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Buster turned 17 months a couple of days ago, still feeding twice a day plus I have needed to feed him overnight lately. I said to my DH that I would never have imagined feeding an 18 month old, and we'll be there very shortly! I can't see him weaning in the next few weeks :)
Hestia - well done on almost 17months. I say that to myself all the time, honestly never thought I'd still be BFing.
Hotl - hope your discomfort has eased up!
Sterla - congratulations on two years! Wow, what an achievement.
Sore nips here!!! Ouchie, ouch, ouch!! Just the last three days they have been sore & tender. My boobs have also felt fuller and somewhat resemble my boobs of the past ;) . WTH. DD must be feeding differently lately.
It is so lovely to read about all the other extended breastfeeders around, it can feel like you're a bit on your own sometimes but this thread shows that we are clearly not :)
I know what you mean Jelly, I don't know anyone IRL who has fed a baby over 14 months.
Thanks Rosey :)
i think my cousin was the first full term BF i knew of (outside of those i met on bb) - she went to 18 months and her son didn't want it any more! DD is four this month and wont entertain the idea of giving up (we talk about it but she says not yet - so i guess she will keep going!)
My SIL bfed her boys til 12 months and that was seen as quite an achievement. My aim was to make it to 12 months bfeeding, I made it and didn't see a reason to stop (don't think DD would have been keen anyway), then I thought it would be pretty cool to make it to 2 years. DD has just turned 3 and although she only has one feed a day, and sometimes misses a few days, (similar to BG's little one) DD has no thoughts of stopping. She knows that other kids don't bf, and that big people don't, but when I talk about one day stopping she just says 'nup, uh uh, I need my feeds'.
I have always fed my kids to sleep, DD every feed until I was pregnant and it didn't work anymore, and DS almost all sleeps. DH can get both of them to sleep through cuddling or rocking/dancing but t is usually easier for me to bfeed them. So this is what my DD knows, and she will tell me that "DS needs a feed, Mum". Another bro and SIL do controlled crying with their kids, and at family gigs lately, they have put their LO to bed and she cries for awhile. My DD is quite concerned for her, and firstly went to SIL "Baby is crying". but was confused when SIL said "Yeah, she is just going to sleep". DD kept going down the hallway to where baby was. I went to DD and she told me "Baby is crying, Mum. She is tired, but needs a feed, Mum".
I had a negative comment yesterday from a friend who I would not have expected it from :( I am ready to stop and she knows it but I won't stop until DD is ready. Which is looking like being 18, maybe 21 lol! Meh, I just won't mention it to her again. It works for me.
I feed to sleep too, HotI. If she doesn't feed to sleep, she at least feeds until she's relaxed and I can cuddle her or put her in her bed and hold her hand. If she's not tired, she's really cheeky & will pretend she is just to get a feed then get up and go play again. Cheeky monkey!
Hi girls, DD2 is now 16 mths so I'm into our second time around of child-led weaning. DD1 fed until just before her 4th birthday. She was down to 2 feeds from 2 years, then 1 feed from about 3 1/2. I gently encouraged her to stop after she missed a few days before she turned 4. Mostly just a suggestion on my part that since she hadn't had any for a little while, maybe she didn't need it anymore. She only asked once and then not again.
DD2 has been a more avid bfer overnight, but I got my first night without waking last night! She's bfing about 6 times a day, but with her missing last night she only had 4. Can't say I minded the full night's sleep! Bbs weren't even that full this morning, so I suspect the 1-2 she's been having overnight were quick thirst quenchers anyway.
I'm intending to bf her for as long as she wants. She doesn't comfort suck as much as DD1, but who knows how it will develop as she gets older. Toddlers seem to get something different out of bfing to babies, in that the reconnection with Mummy is important to them.
As for other experiences, my Mum bf me for 15 mths, which was considered a long time! Both of my sisters were bf for about 12. I was weaned so she could TTC. I originally intended to bf for about the same amount of time, then came across the ABA, BB and the WHO recommendations. I think the clincher for me was one BB member who bf her child for 4 years, which helped me to see it as normal, and then looking at DD1 the day after she turned one and thinking, 'so what's different about her today that would make me treat her differently to yesterday?'
I haven't ever had negative comments about full term bfing, in fact, I know of at least two friends (and possibly now my two sisters, who are talking about bfing until two) who bf their toddlers after talking about it with me and realising their situations would allow them to. For me also, DD1 never had a single dr's visit until six mths after weaning (her first and only ear infection), despite going to preschool from 2. For us, bfing clearly gave her an immune advantage she wouldn't have otherwise had. She's the poster-child for child-led weaning, ticks every box of the benefits and certainly showed none of the supposed negative behaviour critics expect.
Nice to have a place to chat with you all!
Hi Jen!
