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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

FANTASTIC article on extended breastfeeding in today's Guardian

159 replies

emkana · 30/04/2005 10:37

here

OP posts:
JoolsToo · 30/04/2005 10:50

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ggglimpopo · 30/04/2005 10:54

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cupcakes · 30/04/2005 11:00

I thought it was a very good article.

Heathcliffscathy · 30/04/2005 11:00

gosh, i fed to 10 months and it's made me feel guilty! tbh, ds just didn't really want to know anymore...altho he still at 18mnts (sorry gobbledigook) has a bottle before bedtime....

it is an interesting article....

hunkermunker · 30/04/2005 14:05

Very interesting. Hey, I'm a minority!

But I'd suspected that for some time...

donnie · 30/04/2005 15:44

I also read it - but I still find the idea of a 4 year old pulling up your t shirt and requesting a tit quite weird, frankly. Maybe it's me who is the freak!

JoolsToo · 30/04/2005 16:29

No question about the benefits of breast milk but what extra benefits does the child get from drinking from the breast at an age when they're perfectly capable of using utensils and presumably do use at mealtimes? Why not express and give from a cup?

Hugs and cuddles are still available aren't they?

oops · 30/04/2005 16:38

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oops · 30/04/2005 16:39

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JoolsToo · 30/04/2005 16:41

you could easily drink it with a straw if it was expressed into a cup

right I'm not coming back!

Tinker · 30/04/2005 17:20

Read this, interesting. There was a mnner quoated in there as well - not sure if I should say that.

hunkermunker · 30/04/2005 19:30

Why on earth would I express and fanny around with a breast pump and a cup when I can just give DS milk from a readily available and handy container?!

Also, he is FAR better at obtaining breastmilk than my breast pump - I expressed so DS could have my milk when I was at work and while it was easy to begin with (I used to leave him 20oz per Sunday), as he got bigger, and I expressed less frequently, I didn't get as much. Plus how would I know whether he wanted a quick suck or a full feed when I offered him milk in a cup?

And if I'd gone to the trouble of expressing it, I'd not be happy to see it poured down the sink!

JT, it's not as simple as 'express it and offer it in a cup' - that's all I'm saying! (Not that you'll see this... )

suedonim · 30/04/2005 19:54

Wow, I'm in a minority! Tinker, I noticed the Mumsnetter, too.

Joolstoo, 'Why not express?' Personally, I never was able to express, complete numpty when it came to that, plus why involve a middleman and make more work for yourself!?! PS plenty of other cultures do regard cots as cages.

victoriapeckham · 30/04/2005 20:23

Eeeeew, Bitty!

spots · 30/04/2005 20:25

I betted myself she was a mumsnetter!

I thought it was interesting how the journalist kept harping on about what the women looked like, what they wore etc. - really highlighted how it's a 'lifestyle issue' more than anything else.

spots · 30/04/2005 20:26

Bloody Bitty...

loved 'bittyphobic'!

beansprout · 30/04/2005 20:30

I was really annoyed by the use of the word "militant" on the front cover. The article then went on to say that most women who are b/feeding on an "extended" basis were doing it in secret/private, mainly due to the crappy attitudes of others. Oh yes, very militant!

The real story is why are so many babies on formula? How did that happen? When I am hospital with milk in my breasts, why is my baby being taken away by a midwife who would give him forumula? I know, I know, another thread!! Just thought it was lazy journalism to take a few women who are doing something "odd" rather than considering why something natural has come to be seen as "odd".

aloha · 30/04/2005 20:31

She was harping on about what they wore simply because they weren't all knit-your-own-lentils types - ie she was trying to break through the stereotypes. I did think 'supermodel looks' was pushing a bit though!
I HATE that bloody little Britain sketch. It actually upsets me because it is so hateful towards breastfeeding. I am absolutely certain that it contributes towards women's sense of embarrassment and makes breastfeeding seem ludicrous at best, and sexually perverse at worst, and I think that is absolutely awful. I don't even find it funny.
I suspect Matt Lucas and David Walliams don't like women much.

aloha · 30/04/2005 20:32

Oh, I disagree Beansprout. I think the article was asking why it is 'odd' in our culture to breastfeed past, ooh, about six weeks. Because it is. Hardly anyone does. I think it was a genuine attempt to say - hey this happens, these women do it, here's why and look - they are normal.

spots · 30/04/2005 20:40

exactly aloha that's what I mean - bending the stereotype that only loonies with the lentil lifestyle would be extended b/feeders. Putting the practice into the realm of 'something oddball hippies do' makes it so much easier for people to find it repellant.

It really seemed to be about the image of extended bf more than anything else. and helpful for that.

aloha · 30/04/2005 20:41

Sorry Spots! Misunderstood you.

beansprout · 30/04/2005 20:42

"Normal" apart from the ones that look like supermodels!! And hey, it's ok, good looking women do this too?!!

expatinscotland · 30/04/2005 20:43

JT