What benefits are there to breastfeeding 19-24mth old?

[Concordia]

Hi. DD is 19mths old. She now just has one feed at night time. Until a few months ago it was in the morning too but i was finding that it was virtually impossible to fit in when rushing out the door and she weaned naturally onto her breakfast.
She sometimes asks for a feed late afternoon but rarely now.
I have loved BF but tbh feel it is becoming a drag as it ties me to the house at8pm every evening and i am starting to want a life, just one evening a month or so! I half want to keep BF to 2 years as WHO say but not really sure why. I want to make a concerted effort to lose weight (am 4 stone overweight with high blood pressure) and think that stopping BF may help this. I have had really positive experiences of BF and think partly that if i keep going out of a sense of duty, it may not be right.
what do the mumsnet jury think? (apologies for tired rambling post)

[http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html this page]] talks about the benefits of breastfeeding an older child

If you both still like it why not carry on? I used to find it a nice calm quiet time with DS, for just a few minutes each day he would be cuddly and calm. I missed that when we stopped.

The morning feed was the last one to go for us, neither DS or I are good at mornings.

Well done you for bf so long. You are at the stage where I got twitchy too.

Benefits: comfort, nutrition, immune boosters, growth hormones, easily absorbed vitamins and minerals, antibodies...

Does it really have to tie you to the house at 8 pm?

I fed my son for 3 years. He was perfectly happy at home in the evenings with DH or a family friend. They had their own little bedtime routines and ways of doing things without me.

I leave my current baby with DH much more frequently.

Is it possible that if you could manage to 'have a life' as you put it, you might not resent the feeding so much? I've experienced something like that.

I have no idea about the weight loss thing.

Sorry if this wasn't helpful.

hmm, perhaps what i have been resenting is not the feeding so much, but that i am the bedtime routine, and have been for 19 months and now have decided that i want the odd day off! I guess perhaps we could move to occcasional nights when i'm not on but still keep BF? Sounds like other people have managed this and it might be best for DD and for me.

Concordia, I am feeding ds 2.4, and I did find from 18mo, he could occasionally go to bed without a bedtime feed if I was out of the house.
Have you tried letting your DP putting him to bed?

Incidentally there is still a big benefit to feeding at this, you are supporting her immune system, and providing nutrients. Plus it is comforting.

It is a 2 way relationship, and if you really feel that you DON'T want to carry on, perhaps try some gentle weaning techniques.

Congrats for feeding her for this long

'I am the bedtime routine'

I can totally empathise with you there!

I'm taking steps to move boob further back in the routine, so at present he has a feed before I put him into his gro-bag, and the next step will be boob before stories, ultimately moving it to before bath.
I think from there it would be v. easy to substitute a cup of hot chocolate and a biscuit if I'm not there.

I think my DS will adapt very easily and that it's me who fears change, as much as I relish the thought of being able to go to a theatre performance that starts at 7.30.

I am the bedtime routine as well. I used to blame it on bf, but then I stopped bf at 2.5 (was pg) and ds still insisted on 'snuggles with mummy' before bed.

We did try dh reading him stories and other ploys. He happily accepted them, stayed awake through them and then asked for me.

My guess is you probably stand a better chance of getting a break if you incorporate a bedtime routine with someone else before you stop bf - otherwise you will try to be introducing the new routine at a time when he's feeling slightly insecure due to stopping bf, and that may make it trickier.

sorry, she not he

thanks wasting away and ib i think moving bf forward in the routine might help to get DH involved a bit more in the actual putting to bed bit. i want to get someone else able to put DD to bed in the long term for everyone's sake.