I'll add some of my experience with 'extended' normal bf.
I know this will be long. But if you want to read nothing else from me then just finish the paragraph below. The rest is just me wittering about my own experiences.
Bf does not happen in isolation of everything else in a child's life. I go back to my geek hero, Dr. Jack Newman for the following quote: "Often we push children to become "independent" too quickly. To sleep alone too soon, to wean from the breast too soon, to do without their parents too soon, to do everything too soon. Don?t push and the child will become independent soon enough. What?s the rush? Soon they will be leaving home. You want them to leave home at 14? If a need is met, it goes away. If a need is unmet (such as the need to breastfeed and be close to mom), it remains a need well into childhood and even the teenage years.
Of course, breastfeeding can, in some situations, be used to foster an over dependent relationship. But so can food and toilet training. The problem is not the breastfeeding. This is another issue."
here
DD is currently 30 months old. she was a feeding freak until fairly recently. She has demanded a lot more often than i can offer. Sometimes I was scared to rest my backside on a chair for fear of calls of 'nickie'.
She is also a late talker - speech finally becoming clearis around a month ago and a lot of it, i can understand but dh has trouble doing. It hasn't been until fairly recently too that she is starting to play with 'friends' with the exception of one or 2 whom she sees on a very regular basis and still enjoys a lot of 'parallel play'. Maybe this so-called lack of socialisation the OP mentioned? It is a normal developmental stage.
In addition, she refused all solids till 10 months old when i gave up attmepting blw and gave her, (and she accepted - huzzah!) sloppy porridge, yoghurt and sloppy weetabix.
She did no lumps till 13mos as she had a strong gag reflex.
For this and other reasons, my norks have been a big comfort to her. I have noticed threads on MN about whether late talkers have more tantrums out of frustration if they get frustrated due to their lack of communication skill. I don't know, because when i could see my dd getting frustrated (and hurt, tired, yes, even hungry - instead of solids), I would offer and she would accept. I don't know if late talkers tend to have more tantrums but if you asked me that and nothing else, from my experience, no.
More than one of DD's carers at nursery note that if she cries, they know something is wrong.
So despite taking out my norks at every opportunity and never being able to distract her without instant meltdown - and I tried from time to time from 4 months old onwards - she is a secure, confident, delightful, happy child.
It is just now that her speech has come clearer that she is becoming less boob-addict - she still fed 4 times today - with her asking - and one was because she needed a snack but i was MNing and didn't notice the time - and for peace and laziness - milk.
I don't feel an need to drop these feeds for fear of what she may become. She will wean herself in good time. Just like how she potty trained herself last week (poos and all) with no encouragement from dh or I. Two potties took up residence in our home about a year ago and she has noticed them on ocassion. She watches us goes to the loo with us and she got the idea. Now she even says 'go away' when she isn't 'done yet' and you are asking her if she is.