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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

How was bf for you after 1yr?

61 replies

Tatties · 30/03/2006 11:58

Ds will be 1 next week. I'm pretty much planning to carry on as usual with bf, but am interested to hear your experiences of bf past 1 yr. Obviously I realise that things won't change just because he is 1, but at the same time I know that we will eventually reach the point where he is having more solids than milk! So how did you get there? Did you actively reduce feeds, or were they dropped (or increased!) spontaneously? If you fed at night did that change?

OP posts:
lucy5 · 30/03/2006 12:11

I fed dd until she was about 17 months, she gradually dropped her own feeds until we were down tojust a morning one and then just stopped feeding one day, i was heartbroken.

beansprout · 30/03/2006 12:12

Ds wasn't feeding at night by that time and I have been careful not to go back to it. I had just gone back to work by then and so on work days (3 days a week) he has morning and evening feeds and when I am at home, he has another feed during the day. This is still working well at 17 months and there are no plans to stop.

TheBlonde · 30/03/2006 12:14

I am still feeding on demand at 13 mths. However if I don't feel like feeding then I offer a bottle of milk instead

Original poster
Tatties · 30/03/2006 16:02

I'm not going back to work and I haven't left him for any great length of time - when he was younger he would take a bottle if I had to go somewhere without him; now though - really don't know what he would think of milk in a cup...

OP posts:
lazycow · 30/03/2006 17:26

ds was probably on more solids than milk by the time he was 12 months old.

He seemed to just drop feeds gradually though he was never a particularly 'booby baby' so it seemed quite easy. He really loves solids though and has never liked milk much of any sort apart from directly out of the source so to speak.

He did however go through a phase at about 13 months of wanting to feed loads for some reason.

At 16 months he feeds 2-3 times a day. I admit that I don't always let him bfeed when he wants to though particularly if I think it is because he is bored or upset.

I actually think that bfeeding is not an appropriate tool for calming an older toddler unless you really can't work out what else to do I know I'm in a small minority on that one though among breastfeeding mums.

Bfeeding than just became a quiet routine time together. I must admit though he seems to take longer and enjoy it more than he did when younger.

The other day his morning feed went on from 4.30am - 5.30am, then he slept from 5.30am-6.30am then he fed again for another hour until 7.30am at which point I decided that was enough and we got up Smile

harpsichordcarrier · 30/03/2006 17:34

it was fab Smile
by this time, IIRC was were down to four feeds a day - once in the morning, once before each nap and bed time. (We had given up night time feeding before this.) So bf became something we did in bed/bedroom. The exception would be if she was hurt/ill/upset/away from home, when we might go back to on demand for a while.
this all happened naturally, and spontaneously btw.
dd1 never took to cow's milk but will occasionally have it in a beaker. she never took a bottle
hth

speaktome · 30/03/2006 17:34

ds is 11 months and gets the majority of his fluids through breast milk (despite numerous atempts at offering a cup with water/formula) so am reading with interest! Just to butt in on your thread though, does anyone else find they are constantly hungry from feeding an 'older' baby so frequently?

Tipex · 30/03/2006 19:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BornBerry · 30/03/2006 20:50

I think breastfeeding is just SO easy after 12 months. My DD didnt have any other milks as I was quite happy to continue providing what was intended for her (plus I'm lazy and liked to know she was getting the "goodies" from breastmilk = no stress over solids) so never forced a substitute. I never sought to actively reduce her feeds as I feel bfing is about oodles more than calories or even nutrition so felt happy for her to lead the way.

At 2 she has reduced her feeds to a couple per day (unless ill when its more) eats pretty much anything offered solids wise.
TBH I think its a fab parenting tool, they wont sleep, they feel grotty, they have an accident and boob just solves it all... must be much harder parenting a toddler without.
I think nursing after one offers as many benefits as before, they're just not as well known ;)
Berry

dinny · 30/03/2006 20:53

Yes, Speaktome, I am hungry all the time (feeding 19month old ds a lot atm - prob 8 times a day. Must be feeding a lot as have been at work since 4pm and boobs are about to explode.

I love feeding this age - ds is overjoyed whenever he grabs a boob!

koolkat · 30/03/2006 20:56

tatties - I am still bf my 21 month old around 4 -5 times a day, rarely at night as he has been sleeping through since 10 months old.

I do deliberately offer the breast more often (which he never refuses !) when he has a cold or is teething, just ebcause I know it soothes him and is good for his immune system.

It all depends on how you feel about bf a toddler, if you are ok with letting the child decide, then let him and it will all be very natural, you don't have to plan anything.

I found that once he began to walk and was more and more active, he only asociated bf with sleeping and his bedroom, rather than something he wanted to do in the middle of the supermarket!

