Forum home Babies Baby

For those breastfeeding.

I have just read that WHO now recommend you BF until 2 years old.
I am not to sure on this one. I intend on feeding until Kieran weans himself...but 2 years? I personally dont think I would be comfy feeding at that age.

Replies

  • I don't think I'd want to feed Sophie until she's 2 either! It's taking some time for me to actually enjoy it and I cannot imagine doing it that long. And I intend to have another one before then and feeding two would be really hard!
  • I suppose you could express and give it to them as a drink once they're weaned.
  • I planned to feed ds until he was 2 but as it turned out he kind of lost interest by 18 months. We were starting trying for no.2 by that point anyway so it seemed like a natural time to stop.
    I was broken hearted for a wee while afterwards though - I felt like my baby was all grown up!
  • Not for me- am planning to wean off the boob from 6 months. There's a lady who bf her toddler at toddler group and they seem happy so as always its whatever suits you and your family
  • I planned to bf mine for one year - and ds1 and ds2 both seemed to come off the breast quite naturally at around that age, and go onto cups of cows milk.

    However my dd had other ideas lol! She adored bf'ing (as many of the girls in Toddler know!) I had a hell of a time weaning her off - it was her 'comfort' thing. Finally managed to stop at 26mths.

    I never imagined I would still be bf'ing a 2yr old - but once I was, and I started reading up about bf'ing toddlers, I began to feel accepting of it. I was too embarrassed to ever feed her in public at that age - but looking back now I think that's a shame. It should be more socially acceptable to bf a 2yr old.

    I think it's very much an individuals choice. There are some real health benefits to nursing toddlers - so providing mum and baby are both happy to bf till 2, I think it's a good thing. Bf'ing can be such a wonderful, nurturing experience.

    btw. I started her on solids at 6mths, the bf'ing was just supplementary after that.

    xx
  • I plan to feed as long as DS wants to. I have no upper limit in mind really. I think everyone should just do what they feel comfortable with!
  • Having gone through what I've gone through to BF I will do it as long as my son wants it! I love it, and although initially the thought of BF a toddler made me cringe, now I'm doing it properly it feels very natural.

    Each to their own as usual!

    Hxx
  • Like MrsS & Renri, I will feed Benjamin for as long as he wants....or at least that is the plan - this is no1 for me so who knows how I will feels by the time he is 6 months or a year old! Will just wait and see what happens xxx
  • I stopped breastfeeding at 13 months. He was down to one feed a day, so my milk supply wasn't great and then a family emergency meant I had to go away for 5 days and it seemed sensible to switch to cow's milk for all his feeds. By the time I got back my milk had dried up completely and he was happy enough so that was that.

    That being said, I had him on my lap the other day and was thinking there would be no way I could breastfeed him comfortably any more. He is 16 months and tall for his age and I am not that tall. To rest his head on my shoulder he has to bend both his knees and hips, so I'm not sure how he would get to the breast if he still wanted to! I'm sure we would have worked something out it he was still feeding, but I'm not sure it would have been physically very comfortable for either of us.

    I beileve, although I may be wrong, that the WHO recommendations are as high as that because they take into account countries where breastmilk remains an important source of nutrition even after solids are introduced because of war, famine, contaminated water. Not that this should stop anyone in a developed country feeding as long as they want to as there are certainly benefits, but I don't think those of us who don't have too much to worry about in this country.
  • I too was planning to bf as long as lo wanted to, but I'm not sure how comfortable I will feel feeding a toddler. I think, for us, the best thing to do is not to have any set plans and just see how we feel as we go along.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Featured Discussions