How many have or are "Extended/Sustained breastfeeding past 12 months" on BB?
I'm not sure what technicaly classifed as 'Extended Breastfeeding' or 'Sustained Breastfeeding'... some things say beyond one year, some things say beyond 2-3 years... but anyway, lets assume its beyond one year.
I thought this thread might be good for others who might be feeling pressure they don't want to wean before 12 months, or who have questions about how extended breastfeeding, or co-sleeping and feeding, or feeding to sleep, might effect their babies as they grow
Just wondering how many are there? I know there are HEAPS of bfing mummas, but not sure exactly how many of us are out there that are (or haved in the past ) breastfed our babies past 12 months.
I'm also really interested to know what you thought when you started breastfeeding about breastfeeding beyond 12 months? And do you have the intention to wean at a certain age/stage, or allow your child to self-wean when they are ready?
Oh, and how much do you stil feed?
How does your child toddler/sleep? Where does your toddler/child sleep?
When I was pregnant and then when Jazz was a newborn I was always a bit hesitant to consider breastfeeding beyond 12 months, not that I had anything against those that did, I just thought it would be a bit weird for me, but we are still going strong now at 16.5 months, with no real view to stop at this stage. Some days she'll have less and I'll wonder if she's going to start self-weaning, but nope she makes up for it later.
It's funny though, the longer we go, the less bfing comments annoy me. When Jazz was 8 weeks, I remember being infuriated that my SIL would suggest we wean. Now she says it every time I see her, and I just laugh at her and tell her Jazz will never wean and I'll be feeding her on her first day of school I've said it that often I'm not sure if she thinks I'm joking or serious
Since I've been working we feed 3, maybe 4 times a day: a morning feed before I leave, an afternoon feed when I get home, a bedtime feed, and sometimes a night feed if she wakes up. When I am at home, it's probably more like 6 times a day, but it could only be 3-4 if I refused her when she asked for it. But I don't cos I'm a big softy
Jazz sleeps in her cot in her own room most nights, and sleeps through probably about 4 nights out of 7. If she wakes I get up to her and feed her, if she goes back to sleep its back in her own cot, if she doesn't (which is about once or twice a fortnight) then she just comes into our bed, where she'll sleep soundly until morning usually.
We do still feed to sleep, BUT she is able to get to sleep without it during the day now (and could probably go to sleep at night without it but I'm way too lazy to try!). We used to exclusively co-sleep, and she was a SHOCKING sleeper up to about 12-13ish months, and she gradually got better, and now she sleeps amazingly. Co-sleeping and feeding constantly all night (or so it felt) was hard but it didn't last forever so in hindsight I really wouldn't change anything except maybe to get mroe rest during the day LOL!
Hi - me .... until last Sunday night - nearly 15 months. I am both happy and sad about it - but it was really his decision - self weaning - he kept refusing and it was a fight so I just let it go and he hasn't asked since. He has a cup with a bit of milk in it (like the big kids ) so he is just trying to grow up! But wow, yes I did it
He just started cutting down himself.
Z has always slept in his own cot apart from unsettled/teething/sickness nights when nothing bub mummy or daddy cuddles comforts him.
I had no intention of feeding past 12 months, just kinda happened. I was going back to work around 11 months 2 days a week and tried to get him to take a bottle from around 9 months and no way! So we just kept feeding - and now I dont regret a single feed, a single look from strangers with either disgust or admiration. My other two kids never thoguht it was strange and I loves showing them how beautiful nature is
My plan was to feed to 12 months simply to avoid formula. As I learnt more, and DS reached 12 months.. just seemed right to continue, so goal was then at least 2 years. So 2 years is my general goal now.
DS co-slept with us from about 7 months until 2 1/2 (ish) at the end of that it was on & off coming into our bed.. and he still occasionally wakes and comes in, but generally sleeps right through these days. He weaned at 26 mths, with a push from me, I had been tandem feeding for 7 months and he seemed to have lost the knack of feeding and it HURT whenever he fed. He didn't bat an eyelid when I said "no more.. mummy is sore". He asked a couple of times before sleeping, but didn't seem to care the answer was no! So I assume he was ready to wean too I was a bit miffed he didn't care LOL.. at least 1 tear would have been nice!
DD is still feeding.. altho I'm reaching a point where I'm feeling a bit meh about it. Her feeds can be quite short these days.. like, reeeallly short, before sleeping, so I reckon we could start weaning soon. I'm not really keen on feeding a 3 yr old, so sometime in this year I'm hoping we'll wean DD still spends most of the night in our bed, and I only quite recently cracked down on night feeds.. mainly cos I was worried she'd wean completely if I night weaned.. since we easily go all day without a feed.. and I wanted her to reach 2 years on my milk. So night feeds are gone, but she still wakes and comes in to us through the night.
