whats the longest anyone has bf for? anyone still doing it with lo's at school?

[prettylovebird]

ok i know dd is only 7 months,but, i want to bf her forever, and just wondering what it will be like when shes at school or preschool

well of course it's about my own projections! As I haven't breast fed till 5, I can only view the situation from my perspective. I was always extremely blase to the mother in question, the point is, she didn't feel comfortable being effectively mauled by her son in public, and no I wouldn't like my breasts being exposed in public for the sniggering effect of a gaggle of 5 year olds either... they're far too saggy for that!

I guess seeing someone breastfeed, for some, is like the very first time you see that video of someone giving birth. And you think WTF? Why would ANYONE want to do that???

But thousands do, every day.

didnt the emperors, high society kids in china get breastfed till they hit puberty?

sorry ingles, all these calm extended bfs are quite right.

It must be disconcerting the first time you see a child rather than baby bf-ing.

I think I was reacting to your account of your other friends refusing to come out and getting arsey with you instead. (Bcs that is a bit crap of them I think)

The oldest I know of was 7yrs old, but it was a comfort thing, and only ever at home in private.
Probably unconnected but the child still has serious emotional issues now, at the age of 18.

DS is still Bfing & is technically of pre-school age at 3.5, although doesn't attend as we Home Ed. But tbh it wouldn't bother me even if he did go to school. School is a modern invention...children have been bf far beyond unfancy for thousands of years. The only thing school does is separate the mother & child so they can't bf as often during the day

mmmm im very interested in home ed, could you tell me anymore info terramum or shall i post under education? no need to worry about hijack im the op

what made you decided to home ed?

i fed dd1 till she self weaned at 2y and a few months when i was 3 month preg with dd2 x

i fed dd1 till she self weaned at 2y and a few months when i was 3 month preg with dd2 x

at bitty
I fed dd1 till she selfweaned at 3 and a half-ish.
dd2 is 2y2m and still a very enthuastic bf.
my dear friend stopped two weeks ago, her ds started school and she used it as an excuse

Oh well didn't get quite the bashing I expected - yes it was partly joking/TIC but partly serious.....I honestly think there is a limit especially in public but it is a personal thing....and that is what it boils down to personal preference because honestly the health benefits are minimal by 5....
My PERSONAL feeling for me is that teeth and a mobile baby makes it too uncomfortable...and FOR ME a child who is fighting to expose my boobs in public and shouting out mummies boobies is just not pleasant (what is the advantage for anyone mum or child in that scenario)...
NOW before anyone jumps on me I am CURRENTLY breastfeeding my DD2 quite happily in private and public and I love it (as I did with DD1)....she is 4 weeks old and I will carry on until I go back to work and hopefully the eve/night feeds after that...so I am clearly not disgusted by BF or an ignorant twat .....

My daughter is 3.2 and still breastfeeding. She has been at pre-school for four months. There is one other little girl in her class who is still breastfeeding - this is most unusual here in France (but the mother is a Polish psychoanalyst, so hardly typical).

However, I suspect my daughter will self-wean fairly soon. She has recently moved out of our bed into her own bed entirely of her own accord and desire and is sleeping right through, gets herself undressed and into pyjamas on her own in the evening and asks to go to bed before us, has abandoned nappies entirely of her own volition... ie she's on a big independence drive. So breastfeeding will probably be part of that.

I bf with my ds1 until just after his second birtday and preg with ds2, I would have probably continued but ds1 still getting up through night anything up to 4 times and was permenantly attatched to me during day and I just couldn't comprehend how it would work with a new baby that really needed it for survival or if ds1 would be prepared to share!
I admit I did get some funny looks when in restaurants etc but didn't really bother me at all. However, I did get a lot of pressure from family and friends to stop, "Are you still at that carry on?" being a favourite. I live in the highlands of Scotland and we have the lowest incidence of bf in the world, so I guess, sadly, I am the minority.
My dh says we are not having anymore dcs (due to bad pg and me being a gurny cow) so I will bf ds2 until he decides to give up, if like his brother that will probably be when he gets his 1st girlfriend and is more interested in someone elses boobs

I bf my ds until he self-weaned a few months before he was 4. In the last year or so, it was only morning and evening, so never in public and so we had no problems. Many of my friends gave up feeding at 6 months or earlier and so they all thought I was weird. I have chosen to dump some friends because they have been rude to me about it. But it was my choice so none of their business. Ds was happy to feed, and I washappy to ccarry on. I always thought I would find it weird once he was walking and talking, but htese developments came on gradually and it didn't seem weird when I looked back and realised I was still feeding despite this.