If you want to wean gradually without upsetting your child, I highly recommend the LLL who have very gentle methods of doing this including several books on the topic.

Good luck {smile]

Callisto · 30/03/2006 20:58

My dd is one on 16th April and still being bf before naps and sleep. It is so lovely to hear you all being so positive about it, makes me feel all warm inside. Smile

NotQuiteCockney · 30/03/2006 21:05

My DS2 is 18 months now. At about 12 months, he realised I always had boobs with me, and started wanting to feed every fifteen minutes, it seemed! So I decided to limit it, largely because I hated having my top tugged at all the time.

He now understands that boob is something that he gets in my room and his, and that's it (ok, airplanes are an exception). He's gone through phases of wanting to feed for an hour at a time (!! particularl given he only ever fed for 15 minutes max at a time when newborn), but seems to now be back to relatively short feeds. He feeds 2-4 times a day, normally 3 times.

He likes his solids, and has been pretty good on them from about 9 or 10 months.

I'm in no hurry to stop, and do fear that sticking to a structure/routine will make him more likely to stop soon, but he does really like boob.

Racers · 30/03/2006 21:07

Feel the same Castillo. DD not 1 until June but there's no doubt I'm looking forward to that milestone from a bf point of view. Never thought I'd see the day, and am still in awe of the whole thing - how different it feels from those first few months. Smile

Psychobabble · 30/03/2006 21:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Tatties · 30/03/2006 22:08

Thank you for all your replies! It sounds as though the best is yet to come Smile

I think I was a bit worried that perhaps I offer the boob too much - I think because I am with him all day every day it is quicker and easier to do that if he is a bit unsettled for whatever reason, rather than trying to comfort him in other ways. Suppose I am lazy Wink but it just does the job so well! And I know there's nothing wrong with it, it's just not that common for babies to be bf at this age so I don't have much of a reference point in RL.

Because I haven't gone back to work I've never had to address the issue of being away from him for longer than a few hours. I'm getting to the stage now though where I quite fancy a day out shopping on my own, just not sure how to tackle it...

Yes I am hungry all the time too!

How are you Psychobabble? How are the nights going?

OP posts:
koolkat · 31/03/2006 09:57

Tatties - don't worry about not being able to go shopping or going out at night.

I leave my DS with DH just after his last feed at night he is absolutely fine, never ever complained about it.

I can go out with my mates evenings without any problems because DS has had his last boob feed and he is fine. If he wakes when I am out (which is rare now a days) he is happy with water from a cup given by DH.

I also go shopping on my own for 4 hours at a time with no problems Grin

Welcome to the bf a toddler club !

BornBerry · 31/03/2006 11:15

Deffo agree regarding shopping/going out etc - although DD has always had feeds if I'm around, she's never bothered if I'm not there (ie shes asked where is mummy etc but never for milk) Once she was over a year I would feed in the morning, head off shopping and feed on my return, if she was thirsty she had water from a sippy cup :)
Berry

Original poster
Tatties · 31/03/2006 11:31

I guess I will just have to try it! I reckon ds could cope without me during the day, but nights are a different story...

OP posts:
FrannyandZooey · 31/03/2006 11:43

I fed on demand till ds was about 2. I didn't see the point of changing anything till then, and from age 1 to age 2 was quite an intense year, breastfeeding-wise. I think there is so much going on for them and all their frustrations and fears are coming to the fore. Breastfeeding is so comforting and seems to provide a solution to virtually everything. Quite simply a brilliant trick to have up your sleeve (or wherever it is my breasts have got to these days :))

harpsichordcarrier · 31/03/2006 13:59

same as Bornberry, I have left dd with dh to put to bed and overnight on three occasions without problems. Any bf resumed when I got back. She only asks for a bf when I am in th ehouse, strangely.

moondog · 31/03/2006 14:02

Easy,comforting (fantastic for soothing,keeping calm on flights and in other stressful situations)and lovely for evening/morning cuddles in bed.
Fed one for 30 mths,the other for 11.
Both stopped of their own accord.

milward · 31/03/2006 14:04

I bf on demand foras long as the kids wanted it. Easy & convenient - stuck on a train last summer & whole journey look over 12 hrs - as I was bf dd3 could snack when she wanted..

roseyposey · 31/03/2006 14:55

My dd is 14.5 months and still b-fs 3-4 times a day. She is showing no signs of stopping and I am more than happy for her to lead the way (cos I love it, too). I b-f her first thing am, mid-morn, mid-pm (sometimes after lunch instead) and before bed. She has recently had a 24-hour sickness and diarrhoea thing but refused all water/diaralyte type drinks - she just wanted her "mil" and I was so relieved I could b-f her.

Lots of luck - hope it works out in a way you are happy with.

koolkat · 31/03/2006 15:06

rosey - breastmilk is the best cure for diarrhoea Smile