Please will someone reassure me that extended bf is NOT just for lentil weavers therefore my hv and gp are talking rubbish.

[TheOlihantheIvy]

DS2 turned 1 last week and I'm coming under pressure from my hv and gp to stop bfing him.

I don't want to, I'm not ready to and ds2 certainly isn't ready to.

My hv's reason was that I've been pg or bfing almost constantly for the last 5 years and my body needs a break. She told me to switch him onto cow's milk (her suggestion for getting ds2 to take cow's milk was to add hot chocolate or Nesquik to it ) and start taking a multi vitamin myself to replenish what pg and bf have taken out of me.

My gp's reasons were the same as the hv's, plus I'm 'obviously not an earth mother, you don't wear lentil burgers on your feet, you're not hugging every tree you see' (his words so why am I thinking of carrying on beyond a year. Other reasons were that I have a lot of stresses in my life at the moment so it's one less thing to do; 'as a gp, I can tell you that it has no real benefits after the 6mo/1yr mark'; bfing past a year makes for very clingy babies; and ds2 will never sleep properly while he's still bfing.

Deep down I know they are both talking utter crapola but it's dented my confidence in what I'm doing. I'm wondering whether I am just doing it for myself and if I am actually making life harder for myself by carrying on. My mum is starting to drop unsubtle hints about me stopping too so I'm feeling a bit got at.

I've also got to see the GP again in a couple of weeks so I want to be armed and ready with some evidence and facts on the benefits of feeding past a year if he starts to put pressure on again.

Someone reassure me, please?

Oli - at your GP and HV. Shame on them.

BTW "Reverse the polarity" is Mosschops/mossy IIRC

You have 3 children (who are absolutely gorgeous BTW) so I think you might know something about baby wrangling by now!

I bf until dd was 17 mo, am certainly no lentil weaver, and dd slept 13 hours per night without waking from around 12/13 months. Why wouldn't a bf baby sleep?
We stopped because I felt she was ready to, and we did it by dropping evening feed one week, morning feed the next. She never asked for it again (I did tell her my milk was 'all gone') and she is not a clingy child (except around bonfire night )
I am assuming he eats food as well as has milk?
Ignore them all! Only you truly know what your child needs!

LynetteScarvo, yes I know. Imagine the pressure I'll be under when he's even older .

Marsy, I haven't seen the HV since ds2 was 8 weeks old but she came to do his 1yr check. I definitely won't be going near her again!

Can I ask those of you who have fed past a year when your periods returned? I still haven't had one, although I have had occasional bits of bloody mucous (tmi, sorry) that have never turned into a proper period - hence the fact I went to the GP. I was worried my coil had given me an infection or something else was going on. Is it normal not to have periods when I'm down to feeding 3 times a day?

My daughter is 3.2 and still has a breastfeed last thing at night (a really tiny one) and first thing in the morning (more substantial).

She is not remotely clingy, she sleeps right through the night, I am not remotely run down and I think that extended breastfeeding is lovely and very practical. Do whatever suits you.

However, if you are feeling low/tired/run down (and with three children under four, that's pretty likely), you might want to try, if at all possible, to get more nourishment from food and more sleep (I know, I know, very hard to manage).

at both of them spouting crap!

I had a GP (locum) say to me "But you dont need to feed him anymore - he's older than a year, isnt he?" Because I had queried the effects of medication he was about to supply me.

You really should complain.

What RTP said was spot on - you have probably increased your lifespan, and reduced the risk of you developing various disorders/illnesses.

My periods returned six weeks after I gave birth.

Why do your GP and HV care how you are feeding your children ?

I would be tempted to think of a stock phrase and repeat it word for word when they raise the subject....something like........ "I hear your concerns, however I have done the research and I am sure that this is the right thing for my family"

What a steaming pile of excrement you have received from your GP and HV!

Right, take a multivitamin and calcium tablet great plan. A good diet will work wonders to. Weight bearing exercise is of course the best way to build up bone density if that is a concern.

Love your kids, nurse them as long as you like and pity the fools who come out with this shit.

