Oh my God! Are you still breastfeeding, don't you want your life back?

[Sushipaws]

This is what someone said to me this weekend.

DD is almost one and I'm getting pressure from all sides to stop bf'ing. It's not all strong comments but lots of subtle hints.

DD has 4 bf's a day, most of these are done in the house so I don't even see how it effects anyone else. If I start on bottles now it's just more work and expense and it's not as good for my baby as bf.

I have a life, I work pt, I even went away on a hen weekend recently.

Are there any other freaks like me out there who don't want to stop.

ignore

you are doing a wonderful thing for your child.

Why is it anybody else's business? Tell them all to sod off. And then point out the WHO recommend at least 2 years of BF.

You don't need to justify yourself sushi - on here or in RL. You're doing what suits you and your DD, and you are both getting huge benefits from it.

Which will be tricky if they actually have sodded off. Need to think this one through...

I don't plan to stop, DS is almost 11 months.
Everyone I speak to (apart from MN and one RL friend) has or had a "plan" to stop at a fixed date - I don't really understand that, unless it's related to going back to work, fair enough but it didn't seem to be.
I haven't had negative comments though.

gecko is 13 months
I don't want to stop at all
I enjoy it

How rude is that

You are not a freak...you are a mother nurturing her child. Tell them to bog off & read something about basic mammal/human biology

Why does it bother some people?? I've never really managed to work it out. If you are happy with it and your DD is happy with it then just ignore them.

ignore them is the polite response

When someone came out with "Christ, are you STILL breastfeeding" to me, I just smiled and said "Yes, isn't is fantastic! I never thought I'd make it this far, but it's still going really well". It shut them up nicely.

I had planned what to say in advance, as I knew it was probably coming.

ivc - shouting as they disappear is recommended...
I need a card with all this stuff printed out, I tend to mumble and downplay stuff when confronted. Repeat after me "The WHO recommend bf for at least 2 years"
Saying that I did bf infront of my boss and a member of my team at work recently - the only bf in public situation I had felt uncomfortable about. I was more bothered about the fact DS was 10 months than anything else. No-one batted an eyelid!

Ignore subtle hints - continue until YOU and your dd want to stop! Sounds like you have a great balance in your life to me.

constance - killing with kindness, I like it!
(as well as deliberately misunderstanding their point)

I stopped at a year with dd1, partly because I thought I ought to.

dd2 is 7 months and loves b/f more than her sister ever did. I have no fixed date/plan to stop. I will just ignore any comments - hard if they are subtle. How exactly is it the business of nosey people - it is surely not affecting them?

In future months/years these same people will no doubt give you their wisdom on potty training and other issues.

Sounds like you are doing great, glad you and your dd are enjoying it, don't give up these lovely snuggly feeding times until you are both ready. We never get these early months or years back again. x

I don't plan to stop either - B is 11 months on Friday - that is a bit of a milestone time for me as it's when dd1 stopped by herself - just didn't want to latch on any more. I stopped dd2 at that point as well as it seeemed right to do so. B (dd3) on the other hand is still very into her breast milk - she has two feeds a day plus an odd bit here and ther and something in the night. We'll see how we go - the plan is that she is our last baby so I'm certainly not in any rush to end this very special phase of our lives.

I'm one of those freaks who doesn't want to stop. My dd is 16 months - and only bf at morning and night now. What really makes me cross is when people say its more for me than it is for my dd (i.e. in the media etc - no one has directly said this to me). I'm not doing it to cling onto babyhood or something. Its just that this is what we've done from day one, it was our choice, and we are both happy. I don't know when we'll stop, and I don't see why I have to justify it to friends and relatives, as I would never ask a friend who stopped bf earlier to justify why, or a anyone ff to justify why. This country is just so repressed about bf. I hate thinking that I'm doing something that perhaps the majority of people out there do think is 'freakish'. ugh!

I stopped when DS was 15 mon and we were both ready.
I too got lots of raised eye brows...most disappointingly from my parents who could not have been less supportive of my choice/decision to BF.
Stick to your guns! Do what's right for you and your DD, what ever that is!

I'm just beginning to wonder about this, my DS is 15 months, but he's still a baby, I can't imagine stopping for a while yet.

d'you know, the only people who've asked me that have been DOCTORS!

ds is 11m and shows no sign of losing any interest, nor even of dropping a feed or two. which, much as I like bfing, I confess I would appreciate.

I got this a lot. From my sister, mum and friends. I bf dd till she was 2.4 m. She stopped very gradually.
Don't listen to hurtfull comments. You're doing a fab thing. mn is full of people to support your decision too.

Well done and ignore the ignorant ones who say otherwise

You are lucky to still have this relationship with your LO. I have posted on here about similar nasty comments, it is hard when you feel really confident and then someone you think you know well makes a jibe. That hurts!

Everyone at work knows I am still BFing, I am a bit of an advocate and recently when a PG colleague asked me how long I managed I announced I was still - DD is 18m. She was fascinated and it started a great conversation in the Kitchen between us all, including some Dads. Some of them asked some very Personal questions but TBH I felt they were not judgeing just curious. Turns out another older colleague self weaned both her boys - I never knew that before.

So I have been suprised by those I expected to be supportive and those I thought would Judge, just be yourself, you don't have to wear the MN lapel badge but I have found being open and honest gives extended BFing a good name in general.

Keep up the good work, forget bottles and give LO cups of expressed Milk (or cows milk when over 12m).

I mean 2yrs 4 m btw

Agree with princessmel loads of Mnetters will support you. Extended breastfeeding is quite the norm on MN .
I fed DS1 till he was about 2, he stopped gradually while I was pregnant with DS2.
DS2 is 10 months and loves feeding and I have no plans to stop...

panacotta

My DS is nearly 14 mo and we are still bfing first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I never particularly planned to go on this long but he enjoys it and I like the closeness so what's the problem?
Also he had a few days in hospital recently and thank god I could bf him cos it calmed him down no end when he was having horrible things like a canula put in his hand.
Anyway so what I'm trying to say is it's none of anyone else's business how long you want to bf for, do it for as long as you and your DC want it. Bfing in no way means "no life" FFS!