I just wanted to add to peoples comments about feeding being unnecessary after 12 months.
Ok yes, it may not be totally necessary, in the same way that it isn't totally necessary to feed your child anything other than chicken nuggets and chips every day (because many children survive off just this) but we know this isn't the healthiest thing for them and won't do them any good for the future.
All the recent research on breastfeeding in different cultures and in our own human past as well as with other closely related animals has shown that a normal length of breastfeeding (until the last 200 years when men started to interfere in the form of doctors, religious leaders and "child rearing experts" telling us what we should be doing) was 2.5 to 7 years with the child usually feeding until ready to stop themselves or the mother became pregnant with another baby.
I really do believe people's yuk response all come from culturally accepted beliefs. Most of us grew up without ever seeing a baby breastfeeding, let alone a toddler and so it isn't easy to see something as normal if you've never seen it before. Being surrounded by a "bottlefeeding culture" where baby dolls come with bottles, all babies on tv are always bottlefed and its very rare to see someone breastfeeding openly in public all combine to give people the SUBCONSCIOUS idea that it isn't a normal thing to do.
This is really sad, and its really hard to live in this environment and still care for your children the way your instincts (and all recent information) tell you is the best for your children. My Mum thinks its disgusting that I'm still breastfeeding my little girl and she's only 13 months. This isn't going to stop me feeding her, it isn't even going to stop me feeding her in front of my Mum, after all my priority is making my daughter happy not my mother: however it does make me feel bad inside.
I am putting a huge amount of effort into doing the VERY best for my darling girl, and to be looked down upon for that is unfair.
I don't mind if you don't want to do it yourself, I enjoy it but it can be very tying and hard work sometimes frankly. I don't mind if you find it yucky really, as long as you never tell me or my little girl that. I just want people to acknowledge that I am doing my best for my baby, and this is what people find hard. If someone parents differently to us then it automatically has to be wrong.
I do suffer from this syndrome myself as I think every parent does, but I make a big effort now to try and see why other people make their choices and I make DAMN sure that I know all the information about their choices before I form an opinion as to whether their methods are good or bad. I personally wouldn't do many of them but if I can find no evidence that its harming their child then I can't have any problem with them doing it right?
(And health visitors and midwives opinions on whether extended breastfeeding is "necessary" are worth next to nothing, they're not experts on feeding, most of them have done less training in breastfeeding than I have and I'm just a peer supporter)
This was going to be just my two cents but I'm sure if I was going to put a monetary value on this now I couldn't afford to post it so I'll stop there..
Lots of love,
Clare and Georgia milk-monster