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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Should I give my toddler my breastmilk?

13 replies

Pepperwand · 07/08/2019 10:30

With my first son I breastfed until 5 months then managed to combi feed expressed milk and formula until 6 months. I'm currently expressing and breastfeeding for my 3 month old as I like the flexibility of him being able to take a bottle but also the closeness of breastfeeding him. However I've now got a bit of an oversupply and have filled a chest freezer with my excess milk. This would see DS2 through to 6 months even if I stopped today so I really don't want to freeze any more. I've also been donating to the milk bank at the local hospital which has been great but tiring so I dropped some expressing sessions and therefore I only have a small excess. However I'm struggling to decide what to do with what I have over and wondered if there would be a benefit to giving it to DS1 who is now 2.5? I mentioned it to DH but he thought that was a really weird idea and said he's too old and the milk would be designed for my 3 month old anyway. Personally I don't really see the harm in putting the extra I have in smoothies or on DS1s cereal but didn't know if it's just my hormones talking and this is actually a really weird thing to do? Opinions would be great!

OP posts:

PixieLumos · 07/08/2019 10:45

Pretty sure it can’t do him any harm - I wouldn’t say it’s really weird at all, maybe just not the most common thing to to (I wish I’d had such a great milk supply - it was a struggle!) But why waste it?

PixieLumos · 07/08/2019 10:46

Oh, he might not like though anyway - I think the taste is very distinct from cows milk.

IdrisElbasLeftTesticle · 07/08/2019 10:49

There’s no reason not to if you have the milk to spare. Plenty of toddlers are still breastfeeding at 2.5y! He can only benefit health-wise.

Be prepared for him to refuse it though. When my second was born I gave my eldest (who was a bit under 2y) some expressed milk to try, and even though he had only stopped breastfeeding himself three months previously, he spat it out and pronounced that it was ‘yak!’. I felt a little rejected I must say 😂 You might have more luck with smoothies or something.

itsnotawatercat · 07/08/2019 10:50

Ask DH why he thinks milk designed for a 3 month cow would be better than milk designed for a 3 month human?

This is absolutely social conditioning and nothing to do with science.

Your milk will be really good for your toddler, deginitely use it up in smoothies and cereal, that's a great idea. Porridge is another good use of milk if your child likes it.

WYP2018 · 07/08/2019 10:51

If he doesn’t mind the taste of it why not! My 2.5 year old is still getting it from the source so it’s not weird at all. Don’t waste your precious milk :)

ForeverBubblegum · 07/08/2019 10:52

Nothing weird, and seems a shame to waste it. WHO recommends bf for 2 years and beyond, so certainly not to old to benefit. Natural self weaning usually occurs between 3-7 so plenty of kids older then him will still be having breastmilk.

Petitprince · 07/08/2019 10:54

Great to boost his immunity, particularly with autumn bugs around the corner. Definitely.

EatsFartsAndLeaves · 07/08/2019 10:58

Yes do it! Not weird at all, he may still get some immunity from it and good gut bacteria.

Talkwhilstyouwalk · 07/08/2019 11:08

I wouldn't bother personally as it's unnecessary...I don't think there is much to gain from it over the age of 1 though I'm sure this is a heavily debated topic. WHO recommendations take into account developing nations where other sources of milk may not be safe.

I'll be honest, I agree with your DH that's it's a bit of a weird thing to do, sorry if that offends anyone.

itsnotawatercat · 07/08/2019 11:14

WHO recommendations take into account developing nations where other sources of milk may not be safe

This is absolutely not true.

The WHO recommends every child is breastfed until at least two years. This is a health recommendation based on hoe beneficial breast milk is and is for ALL children including those in western countries.

The UK has one on the lowest BFing rates in the world, because of the popularity of formula, not because breast milk isn't good for older babies and toddlers.

itsnotawatercat · 07/08/2019 11:15

*how not hoe!

HumpHumpWhale · 07/08/2019 11:17

I gave some to my 3 year old when feeding my younger child. But I didn't express for long so it wasn't many times. I don't think it's weird- some people tandem feed different aged kids after all.

MrsBrill · 07/08/2019 11:17

I tried this - I mixed some in with my son's (then age 3) cows milk. He said, I don't like this coffee milk, mummy :) So that was that! I felt enormous guilt at the tiny amount of breast milk he'd had as a baby and wanted to try and make up for it somehow with some of my over supply from dd. I have no idea whether it would have been of much value, nutritionally speaking, but it would have made me feel a bit better. Anyway, he had other ideas!

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