Woops just re-read all that and it's a bit of a ramble. Hope it makes sense! LOL.
Before I found BB, I always knew that BFing was the "right " thing to do (in my mind, for me, no offense meant!) MY mum had BF my youngest Bro till he was 18 mths but he looked like a 4 year old, we have always given both of them heaps about it over the years. when I was a teenager I was all "6 months, if that, maybe only 6 weeks!"
Then I strated working in a pharmacy and talking to other mums, I realised just how expensive FF is, the amount of work involved etc, I couldnt get my head around why anyone would do it!
Got pregnant, Found BB, made 2 years my goal as per WHO guidelines.
Had DS, he was a champion feeder right from the start, I have been very lucky in that we have never really had a problem with it, apart from a few uncomfortable feeds when he is teething.
DS has mainly co-slept since he was about 4 months old, his cot is next to our bed, so usually when he has his first wakeup he just ends up with us, he will feed copiously between 6am and 8 am, dozing in between (me too!) has another feed around mid/morning or lunch, late afternoon, then bed time, we feed to sleep mostly. for me I just find it easier.
he usually wakes between 10pm and 12am and will have a quick feed to go back to sleep.
My goal is 2 years, but if he self weans before that I will roll with it, if he staill wants it after that, well, we will see how we go.
It is honestly just so easy now, feeds only last 5-10 mins max, he goes straight back to sleep etc. I think that as he gets older it will just get easier. hope all that made sense!
Oooohh. Can I join? DD is 12 months in about a week.
My goal is two years, although I do want another bub, so I may have to feed while pregnant to get to that goal!
We're still feeding about 6 times in 24 hours, with 3 x a day and 3 overnight. DD starts the night in her cot, but I take her to bed with me when I am tired (coz I hate gettin out of bed lol). She has been a cosleeper basically all her little life, except for a patch of about 2.5 months (6-8 months)when I tried to get her to stay in her cot...obviously I am soft, because I couldn't keep it up. lol.
She still feeds to sleep and I would love her to sleep longer than 3-4 hours in a row overnight, but I cannot consider night weaning until she's a bit older. She seems so small still!
I am so happy bfeeding worked out so well for us. DD was a champion feeder from birth, and she luuuurves the boobie! I hope to continue for as long as possible.
I fed DD1 unil 14 months when she weaned herself - she was down to 1 or 2 feeds a day by that stage. I never really felt any pressure to wean and was happy that she did it of her own accord.
DD2 is still BF and I will probably keep going for as long as she wants. Again I haven't really felt any pressure from anyone to stop or wean etc although I am seeing extended family at Christams time so that might change
I was 19 with my first, and just thought that 12 months was the right thing....
So #1, 12 months
#2 12 months
#3, 17 months... slowly learning.....
#4 13 months... self weaned while I was pregnant....
#5 10 months ....on EBM only..... fell pregnant and didn't want to take the meds whilst pregnant... I still feel so SO bad for not getting to 12 months.....
#6... 11 months, still going strong, no sign of stopping......
Before having my son I hoped to breastfeed till 2 and thought I may consider trying to wean him if he was still going at 3.
At 1 year old he was feeding 6 times a day. Beyond when he was a newborn and really needed milk for food he never really asks for a feed so I created a routine of feeding him in the morning, before both day naps, before bed and twice over night (actually- he was the one asking for the overnight feeds! LOL).
At about 16 months I tried to get him to stretch out longer at night with cuddles instead of milk and after a few nights he started only asking for it once. At the same time he went to one day sleep so we dropped to 4 feeds a day.
Over the following months we changed the day sleep feed to cows milk, then stopped feeding overnight and replaced the evening feed with cows milk too so now I only feed him in the morning. Which this morning he didn't want. He's not well though so I'm hoping he'll still have it tomorrow. I'm not ready to wean- we were going to feed till 2!!
DS is 21 mnths and doesn't look like stopping anytime soon
I'm from a large family and most people in my family start of BF but by about 3 mnths stop. My sister fed her last baby until 12 mnths so I knew it could be done. But mainly it was a cost factor I didn't want to pay for formulae if I could help it. I didn't really think beyond 12 mnths at the time.
I found BB when DS was about 2 mnths (I lurked for awhile) and started to realise how many benefits there are to bf and about the WHO guidelines. When we reached 12 mnths I think it would have been traumatic if I wanted to wean DS as he is too attached to his 'boo' and I have been happy to follow his lead with everything else so this isn't any different really. I did/do get a few comments but mostly brush them off - to me it is no-one else business and I don't see how it is acceptable to feed my baby another animals milk but mine is somehow not good enough; I just don't buy it.
DS was a fairly constant feeder up until about 14 mnths - he would feed 2 to 3 hrly. Now he is feeding after his afternoon nap (although he seems to be dropping that) he feeds before bed. He wakes up at night but is happy to be cuddled back to sleep most nights but occasionally wants a feed. He seems to cluster feed from dawn until we get up. We co-sleep from the first wakeup regardless of feeding.