I fed him for a year while he was at pre-school and he gave up just after starting school (Kindergarten, not Reception) and it wasn't a problem as he only wanted milk first thing in the mornign and last thing before bed.

Good luck to you and I hope you can carry on for as long as it is benefitting you both.

Oh - forgot to say, apart from colds, ds hasn't ever been ill and has never had to go to the doctor. Comparing him to his peers, who have all sorts of ailments, the only conclusion I can draw (and it is only my humble opinion), that's down to him being bf.

Good point nonickname, neither has my ds. Despite him being with umpteen children with chickenpox he never contracted it. We have a very active social life and he never seems to catch any of the bugs and things, his colds extend to a runny nose and that is about it. So I agree with your not so humble opinion!

prettylovebird - happy to pass on some my personal experiences...but you might want to check over on the Home Ed board (under the education section) for some more experienced HEers' experiences.

I was always going to keep DS at home until he turned 5 as I didn't want him to start his education too early....but then kept seeing HE mentioned on another forum I'm a member of...didn't really know anything about it & got curious. Started asking questions & found loads of info on the net & joined as many HE message groups as I could find & just started reading the messages to immerse myself in the HE world & get an idea about it all. After 6 months of that I started to think that maybe HE was rather a good idea & 6 months later both DH & I agreed it was rather fabulous really so here we are another year on, very happy with our decision & looking forward to being able to say we are HEing officially (after he turns 5!) & just carry on as we have been so far - just enjoying being with DS & watching him grow & learn autonomously through living.

what made you decided to home ed?

macdoodle - why do you say "the health benefits are minimal by 5"?

Oh dear.. I find the bitty sketches very amusing even though and probably because they are so un-pc!

Is it compulsory for advocates of extending breastfeeding to find it insulting? Where are your senses of humour!??

I LOVED breast feeding by the way. I fed DS until he was 2. He didn't self wean but I had to forcibly stop because he has SN and was biting my nipples almost OFF sometimes!

I love the bitty sketches as well SHPHH...the one where they are having a meal with the girls parents & they run out of milk for the coffee is hysterical

Terramum, I would assume it would be because most five year olds would not be taking much by then so the benefits to health would, be comparison to a younger child, be minimal.

Still a lovely healthy drink though (probably THE most healthy!) and a lovely comfort/special time activity for the mum and child.

PMSL Mrs M at the boobie party suggestion!
DS self weaned at 14 mo. Am still bf DD at 18m. Will keep going until she self weans. We are down to just a few feeds at night for comfort so don't expect it will be long.
Have tried to give dummy instead of boob at night on a few occasions recently but she ain't having it....
I am not planning on having any more children so agree with other comments and am enjoying the comfy snugglyness of DD for as long as poss!

i bf dd and ds1 til they were both 2 1/2. there's 20 months between them, so i tandem fed for a while too. having a nursing toddler when your milk comes in after a new baby is soooo useful! i found it a v positive and rewarding experience, although by the time the dcs were about 2 bf was limited to morning and night, and i don't remember tandem feeding in public - too much of a juggling act! prob did at toddler groups tho! will wait and see with ds2 - he's only 2 weeks old, so not got to think about stopping for years yet! i remember thinking when ds1 weaned completely, that i couldn't believe that was the last time i'd feed a baby. here we are 8 years later...it wasn't!

I don't find the little britain sketch particularly insulting, just dumb and unfunny (like most of lb). And as policy so eloquently says it does provide an "all-purpose insult for nobbos"!

Am still feeding dd at 2.4. Planning to let her self-wean but rather hoping it will be soon as I'm starting to find it a bit wearing.

(She's started to milk me like a cow lately. She alternately pummels my boob with her fist and squeezes it between her thumb and fingers, and will keep it up for the whole feed. Anyone else's dc do this?)

god yes, and pinches - hard= the other nipple. Very wearing.

Sorry to hijack but Terramum , can I ask about the social side of HE? I love the idea of it but my ds very sociable, (he will be the one that gets into trouble for chatting when doing sums!) and I think the group setting would be fantastic for him. That said he is due to start preschool next week but in 3 years I have never left him and am very concerned what impact this will have on him. Maybe more worried what impact it will have on me, if I am honest!