Why do people breastfeed past 1year old?

[Mommabear20]

Not a bashing thread, I'm genuinely interested in peoples reasons!

My DD was formula fed and once she was a year old and could drink cows milk, she stopped formula completely and no longer uses bottles at all.

So my question is, if you have breastfed your DC past 1 year when it's no longer needed for their nutrition, why do/did you continue?

*Babies are going to prefer a nice fleshy breast to a bottle comfort-wise

This is such sanctimonious crap*

Whilst it’s obviously a funny statement. It’s probably true, insofar as I prefer steak to vegan steak/real bacon to fakon/a real dick instead of a dildo.

They all do the job just fine by mimicking the real thing, but the real thing is better.

Probably time to step away if words are affecting you that much on the topic.

I really don't think bottle feeders need to worry. I liked breastfeeding as did my 5 babies (some of my best memories of my entire life actually) and that's fine and plenty of babies do fine bottle fed. This is not a moral judgment issue on anyone. We all do our best for our babies. My oldest 3 had my breastmlkd when I was at work from a bottle as I expressed as in the 1980s it was hard to get maternity leaves. I didn't even get SMP fo six weeks as I had not worked at the three firms in each case less than 2 years (the period you needed in those days). We managed that by my never giving a baby a bottle so they always associated someone else with that and when I got home I fed them. We all work out compromises that suit a particular family. I was surprised how pleased I was when my older daughter breastfed and currently my younger one is too (she has a new baby) and I am glad but had they not been able to do so or chosen not to do so that would be fine too.

Just saw this 😂

I guess the debate, if there ever was one on this thread, has reached a new low!

Couldn't work out how to stop after he caught every single virus going at nursery from 10 mo old till over 3

I'm also immense lazy and perfected the art of breast sleeping when they were over 1.

When I didn't know how to deal with screaming tantrums I found feeding while explaining was effective even if all it did was shut them up!

Bloody hell, now a Karen meme has crept into the discussion. Lovely.

@DontTellThemYourNamePike

Bloody hell, now a Karen meme has crept into the discussion. Lovely.

Indeed.

And one that misses the point. No one ever argues that peach smoothies or whatever are a key nutritional need for humans in the way people position cow’s milk for toddlers.

In fact, people almost position breastmilk as the laughable peach and spirulina smoothie in the toddler’s diet. Why aren’t they just drinking cow’s milk like normal babies?

Jesus Christ @Lifeisnteasy you might as well paste a fucking sign to your head saying I'VE GOT BREASTFEEDING ISSUES.

Can you honestly imagine your shrill posts with their try-hard laughing crying emojis are doing anything other than making you look like a total dick?

I thought it would be funny

@Lifeisnteasy

I thought it would be funny

I don't understand the scorn you've received for it 🙄

I think Karen memes come from a pretty misogynistic place.

Setting that aside, that particular one isn’t very funny, or actually relevant, because I don’t think anyone is saying that dairy is bad for you, but that breastmilk is better. Which it is.

@JanuaryPinks someone needs a passion fruit and kale smoothie

@Lifeisnteasy who’s that then? And why? (And why does this mean so much to you?)

*And one that misses the point. No one ever argues that peach smoothies or whatever are a key nutritional need for humans in the way people position cow’s milk for toddlers.

In fact, people almost position breastmilk as the laughable peach and spirulina smoothie in the toddler’s diet. Why aren’t they just drinking cow’s milk like normal babies?*

Well said BurntToastAgain It's all so ironic.
Basically, cows' milk is normal and we need it. Well, so what if we don't actually need it, we like it and it has some useful things in it. We eat loads of things that aren't essential don't we, why would dairy be any different? Let us eat what we enjoy.
But don't you dare go giving that human milk stuff to humans without bloody good justification, especially for more than 365 days. It's not necessary you know. What's your reason for feeding your child something that isn't essential to their survival? Come on, you must have one!
How did things get so messed up?

I actually think this thread has been great. There are often challenges getting bf established and it’s time intensive in the early days, so the vast majority of threads with a bf element end up deteriorating into the kind of boring breastmilk v formula comparison that some posters on the thread have tried to bring this one back to, as if the composition of the milk is the beginning and end of the story.

What’s nice, looking at it from the perspective of bf mums a year down the line, is getting an insight into all the other lovely things about bf that you’re not normally allowed to talk about for fear of offending people (in my experience anyway).

@FolkSongSweet - it’s great if poster’s want to do an extended period of breast feeding but perhaps accept that some of us decided to use formula from day one (and cows milk from 12 months) and have given our babies an equally brilliant start in life.

I’ve enjoyed reading this thread. There’s more of us extended breastfeeders then I thought.
Apart from the usual people who turn it into a bf v ff v cows milk debate (which wasn’t the ops question) it’s good to know that many of us do it and enjoy it. It should be talked about more

[quote Parker231]@FolkSongSweet - it’s great if poster’s want to do an extended period of breast feeding but perhaps accept that some of us decided to use formula from day one (and cows milk from 12 months) and have given our babies an equally brilliant start in life.[/quote]
@Parker231 your post is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about - WHY feel the need to turn it into some kind of bf v ff comparison? It’s just not. I don’t care how you fed your child. I do wonder why you think your decision to formula feed is relevant to a thread discussing the benefits of breastfeeding after a year though, and why I need to “accept” anything?

I haven’t turned it into a bf v ff debate have only asked - why not accept that it’s not a negative to use formula?

Yeah FolkSongSweet hasn't said anything negatively in her post about FF, no need for her to add a clause to her opinion.
My God this discussion makes people tetchy 😬

@MangoLipstick

I’ve enjoyed reading this thread. There’s more of us extended breastfeeders then I thought. Apart from the usual people who turn it into a bf v ff v cows milk debate (which wasn’t the ops question) it’s good to know that many of us do it and enjoy it. It should be talked about more

100% sing it from the rooftops

OP: does anyone still go swimming with their child once they can swim themselves?
Loads of posters: yes, it’s really fun, we both enjoy it, bond over it and it’s good for both of us
Lifeisnteasy: but the health benefits of swimming are negligible and really overstated Karen lol
Parker: WHY for the love of god can’t you just accept that my decision to play tennis with my child is just as good

🤣

@Parker231

I haven’t turned it into a bf v ff debate have only asked - why not accept that it’s not a negative to use formula?

Because it’s not even relevant.

If people are that touchy about their infant feeding decisions that they can’t cope with anyone mentioning breastfeeding without a big disclaimer to reassure formula feeders, they really need to get some counselling.

That is an excellent analogy @FolkSongSweet. It is like kicking up a huge fuss that anyone dared to discuss swimming without reassuring people who haven’t chosen to teach their kids to swim yet.

I enjoyed it and they enjoyed it. I enjoyed the closeness and warmth and how easy it was to settle them, especially if unwell.

In my 2nd dd's case it was also because she was allergic to milk and soy. The allergy clinic and her dietician advised me to keep breastfeeding for as long as possible, for the sake of her immune system. I got the same recommendation from her cardiologist when she was 2.