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

[lisalisa]

Message withdrawn

Nannies seem to be rounding up the troops on Nannyjob - links there to this thread. Déja vue...

It's amazing the attitudes to child-rearing that people who purport to care for children. Rubbishing breastmilk, indeed! Three cheers to the lone voice at NJ that actually supported (in words and deed) extended breastfeeding.

Follow-on Milk is just a marketing gimmick to get around the WHO code. Doesn't everyone, especially self-style professionals, know that?

Follow on milk is not labelled as a breastmilk substitute, therefore it can be advertised - unlike traditional formula.

Talking rubbish is bad enough - but many times worse when you do it with some kind of dubious professional authority.

I'm going to have to argue with anyone who says that breastmilk is better than cows milk.

Any calf is bound to disagree most strongly with that.

Presumably nannies often end up giving formula to their charges, and hence see that as normal, and anything else as weird? And as you move from formula to cow's milk at a year, why shouldn't you move from breastmilk to cow's milk at that time, too?

(Am I allowed to be mean about people describing themselves earnestly as professionals, but not being sure how to spell "professional"? No, probably not, it's petty and mean.)

I wonder how many of these "expert" nannies have actually had children of their own and breastfed them?

Was going to have a look on NJ later - thought this might be happening (hence my earlier posts). Deja deja vu vu

Ooh, WWB, you'll be quoted on NJ for that

Oooooh, fame at last.

I just wondered how many of them are claiming to be experts in something they've actually never done.

It looks like very few of them have, WWB.

I'm quite impressed by the opinion that parents ought to have some sort of training before they have kids. Well, I'm not entirely opposed to that, actually, as long as it doesn't include wild misinformation about bf!

(Why can't we have tickers and animated gifs lots and lots of busy graphics all over our posts? It looks so lovely.)

Someone post a link to the thread, go on

Because breastmilk has things in it that formula can never have so it's always worthwhile continuing to breastfeed. It's more nutritious, weight for weight, than almost any other food, and the nutritional content changes as the baby's needs change..

Formula is more digestible than unrefined cows' milk, but this benefit is less important as the baby develops its own constitution. The nutritional balance of formula (which is designed to meet the needs of a baby who is doubling their weight in 4 months) is also masked by solid foods.

Here: thread .

Oh, Ameriscot2005, I know that - I was just trying to work out why nannies, in particular, would feel so strongly about ending bf at 12 months.

Thanks, NQC!

Ameriscot2005, all those things - and it's individually tailored for the child. Not sure cows have got the hang of that one yet

Neener neener!

I'm the only one that has been named and shamed!

Nice to see Nursey Jo is still banging on about little nutritional value beyond 12 months. She didn't read the WHO link then... But she is a "professional", so ho hum...

Because they want mums out of the way so that they can have "sole charge"?

(to read H....no, not going to say it)

Oh, Ameriscot2005, I did think your comment before, about what a maternity nurse does, was a bit inflammatory. We did debate getting one before we had DS1, just to have a spare pair of hands, to help teach us how to do everything with DS1. I think any help is useful in those dreadful early days.

But finally we had a private midwife, who helped us give the first bath, establish breastfeeding, and who encouraged bed sharing and baby wearing, so that worked out fine.

Sod the nutritional value - what about the emotional benefits? Why don't they care about those?

Nice, we were "horrible horrible" and had had too much to drink to have a reasoned discussion!

So not just extended breastfeeding disgusting nutters, but drunkards too...!

As for nannies always know best...that lot didn't re breastfeeding!

But they were proffesionals (sic), and I'm just a mum, so what would I know?!

Point taken, NQC. I was just trying to provoke some debate, but of course it was all taken the wrong way, despite what I said being wrapped up in my own personal viewpoint. I honestly don't know what I would have done with an expensive maternity nurse and am not clear as to what value they add. I was quite happy with the daily midwife visits...

It would have been interesting to hear about what a maternity nurse really does /sigh.

• daily visits?! I saw mine three times after DS was born, once at my strong insistence!

Mind you, she was an evil old cowbag, so not sure I'd have wanted to see her every day

For my first baby I had daily visits. I knew how to bath a baby for the next four...despite being just a mum .

Actually, to be completely truthful, I never bathed a baby until they were at least a week old, but I do remember having a baby bath demo in hospital.