I do notice if he is a bit unwell or if he is getting sick (on that note he has only been sick with gastro once and a cold twice) or getting teeth he will feed more often.
In terms of his sleep, we did feed to sleep in the early days but then he had to be rocked, then he learnt to sleep in his cot (at 11 mnths). He was sleeping in his cot all night but when he kept waking up it was easier for me to sleep with him so that is what we do at the moment. He has his day sleeps in the cot and starts off in the cot at night and at that first wakeup I sleep with him.
Well, we haven't been b/f for 12 months yet - just over 10 so far, but am planning to go well beyond 12 months - and it looks like we will. DS still feeds up to 8 times a day, and I can't see him dropping many feeds any time soon. My aim is two years, anything before that I don't think I would be ready, even if DS was .
I BF my twins to 21 months, but my Sil gets my extreme admiration as she is BFing her 2.5 year old, her 13 month old, and is pregnant again and not planning on stopping feeding either of the older children. Good on her I say (although as she co sleeps and feeds in the night I have no idea how she manages to get pregnant so easily, lol)
I breastfed my DD1 until she self weaned at 2.5 years old In the beginning I never intended to feed that long, only until 12 months old. While pg I was always oh I'll breast feed if I can but if I can't then I'll bottle feed. We had lots of problems establishing supply in the end when she was tiny but by that stage I was determined that I wouldn't give up LOL how things change once you have the baby! Anyway, when she was 12 months old she got really sick with the flu and and bout of croup that landed her in hospital While she was sick all she would eat was breast milk and that was a bit of a wake up call for me. So we continued despite all the comments until she finally weaned herself. It was really gradual, she just asked for "boo" less and less often until one day I realised that she hadn't asked for quite a few days.
We have had no problems second time around except for attaching in the first few days - I have to say it has been wonderful to have everything go smoothly this time after all the problems with DD1. And of course, I am intending to feed DD2 until she self weans
I had no defined amount of time to breastfeed, because I couldn't feed Zander I just wanted to be able to. Once we got to six months there was just no question about continuing, it's just what I did. At 12 months I tried to introduce cow's milk as well but she wasn't interested. By about 14 months I was ready to get my body back & stop feeding. It took about a month to gently wean off the one bedtime feed she was having. J had her last feed the night before my sister's wedding, the night of the wedding she was with her grandmother & I just decided there was no point sending a bottle so we stopped there.
J slept in her cot in her room from day one, well other than the times we tried the hammock (which she hated). I never fed in bed, I felt far more comfortable keeping her more settled quietly moving from cot to rocking chair & back rather than going between rooms etc. I don't disagree with cosleeping, but it's just something we don't do.
I fed DD until 16 months. I was prg with #2 and that sadly ended in m/c at 12 weeks. I was devastated and felt like my b'feeding may have had something to do with our loss (I know now that's not true but I was just feeling sooooo bad at the time that I wasn't thinking rationally) I ended up back in hospital the week after my D&C with some mysterious 'infection' that no one ever really diagnosed and while I was in hospital I stopped feeding DD. It was just too much for me being so ill. I still feel immensely sad (and sometimes guilty) about the way our b'feeding ended Back then I thought 16 months was a fantastic effort (and yes, it is) no one I knew had ever fed that long. But then I discovered BB and the 2 year 'benchmark'.
I am still feeding DS1, he was 2 last month. He fed all through my pregnancy even though I'm sure for a long while I didn't actually have any milk. It was amazing to me. He was happy so we just kept going. We are now tandem feeding with his brother I had it in my head that I wanted to get to 2, now that we're here, I have no intention of stopping just yet. He hasn't had night feeds since 10 months and now only has one feed a day before his nap. He is fine though if I am not around to feed him. I think 3 would be my absolute cut off point, he will be going to preschool then and for me, that's long enough.
DS2 is 4 months and going well after a bit of a rocky start My plan is to get to at least 2 and by then I may be ready to wean. I will have been feeding for the better part of 7 years (I think) by then
Last edited by Willow; December 19th, 2009 at 01:40 PM.
I fed Annabelle till she was 15months. She weaned herself. Wanted it less and less until not at all within about a month
Ill feed Lucy the same amount of time, if not a bit longer I never knew how natural it would feel and I wish every woman had my same experience with bfing.
Where we live has the lowest stats for bfing,I think I read in Victoria! So thats really very sad
How many have or are "Extended/Sustained breastfeeding past 12 months" on BB?
) breastfed our babies past 12 months.
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I've said it that often I'm not sure if she thinks I'm joking or serious
While she was sick all she would eat was breast milk and that was a bit of a wake up call for me. So we continued despite all the comments 
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