Of course for a treat you could smear your nipples with nutella before nursing

Mine were back when ds1 was 6 months, despite exclusively bf every 2 hours during the day and up to 5-6 times a night

So I suppose if that's possible, the inverse case (i.e. no periods despite relatively infrequent feeding) is too. I doubt it's an infection if you've no pain or funny smells (Are you certain you'r not, well, pg? )

BabiesEverywhere, I shorten that response to holding up a hand and saying 'baaaah' dismissively!

Am sorry you have has such bad experiences with your HV and GP. Can you politely complain? Otherwise the GP will simply carry on with his poor advice and making obnoxious comments to other mothers.
I agree that taking info printed from kellymom is a good idea, leave it for your GP to read and ingest...
It is very poor that they are being so undermining wrt your breastfeeding, havent they heard of WHO recommendations?

I fed DS1 till he self weaned at 2 ish (was pg with DS2 then) and am feeding DS2 (7 mths) and plan to till he self weans.
My periods started both times as soon as I started to give them solid foods even though I am still feeding DS every 3 hours.
I do think it varies a lot though.

Ugh, idiots.

Says here that it benefits baby still, and here and here.
There is tons of info out there, I won't link Kellymom as I see other posters already have but they were some of the first bookmarks I have on my lentil weavers list

periods returned at dd around 8 months- this was with bf every 4 hours, one feed at night(ie 5 feeds per day). They were light and infrequent though. HTH

I've never weaved a lentil in my life, but am still feeding my nearly 23 month old.

Your gp is nuts (though actually quite funny in a way).

DS feeds about 3x per day, is 1 year old and no signs of my period.

Hahahaha, Berolina . No, I'm not (though I did test after the first bit of 'bleeding'. 4 under 5 .

Whomoved @ Baaaaaaah and Nutella on nips - ds2 would love it! Also very good idea about the multivitamin. Hadn't really considered that [dim]. Diet definitely could improve though, I know I don't eat as well as I should.

VS, thanks for the extra links. I might present him with a file of evidence about extended bf and its benefits.

WMMC, I like your 'baaaah', I may borrow it for the next idiot uninformed HCP I encounter

ib,

With dd1 i didn't get my period back until she was 16 months

Hope its the same this time round!

Oh and my DD breastfeed to date (15 months) usually sleeps fine, when not teething/ill. Not great I admit but good enough not to worry about it.

And as for breastfeeding equals clingy...LMAO My child insists on other mothers holding and cuddling her and waves happily to me from the FAR side of the room. Whenever I go to M&T group I end up sat chatting with friends with a cuppa, watching my child befriend every adult in the room. But I suppose she does come back to base for a nursing session every hour or so...is that the clingy bit

determination, I don't mind not having one - 16mo would be great, in fact, it's just the way it seems to be on its way then nothing happens that was worrying me. I'm fairly sure it is just the bf but I was having a bit of a flap!

I don't have much to add to the previous great posts, but I've been pg or bfing for well over 5 years (no breaks due to tandem feeding) and (I think) I'm pretty normal. DD2 is still feeding at 2.9, and we're both doing fine. She is healthy, confident, sociable, intelligent, energetic and a good sleeper.

As the number of posts on here suggests, extended bfing is common, far more common than most people think because many of us don't talk about it much in real life.

1 year old is still very young. Don't feel pushed to give up bfing if you don't want to.

Periods returned at 14 mths after dd1, sooner (9 months?) after dd2, btw.

Why is it any of your GP or HV's business? If bf had worked for me I'm sure I'd still be feeding my 17 month old, and I'm definitely not a lentil weaver.

Well I win because I have been pregnant and/or breastfeeding since August 2000 and I am in rude health.

Senora, why do you think that it's detrimental to the mother's health? Genuinely interested.

I'm sure this has been posted already but in case not Benefits of EBF. I am not a lentil weaver - I've been pregnant or BF since February 2002 (with a short break of 6 weeks somewhere in May 2004) and am fine, in fact my immunity to colds/bugs seems to have actually improved somewhat.