Breastfeeding till the age of 4 - what do you think?

[lisalisa]

Message withdrawn

I had my kids very close together so was often feeding two at a time. It meant the milk supply was always there.

My dd once had a nasty fall in the playground when she was four. Was badly hurt and cried a lot. The only thing which soothed her was breastmilk and I was really grateful to be able to give her some and sooth her upset and pain.

I've fed all my kids into toddlerhood and beyond. I didn't ever really notice when they stopped for good because it was so gradual.

My 4th, and last baby is six months old today. I'll soon start giving him bits and pieces of real food but, if he's anything like his siblings, he'll be bf-ing for a couple of years yet and for as long as he wants. For me it makes no sense to curtail such a valuable resource.

I've fed with it, used it on sore bits of skin, and even squirted it in their eyes to help combat conjunctivitus. (It really works).

I'm in no hurry to end this fantastic and empowering era or to retire my breasts.
I'm in awe of breastmilk and our ability to produce it.

well done

i find it rather depressing that someone can find bfeeding till four 'repugnant'. How on earth does it inpinge upon anyone's delicate sensitivities if a mother chooses to bfeed her child up to four? Baffling. Good job we don't have to live anywhere as uncivilized as Africa where everybody does that sort of thing.

I find that squeamishness about b/feeding generally indicates body 'issues' (I hate that word but ykwim) in a much wider sense.

I have a great image of your son last night moondog.... I just had to laugh out loud at the raspberry blowing!

I am sorry but I intend to breastfeed until the imune system has gleened all it can from the breastmilk which is about 8 weeks. I think if a mother chooses to breastfeed a bit longer then good on them but anything older then a year brings images od Little Britains "Bitty"

TicTac - where on earth did you get the figure of 8 weeks from? It takes a child's immune system about 7 YEARS to develop. Certainly all health professionals recommend providing breastmilk (ususally with no solids) for 6 months.

Not read this thread as this has been discussed quite extensively already, particularly the Bitty Sketch. If people want their views to be swayed by a silly sketch then so be it. I am just shocked at how some people (women especially) actually seem to take this kind of thing seriously and let it prejudice their views on something that has so many health and emotional benefits for their child.

I never said the immune systems was developed at 8 weeks, I said it had gleened all it could from the breast by that time...there is significant difference. And as for where the information comes from...health professionals.

I am not at all swayed by a sketch, I think it is a simple observation. The breast is perhaps an emotion crux for the mother...not a desperante need for the child.

this is not intended to offend and I respect everyone's choices 100%....they jusy don't have to be mine

Sorry but I don't understand - gleaned all it could?? What do you mean by could? How is breastmilk different at 8 weeks than say 9 weeks? Where did you get this 8 week figure from?

Sorry just a bit bored with hearing about the bitty sketch - nothing personal....

The properties delivered to a baby through breastmilk which are considered most valuable are transferred to the chil by 8 weeks. Beyond that (and of course up to that point) it is choice if you want to breastfeed or not. As I say, our health professionals are the providers of this information.

Lets not forget that there are some mums who are just not abe to breast feed for a multitude of reasons....are their children worse off?

tictac you are talking bollocks.

Nice to meet you too Ruty...perhaps you are passing those amozing skills to your children too..

What it is like being superior to all and therefore able to dismiss their opinions....wow, your special

TicTac - almost the same name as me

You sound very dogmatic for someone whose only information has come from health professionals....the 8 weeks thing is ridiculous, and plenty of people here could give you references that show just how ridiculous.

Who told you health professionals knew all there is to know about breastfeeding, BTW

Perhaps you mean colostrum? This is indeed valuable but something that is valuable doesn't stop being valuable at some arbitrary point of time like 8 weeks. Obviuously feeding for 8 weeks is better than 8 days or 6 weeks or whatever. I have NEVER seen any documentation from a health professional stating that you should breastfeed for only 8 weeks and I am sure no-one else on this board has either. In fact it can sometimes take 8 weeks to get b/feeding established and women don't want to go through all that work just to suddenly stop doing it. Most who succeed carry on till around 6 months because it is so easy to provide baby with food which is specifically designed for the baby. Plenty of babies cannot tolerate formula milk or soya milk and some are in fact very allergic to other forms of milk so obviously its best for them to carry on breastfeeding.

OK that's enough - sorry I just have to correct misinformation when I see it!!!!

I think the only people who "know best" for their children are the parents. If you listen to all you hear then you would not leave your home...

An opinion is just that...nothing more. The fact there there appear to be some very righteous people on here kind of suggests that there are many issues in the world of breastfeeding. If you are happy then whats wrong with that?...don't answer, I fear further abuse from queen Ruty...

Oh and of course there are plenty of health professionals of Mumsnet of course (tiktok included!)

Eulalia, I'm not an HP....I am a breastfeeding counsellor

TicTac - no one minds you posting an opinion. I think most of us love opinions, and that's why Mumsnet is a success, with lots of lively people possting opinions.

But if you post something as a fact, and the fact is wrong (and how!) and potentially very misleading (ditto!), and patently illogical, and the tone in which you post it (yes, we can 'hear' even on a discussion board!) is high-handed and dogmatic, and you come back and defend it in an equally high-handed and dogmatic way, then someone is gonna react with a mildly rude word or two

i think you'll find tictac that i have never told anyone on mumsnet that they were talking bollocks before, but you were and it had to be said. The fact that you insinuate that i will teach my chidren bad manners is breathlessly insulting and stupid. As is your claim to know the 'facts'about bfeeding.

I am a HP and most of what I know about breastfeeding came from tiktok and mears

some people find it difficult to breastfeed and I have ofteen heard it said that feeding for 6 to 8 weeks id giving the baby a good start. Can i say that I am finding this site more and more prejudice! Anyone that doesnt have an earth mother view is shot down in flames! Being a parent isnt an easy thing for a lot of people and I am sure this site was set up so mums could have a bit of a chat and ask for friendly advice etc...instead people seem to jump on them and ram their ideas down their throats!!!! Sorry I had to get that off my chest!!!!!!

Breastfeeding for any amount of time, no matter how little, is giving a baby a good start. But to suggest that a baby gets no further benefit from breast milk after 8 weeks is misleading and incorrect.

It's also not true that parents always know best ... those mothers who put Coke into their baby's bottles or give their children Mars bars for breakfast certainly don't know best.

if you're talking about me then i can assure you i'm not an earth mother. neither do i seek to shoot anyone down in flames. I'm not criticising anyone for breastfeeding for a short time or not at all. I was just pointing our what Tictac said about anything over 8 weeks not being useful from a health perspective was totally incorrect. I'm sorry if i was a bit more pithy than usual i've had a rather bad day.

why have you had a bad day Ruty!

oh long story mandy, to do with going to the hospital. we're all ok but the doctors were just rather annoying and superior. thanks for asking tho!

Hope you're OK, Ruty (and fwiw, you were far more polite than I would've been ).