So DD is 14 and a half months and she's really cut back- well I chose to wean her mid morning feed and not to offer in the afternoon unless she asked (she was on 4 feeds a day, whatever happened at night, sometimes nothing) for TCC reasons and now she barely takes anything when she wakes up in the morning so it's really just her bedtime feed that's a 'good' one. I know it could just be a phase, I'm guess I'm still feeling guilty about partially weaning her in order to hurry up another pregnancy. I'd like to keep feeding her while pregnant- depending on how my supply holds up and any pain issues- but maybe I've already started to close the door on that desire by my decisions now. But then again I really want for my little socialite to have a sibling really close in age so... So just venting really!
We are still going... DS has increased his feeding lately and his suction is so strong! He has also started biting at the end of the feed... Not pleasant.. So still no sign of stopping yet... My plan was after his surgery, but he has been such a booby boy I don't want to wean him... I kind of hope it just happens mutually.
Well done to everyone here who is still BFing. It's great for all concerned. It's sad we call feeding beyond a year "extended" BFing like it's something special. It should be NORMAL to BF until LO's are 2yo.
I feel sad about how my mind set was before having my DS. "I'll BF IF I can". It should have been "I'll BF 'till he's 2"
I just wish there was less support for formula feeding and more for BFing. I also wish the breast feeding classes I attended had been clearer about "you'll feel like a walking boob for the first few months but it's soooooo worth it to be able to leave the house so simply and know you have just the right food at just the right temp on tap all the time"
"nothing is easier than a BF in the paddock rather than having to lug back to the house to warm up formula"
............
Please know I am not bagging people who don't BF I am just saying that the mindset needs to slightly shift for a major change in attitude.
For sure, I went to lots of BF classes pre-baby and even my LC After DD was born didn't focus on the psychological aspects very much. Although part of me does think that even if I had of been clued into that beforehand, I wouldn't have really grasped the extent of it. I don't think you can comprehend how absolutely encompassing BF is in the early weeks and even months.
That's true. I can clearly recall my jaw hitting the floor when the midwife at the antenatal classes said newbies feed 10 - 12 times a day, an hour at a time, around the clock. I had no idea! I did not believe her. I'm glad it wasn't quite that extreme (although not far off!) but I can imagine that many new mums give up thinking they don't have enough milk trying to feed 4 hourly when they've just had the wrong info or no info on bf.
I'm in :)
DD is 13mo and such a little boobie monster ;) she is fed on demand as well as BLW solids she loooooves the boobie.
DD was a surprise so I hadn't ever given much thought to BFing until I knew she was coming, then it was, "I'll aim for 6 months but I'm not going to stress myself out if it doesn't work" because that's what my friends did. i have an idea those same friends are a little shocked that we're still going, but not necessarily in a bad way :)
Nipple twiddling hahaha! I didn't realise it was just about every toddler. DD will be feeding from one side, sit up and "talk" to me whilst tapping to other boob as if to request that I uncover it, so once it's out she'll start twiddling and go back to feeding with her little blissed-out dreamy eyes <3
I seriously need to remember to keep the beads near though, sometimes she gets rough :/
"Extreme boobie" in the morning is hilarious... seeing her stand up on the bed and then launch herself onto my chest with a crazed smile/open mouth is just hilarious. DP and I are in stitches!!!
we're aiming for 2 years and then who knows from there! as stated before though, I think if it's up to her she'll keep the boobie around for a while longer :)
So it now seems I'm in the realms of bfing while pg. When I told my sister (currently also bfing her 12 mth old) that i was pg, she said, "ooo, you'll be tandem feeding!" Lol What a difference a year with an ABA group makes!
Thankfully, no nipple sensitivity yet, which is unusual, since that's been my first pg symptom with both girls. I guess that's possibly because I'm currently bfing.
How many weeks Jen? It'll kick in soon! Haha but will come and go.
I'm almost 13 weeks pregnant and tandem feeding...so exhausting. Supply is dropping but thought I'd start getting my EBM stash out of the freezer to top DS up at night...got to use the 30+ 150ml bags somehow. At least he drinks it (well last time I tried) as DD never would.
Around 7, or thereabouts, E. Hopefully it stays away as long as possible!
Congrats Jennifer13, I had sensitivity from early when I was still feeding ds1 while pg - gave up feeding at 9wk pg as it was just too ouchy, thankfully ds1 was only having bedtime feed then (26mths!).
Currently have one sore side as ds2 seems to like almost biting/ mouth pinching while feeding (mainly at night and position doesn't change in middle of feed, just seems to pinch/nearly bite while continuing to feed :( can't pump as strongly on lefty now either as its too sore. Bit hard to reposition at night when he seems to attach fine to start with (phone light only so not to wake up when returning to bed) didn't have this problem with the older one