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

[lisalisa]

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have a look atthis

hercules - good for you for 'coming out of the closest' so to speak. Anyone would think we are doing something wrong! I have said before that I b/fed my ds till past age of 5 and dd who is 3.3 still does every other night or so. At about age 5 my ds slowed down to once a week, once a month etc... and gradually trickled to nothing. Well I presume so. He has just turned 6 and I think has finished with it as its been several months now. I feel much happier with him leading the way like this and I think he has confidence knowing that that source of comfort has always been available to him. I think this is where the pro-long-term feeders make their claim. These children are more not less confident because they are secure in their knowledge that their mother can provide comfort and security in a form that is understandable to a young child. However I do not make this clear cut claim myself as I think it would be unfair to bottle feeders to assume that my child has more confidence (after all there are many complex factors to a child's personality). However I certain refute that breastfeeding undermines or damages confidence. Why should it. If your husband or partner gives you a needed kiss when you or he arrives home from work then no-body would say that would make you or he clingy would it!

Great post Eulalia.
Read the link Beemokha - glad I was bottlefed, otherwise I would have been a genius!

beeM - My suggestions for success at feeding long term would just be as follows:

Don't give nursing a silly baby name, remember your baby will be talking soon. Call it nursing, or something else you are happy to hear in public.

The pulling up the shirt aspect gets the most comments here as the thing that repulses people, train little hands not to do this from a young age.

it's really the same as people putting babies to sleep whilst awake to teach them to go to sleep.

totally agree eulalia.

I think each to there own on this debate really. I have also heard from mamy sources that brest is best until the age of 12 months then they need to be on step 2 and cows milk.

I also think that Jo knows exactly what she is talking about and she sounds extremely profesional to me.

Lisa, did you read the WHO link?

What is in step 2 milk that makes it better than breastmilk?

serah - read what link ? the one I provided ? I have read it already many times over and am convinced by the research which supports BF as long as the mother and child WISH for it to continue, i.e. not forcing the child to stop when he doesn't want to.

There is no evidence that long-term BF makes a child a genius as you joke. However, I am convinced by the science available that the chemical components that are present in human milk allow quicker and better development of the human brain.

Cow's milk is not for the human brain, it's for a cow's brain, logical, eh ?

Lisa2's post answers the question of why NurseyJo uses such a bossy tone - it convinces people, who don't know better, that she knows best.

All too depressing.

Lisa2 - breastmilk changes as babies grow up. It continues to be the best thing for the child, whatever their age.

beemokha - I think serah was saying she had read that link, not telling you to read it.

Lisa2's a nanny too.

Lisa....please do inform yourself of the correct facts in this. You have heard from 'many sources' that babies 'need' to be on Step 2 milk/cows milk from that age. I do not doubt you have heard this, but these 'many sources' are wrong. There are links to several websites on this thread that will inform you. Are you being deliberately awkward in refusing to read them? Or are you reading them and not understanding them? Or you understanding them, and preferring to credit the 'many sources' for some reason?

Is this something to do with being 'professional'?

I am mystified.

Tiktok, I think it may have something to do with nannies coming out in sympathy with one another...

Yes - that was what my question about being 'professional' was intended to hint at

I wondered!

It wouldn't be the first time, would it?!

Lisa2 you're talking bollocks. Sorry, but you are. lots and lots of human beings in the world are lactose intolerant - so far from "needing" cows milk, they can't process it without a reaction! How can you possibly think cows milk is better for a child than human milk? Just as good, I could understand - though may argue with - but better?

Like I say, professionals and breastfeeding = Paris Hilton and poverty. You've just proved it.

Caligula, love the Paris Hilton and poverty analogy!

The majority of the world are LI after childhood....many ethnic groups do not produce lactase as they get older. However, they can process the lactose in breastmilk more readily than the lactose in cows milk.

Even non-LI toddlers and children don't 'need' cows milk or 'Step 2' milks. They can have cows milk and it's a useful and convenient source of nutrients, and many of them will have cows milk well as continuing to breastfeed. But why a 'professional' would state, in the face of all the evidence, that a 12-month-old needs it in preference to breastmilk, I don't know.

tiktok i need to ask you a breastfeeding question directly relating to my ds. Can i CAT you or should i start another thread?

its about lactose and other food protein intolerances.

yes, I was saying that I had read the link beemokha, not that you should read it!! (thanks NQC!)

Anyway, don't quite know what you're insinuating..... cows milk never affected meoooooooOOOOOO!

because they're loons.

Sorry to be so immoderate in my reactions, but this has made me really cross. People talking rubbish and then pretending that it's OK to talk rubbish as long as you talk it professionally enough. How many women are being intimidated by idiot professionals who don't have a clue about what they're going on about, but are impressed by those professional credentials? Give me strength!

ruty, it's probably best to start your own thread. Nobody new will start reading this thread now, probably, as it's far too long.

When did "professional" start meaning "bossy"? I always like, and trust, health professionals most when they're relaxed and honest. I like it best when they admit they don't know something, and take steps to find out.

My ds and dd have survived quite well without 'step 2' milk - whatever the hell that is!? My dd didn't start drinking milk till she was about 18 months. Before then she didn't like it much and positvely hated the taste of formula. She didn't touch any cows milk products till she was 12 months old when she weighed 22 lbs. Also I exclusively breastfed her (she didn't even drink water) till she was 6 months and weighed a whopping 17lbs. Don't mean to sound like I am boasting but we don't 'need' cows milk at all. Choose to use it if you want but it is not necessary for young babies.

Much of follow on milk - ie milk after 12 months is just marketing hype - it is enriched milk and a baby can manage perfectly well on ordinary full fat cows milk and solid food (a lot cheaper too!) or of course breast milk and solids. I am sure that the marketing gurus are pleased that many people are taken in by the fact that their babies 'need' these 'steps' milk. I wonder how our parents managed without it or grandparents even....