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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Bf a 7 1/2 month old - am I the only one?!

71 replies

ExBrightonBell · 25/02/2013 16:41

So, I met up with my NCT group yesterday and discovered that I am the only one who is "still" breastfeeding on demand during the day. Our babies are all between 7 1/2 and 9 months old. The ones who are bf are feeding morning and evening (and maybe through the night, I don't know the details), but during the day their babies are having formula or water with meals.

They all seem very keen to stop bf completely and I felt like a complete freak when I sat and bf my ds after lunch! One of them even asked me how I had the time to bf as well as doing meals during the day.

Is it really so unusual to still be feeding on demand during the day at 7 1/2 months? I also don't really care about cutting down on the number of feeds either.

My ds is a bit rubbish at drinking water from a cup, although he is getting better. But there's no way at the moment that he would be getting enough hydration without bf-ing as well.

I suppose I'm just asking for opinions on whether I'm really that out of step with other people?

OP posts:

poocatcherchampion · 27/02/2013 15:43

I feel the same as you. our Nct babies are nearly 1 but all are desperate to stop bf ing and think I'm a bit weird for not having a view on it. I'm happy for dd to feed til she doesn't want to and have not "plans" to wind down etc. she is def not a "boob monster" either but has milk as she needs it.

WinterMymble · 28/02/2013 09:01

iggly that anecdote is shocking - bullying a mom into FF and then cheering - yikes! I would have stopped meeting up w them too.

Iggly · 28/02/2013 09:08

Yes Winter was horrid. It was one big competition to see who could bf the longest then when some switched to FF, it became a competition to see who could get baby onto bottles. Horrible women they were.

Lostonthemoors · 28/02/2013 09:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

VisualiseAHorse · 28/02/2013 09:24

I BF LO on demand (but he only really wanted it in the morning!) until 8 months. I wanted to carry on until he was 1, but he lost interest when solid food came along.

Keep going, being the odd one out isn't always a bad thing!

Xiaoxiong · 28/02/2013 09:27

You're doing brilliantly! DS is nearing 15 months and still feeding. I went back to work when he was 6 months so no need at all to take that as a signal to stop. I'm 8weeks pg with DC2 but probably won't do anything active to wean him unless I have to (maybe if I get severely anemic or something).

In fact I haven't bf him since Monday since he's been sleeping through the night I'm looking forward to giving him a big feed and snuggle when he wakes up tomorrow morning

Original poster

ExBrightonBell · 28/02/2013 11:02

Thanks all - feel more "normal" now!

I will go to the next LLL if I can, although its not for about 3 weeks.

My ds doesn't show any sign of wanting less milk even though he eats loads. In fact it sometimes seems like he wants more than before!

OP posts:

Copps · 28/02/2013 13:02

wow this thread has made me feel much better! my ds is 10 months and still bfeeding on demand, tho as someone else said he is going longer and longer without it as he eats more food. My main issue at the mo is i still cant be away from him! my bmilk has too much lactase and goes sour tasting really quickly, so expressing is a problem. any magical solutions anyone??

leedy · 28/02/2013 15:33

Feeding on demand at 7 months is totally normal!

Though I've twice this week got faces from people (once in my BF group and once in my postnatal pilates class) when they asked how long I fed DS1 for and I told them until he was two and a half. And I don't even know how to weave a lentil....

rockinhippy · 28/02/2013 16:06

Cops have you tried freezing your BM?? - it's safe to do so & it lasts a very long time - I know as my DD was in hospital @ 10 wks & the medical staff advised me to express & freeze, as she was ill & not feeding as much as normal - I ended up with a freezer full & they suggested using it to make cheese sauce for weaning later:)

Good luck OP

leedy · 28/02/2013 16:11

Oh, and OP, feeling like your DS is constantly either BFing or eating at 7.5 months is totally normal - I felt that way with DS1. Then around 8 or 9 months he seemed to get that food satisfied his hunger too and spaced out his milk feeds a lot more.

Copps · 28/02/2013 21:14

rockinhippy yeh i have tried freezing it, it still tastes horrid :( but thanks for the idea!

luanmahi · 28/02/2013 21:36

I'm still bf mine at 9 months. She has 3 meals of solids with a drink of water or fruit juice during the day and then top up with breast milk afterwards and then a proper feed last thing at night. Quite often I find it's a good way to get her to nap during the day too so she has plenty of feeds.

I'm thinking of reducing the number of feeds during the day by expressing like mad at the moment and storing it so she can have it in a bottle but only because I want to think about TTC again this year. Two of my friends bf until 20 months and 17 months and my local bf group has plenty of people feeding past 6 months. You're not weird at all.

Wewereherefirst · 28/02/2013 21:41

I'm BFing my1 y/o and I couldn't be more thrilled. Sometimes it gets me down and I wish to stop, but DS2 is a booby boy through and through plus it was hard work to start with so I'll carry on as long as DS wants to.

KrissieJules · 02/03/2013 04:29

17 month old still LOVES her mummy-milk!

leedy · 02/03/2013 09:48

You may not need to fully stop BF to TTC - my periods came back at around 8/9 months with DS1 (around the time he ramped up his solids) and I had no problem getting pregnant while still feeding him.

WinterMymble · 02/03/2013 21:27

leedy that is very interesting to hear! My dc1 (dd) is nearly six months old and we exclusive bf and zero sign of AF returning and I was assuming any TTC would have to wait until after she stopped feeding - I want to bf until she is age two at least. Waiting that long TTC wd be a problem since I am now forty (!) so v interesting to hear that can sometimes conceive while bf

EauRouge · 02/03/2013 21:29

Winter Lots of women do- tandem feeding is getting more and more popular. There are a couple of threads in this forum and I think there have also been TTC while breastfeeding threads in the conception forum.

WinterMymble · 02/03/2013 22:22

Thanks Rouge! Sounds ideal thread.. Sorry for hijack OP ! - though all shows how 7.5 mths bf is not weird I guess! :)

Thewhingingdefective · 02/03/2013 23:19

I am still BFing my 33 month old DTwins. Admittedly it is only once or twice a day for a few minutes. I don't talk about it to people so don't have that annoying conversation where people tell me that it's time to stop.

MamaBlue4 · 08/03/2013 11:26

I ebf all my DC on demand until they were one year old, currently doing it with 5 month old twins, then switched to bottled breast milk when they were around one.

I'd ebf for as long as possible but DS stopped liking breast milk at 18 months, and dd stopped at 14 months.

I don't really pay attention to what others seem to think, I do what I feel is best for my children, I'm not gunna stop just because others seem to believe you have to. Continue what you're doing and let them talk :)

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