than 2 hours between feeds and even at 6 months was still taking 30 minute plus feeds. It got to the stage where I thought I might as well just walk about with my top off because all I did was feed and I was sick of it.

TruthSweet · 09/05/2011 17:40

I planned on weaning DD1 at 6m as I thought that is what happened - you stopped bfing and then you introduced solids . I didn't know you could bf past that point.

In the end DD1 self weaned at 3.6y/o and DD2 is bfing at 3.5y/o and DD3 is bfing at 19m so not stopped at 6m after all

Having said that it really is what works for your own family as to when you stop bfing though from the child's point of view the longer the better (usual caveats apply....)

RitaMorgan · 09/05/2011 18:02

A huge number of women stop in the first 6 weeks - think that's mostly due to poor support and knowledge from HCPs.

Several people I know who were mixed feeding ended up stopping around 4-5 months, because their babies started preferring the bottle and rejecting the breast.

And then a lot of people stop at 6 months as part of weaning onto solids, or because they are going back to work.

I'm still breastfeeding at 9 months and know a couple of others who are too. If you've got to 6 months and are enjoying it, and don't have work pressures, it does make sense to continue until they can go onto cow's milk.

coccyx · 09/05/2011 18:06

i BF all mine for about 10 months. They self weaned really

redandyellowandpinkandgreen · 09/05/2011 18:12

I initially thought 6 months as I didn't really understand what happened when the baby started eating solids. I hadn't really thought that far ahead. I thought I would have done my time by then and would be ready to stop. Now DS is nearly 6 months and I have no intention of stopping!

Whyriskit · 09/05/2011 19:52

DS1 was breastfed for 6 weeks, it was a 3 person job to get him to feed and it was affecting my relationship with him, so we stopped. DS2 is now nearly 9 months and we're still going, partly thanks to the advice and support of the women on MN.
I'm returning to work in 2 months and am hopeful I'll be able to continue feeding DS2 until he self weans.

thesurgeonsmate · 09/05/2011 20:03

I had just assumed you moved onto a bottle to go back to work, but this is not what happened. I am still bf at 11.5 months. Whatever happens, I will stop expressing at a year. I am planning a small celebration for this quite apart from any birthday party there might be. I imagine I might feed at night for a bit longer, we'll see what transpires.

AppleAndBlackberry · 09/05/2011 20:15

Most people I know who got through the early stages stopped between 9m and a year, though I do know a few who fed into the second year.

BertieBotts · 09/05/2011 20:21

The figures refer to exclusive breastfeeding though - so if you've introduced solids 1 day before 6 months, you aren't counted in that statistic. Which most people do. But lots of people carry on once they have started weaning :) Most of my friends breastfed either until they started work and didn't want to express, or until a year ish, either staying at home or expressing milk for their baby.

Although now I attend LLL meetings I know loads of people who are/have fed past a year I would just feed until you don't want to any more - don't worry too much about it :)

SauvignonBlanche · 09/05/2011 20:22

12 months for my first and 10 for my second.

kickingking · 09/05/2011 20:23

I breastfed for 12 months. I had assumed I would bf for 6 months - not really sure why now? By the time we got to six months, there seemed to be no reason to stop.

I phased feeds out very gradually and by 11 months was only feeding my son before bed. I stopped because I was fed up of being the only one who could put him to bed, and DH swore he would put him to bed once I stopped feeding him. Turned out that wasn't true so in hindsight, I wish I'd kept on for a few more months.

However, if I'd gone back to work at 6 months as planned (was made redundant while on ML), I think I'd have had to stop sooner as I disliked expressing and I found it difficult - I was getting less and less each time I did it.

Where I live it is unusual to bf at all, let alone for any real length of time. I had the doctor like but in a good way when I told him I was still bf at six weeks! People who do breastfeed where I live tend be real lentil weavers (sorry but it's true) and I'm not, so I got a lot of shocked reactions.

bibbitybobbityhat · 09/05/2011 20:29

I bf dd for 12 months exactly, but she did have some formula feeds, a couple a day from about 8 or 9 months onwards.

