When does extended breastfeeding become weird....

righter

everything skintchick said..I agree with...but did not have the energy to type out. I must say,I have been pleasantly surprised at how many women are prolonged breastfeeding.
I only have two regrets in life..one (not telling)..two...not breastfeeding my 1st son for long.
and of course..to add fuel to the fire,we had co sleeping,never let them cry,carried them either on front or back as they got older. i wish i could do it all over again.. especially the 12 odd years of breastfeeding.

ikati5

Why is it ok for breasts to be seen as sexy and feminine until you have a child, then they are a commodity for the use only to feed a child as nature intended for anything up to 8 years? No other mammal feeds its young for such a long time.

skintchick

righter wrote: »

everything skintchick said..I agree with...but did not have the energy to type out. I must say,I have been pleasantly surprised at how many women are prolonged breastfeeding.
I only have two regrets in life..one (not telling)..two...not breastfeeding my 1st son for long.
and of course..to add fuel to the fire,we had co sleeping,never let them cry,carried them either on front or back as they got older. i wish i could do it all over again.. especially the 12 odd years of breastfeeding.

Oh yes me too - cosleeping (well she has her own bed now but isn;t always in it!), absolutely no letting her cry, babywearing, and all that. I am an attachment parent and proud

Mojisola

ikati5 wrote: »

No other mammal feeds its young for such a long time.

That's because our large brains mean that our babies have to be born without developing fully so require a longer period of time post-birth to mature.

skintchick

ikati5 wrote: »

Why is it ok for breasts to be seen as sexy and feminine until you have a child, then they are a commodity for the use only to feed a child as nature intended for anything up to 8 years? No other mammal feeds its young for such a long time.

They are BOTH! Feeding things AND sexy things. Just like a pen-is is a sexy thing AND a weeing thing.

And other mammals DO, when you take other factors into account. See the research here:
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html

My research has looked at the various "life-history" variables (such as length of gestation, birth weight, growth rate, age at sexual maturity, age at eruption of teeth, life span, etc.) in non-human primates and then looked at how these variables correlate with age at weaning in these animals. These are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, especially gorillas and chimpanzees, who share more than 98% of their genes with humans.

1. In a group of 21 species of non-human primates (monkeys and apes) studied by Holly Smith, she found that the offspring were weaned at the same time they were getting their first permanent molars. In humans, that would be: 5.5-6.0 years.
2. It has been common for pediatricians to claim that length of gestation is approximately equal to length of nursing in many species, suggesting a weaning age of 9 months for humans. However, this relationship turns out to be affected by how large the adult animals are -- the larger the adults, the longer the length of breastfeeding relative to gestation. For chimpanzees and gorillas, the two primates closest in size to humans and also the most closely genetically related, the relationship is 6 to 1. That is to say, they nurse their offspring for SIX times the length of gestation (actually 6.1 for chimps and 6.4 for gorillas, with humans mid-way in size between these two). In humans, that would be: 4.5 years of nursing (six times the 9 months of gestation).
3. It has been common for pediatricians to claim that most mammals wean their offspring when they have tripled their birth weight, suggesting a weaning age of 1 year in humans. Again though, this is affected by body weight, with larger mammals nursing their offspring until they have quadrupled their birth weight. In humans, quadrupling of birth weight occurs between 2.5 and 3.5 years, usually.
4. One study of primates showed that the offspring were weaned when they had reached about 1/3 their adult weight. This happens in humans at about 5-7 years.
5. A comparison of weaning age and sexual maturity in non-human primates suggests a weaning age of 6-7 for humans (about half-way to reproductive maturity).
6. Studies have shown that a child's immune system doesn't completely mature until about 6 years of age, and it is well established that breast milk helps develop the immune system and augment it with maternal antibodies as long as breast milk is produced (up to two years, no studies have been done on breast milk composition after two years post partum).

Extracts, but read the whole thing, it's not that long and is VERY interesting.

abacus73

AimeesMum wrote: »

I have had several comments made to me recently about how it really is time to stop breastfeeding my son now. He is 14 months old. I work during the day so he is bottle feed (cow's milk) and eats solids like a typical toddler but has a breastfeed before his bed and once still during the night.

I breastfed my daughter until she was 8 months when she self weaned. My son doesn't show any sign of self weaning.

What are your opinions on extended breastfeeding?

If you are happy about it and your son is benefitting then it is no-one elses business. I am a very private person so found it strange that anyone other than yourself and husband/partner would know as you state the bf are before bed and during the night.

Why is it people feel the need to interfere and give their two penneth on what is a very personal decision? You do what you know is best and dont feel awkward about it.

poet123

Choice is paramount. What I abhor is the scaremongering that surrounds bottle feeding. Formula is perfectly capable of producing children with good health and high IQ's, it does not impede the mother baby bond and children are not disadvantaged by bottle feeding. There may be advantages to breast feeding but no one can say for sure how long lasting these are. They certainly do not mean every breastfed child has long term advantages over the bottle fed child. If you can do it and want to do it, great, but if you can't or don't want to do it, it is equally fine.

Mothers have enough guilt heaped on them without it starting at birth.

ikati5

In a group of 21 species of non-human primates (monkeys and apes)

I am pleased to say that I enjoy the benefits of evolution..

JC9297

I think it is fine for mothers to carry on breastfeeding if they are happy to, however any child of 2+ should not need demand feeding milk during the day as they should be getting most of their nourishment through solid food. So whilst I can understand a morning and night feed, I think a mother of a preschooler really does not need to be lifting her jumper throughout the day whenever her child asks for it.

Mojisola

skintchick wrote: »

They are BOTH! Feeding things AND sexy things.

Got to agree with this - the two things aren't mutually exclusive.