I bf ds (my second child) too but introduced mixed feeding sooner and I think he was all done by about 8 or 9 months . He just seemed more interested in bottles than boob, I'm afraid, and I wasn't totally in love with breastfeeding beyond about six months to be honest.

I could never ever have been an extended breastfeeder.

ballstoit · 09/05/2011 20:37

DS 13 mnths - self weaned when pg with DD1
DD1 18 mnths - self weaned when pg with DD2 (are you seeing a theme here?!)
DD2 21 mnths - had to be weaned due to medication I was prescribed. I'd have carried on longer, she's going to be my last .

Emandwilliam · 09/05/2011 20:41

In my nct class they said the average time worldwide was 4 years old and 2 years Europe and uk.....which surprised me.

People give up before six months for many reasons... Some people find bf easy some don't.

minxofmancunia · 09/05/2011 20:43

BF dd exclusively until 4.5 months and mixed fed until 7 months then switched to formula. Had planned on 12m but she never ever went longer than 1.5 hours between feeds except at night (Thank God) and refused bottles. I couldn't stand the restriction of never being able to be away from her in the day. if she was awake she was usually feeding or crying . It took 6 weeks of daily perseverance to get her to take a bottle. It was HELL.

Did 6m for ds, but started mixed feeding at about 4m. He was a bottle refuser too so one day I just went out for the afternoon without him and left him with dh and he took a bottle of formula after 45 mins, i refused to go through what I went through with dd again. At about 6m I got terrible mastitis, became delirious so sh took over the night feeds and ds ended up preferring the bottle.

TBH I didn't really enjoy bf at all and one of the reasons I don't want anymore dc is because I can't stand the thought of going through that again.

Original poster

slowangels1 · 09/05/2011 20:43

bertie interesting re: stats are only for ebf so not inc weaning. I get that since I bf every feed except one night time feed where DH gives DD a ff they write combination in all my docs for feeding method. I want to stamp my foot and say it's bf - just with a teeny amount of ff. I know that it doesn't matter to anyone but it feels like it sounds like I'm ffing alot more than I am IYKWIM.

kickingking where do you live?! (don't have to say)

Really interested reading these stories/comments

OP posts:

libbyssister · 09/05/2011 20:52

My 3DSs were all EBF until 6 months. I stopped bfeeding DS1 at 11 months, DS2 at 6 months (had to have an op on my spine), and DS3 at 9 months. With DS1&3 my supply just really diminished and they were starting to get frustrated and biting!

debka · 09/05/2011 20:56

DD1 never had a bottle of anything, but I was lucky in that I'm a SAHM and we both took to bfing v well. She stopped at 13mo and went straight onto cow's milk. I'd just had enough really.

Fell pg with DD2 about a week after DD1's last bf , she is now 12 weeks and plan to do the same with her.

rubyslippers · 09/05/2011 20:57

18 months and coounting for me

WOHM as well (full time)

Exclusively breatsfed for 6 months

I am still feeding as I have no idea how to stop wihtout a lot of sobbing from DD

She will probably self wean when she is at university

severalyearsdowntheline · 09/05/2011 21:01

5 months here because quite frankly I was fed up to the back teeth of it by that point.

stinkypinky · 09/05/2011 21:02

DD1 8 months, still feeding DD2 at 1 yr as so regretted stopping early with her sister - I changed job and had to work shifts, but could have mixed fed looking back. I went back to work at 4 months with DD1 and 6 months with DD2. I lpve feeding, and plan on doing so until she wants to stop, or starts school

firstforthought · 09/05/2011 21:23

DD ebf until 5 1/2 monhs then slowly weaned stopped bf totally at just before 2yrs. (only for sleep)
DS ebf until 5 months. still b'f and some solids at 6 1/2 months.

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