English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

to breastfeed. i hear that 3 years is nescessary and even benefitial to both mother and child. how old is too old to be breastfeeding and how young is too young to stop breastfeeding?

personal experience would be great

2006-08-23 00:41:18 · 28 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting Newborn & Baby

28 answers

Stop after 1. Do you want your nipples sore for another 2 years???

2006-08-23 00:47:41 · answer #1 · answered by protos2222222 6 · 2 4

Most of the books and advice I got said 2 years. After that, the fat content can be too high if your child is nursing a lot. Personally, I think that all the thinking changes so much that there should be no set age, just whenever mom and baby are ready. They used to say 12 months was long enough, now it's 2-3 years. Maybe people who haven't breastfed should keep their opinions to their selves.
I've heard some women say they weaned their younger than a year, then put them on formula since the baby wasn't ready for cow's milk. I wonder, what was the point of that?
I've heard some women say that they were still nursing at 5 and older. I can't imagine how that does the child or the mother any good.
I just let both of mine self wean. I figured when they were ready to give it up, then that was the right time for them. My son weaned at 18 months, and my daughter weaned at 15 months. My Ob/Gyn said her latest weaned at 4 years, but her other 3 were sooner.
I think that a good age is when the child is ready. Don't force him/her to continue to nurse after they have lost interest. Beyond the toddler and preschool years, I think that breast milk can be bad for their teeth. I've seen children with rotted and/or crooked teeth because they were not weaned from the breast/bottle.

2006-08-23 08:37:48 · answer #2 · answered by welches_grape_jelly 6 · 3 0

In my opinion, under 12 months is too young to stop breastfeeding. This is the *minimum* age that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing. I wouldn't suggest STARTING weaning until 12 months, so actually most children would nurse a bit longer than that to get through a gentle weaning process. I would truely LOVE to see all children nursed until their second birthday, which is what the World Health Organization recommends. I know from personal experience that toddlers are SOoooo much easier to deal with when they are still nursing!

For most kids, I think 7 years would be the upper limit of what I would expect as normal. (The natural age of human weaning falls between 2.5 and 7 years according to anthropologist Kathryn Dettwyler.) If I child were older than that, I would expect that there would be some other issues at play, such as sensory intigration disorder or some kind of special needs situation.

We practice child-lead weaning here. My oldest weaned when he was about 3.5 yeas. My middle weaned when she was about 22 months. My youngest is 3.5 years and still nursing. All have pretty much been allowed to wean on their own time table.

EDITED TO ADD:

protos2222222 - Who said women have sore nipples the entire time they are nursing? If they do, then something is WRONG and they need to see a Lactation Consultant or a La Leche League Leader for help! There may be some sensitivity in the beginning, but it is NOT normal for a mom to have sore nipples the entire time she is nursing!

ANOTHER EDIT:
Toni_busy - What...do you think it turns to Kool-Aid at age 3 or something? It's impossible for it to LOSE it's nutritional value...all the nutrients are still there! It just becomes a smaller part of the child's diet as they gradually self wean. Just like one apple is only a small part of a healthy diet, nursing is another part. ALL the parts add up to the whole.

2006-08-23 08:25:40 · answer #3 · answered by momma2mingbu 7 · 4 1

The AAP recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of 12 months, and the WHO recommends nursing for 2 years and thereafter as long as mother and baby are happy.

I didn't realize the benefits of nursing a toddler and wasn't sure I wanted to tandem nurse, so I started weaning my older daughter when she was 12 months old (and I was 4 months pregnant with my younger daughter). I got her down to just two nursing sessions per day very quickly, and that was perfect. I loved nursing her in bed first thing in the morning and nursing her to sleep at night. She weaned suddenly at 14.5 months after she bit me, I yelled, and she never latched on again. :-( It was way too sudden and emotionally hard on both of us.

My younger daughter is 21 months old and is still nursing 4-8 times per day (1-3 of those at night). If we're out and about, she doesn't ask to nurse much, but if we're just at home, she'll ask several times per day. I'd like her to cut back a little bit, but I haven't pushed her at all yet. I'm sure she'll continue until she's 2 years old, and if she hasn't slowed down by then, I may try to cut her back to just a couple nursing sessions a day. I used to think that I wouldn't want to nurse past age 2, but now I think I could happily nurse her until her 3rd birthday. I don't know if I could go any longer than that, though, although I know people that do.

To answer your question, I think that it makes the most sense to nurse until the child is at least 12 months old so that it's not necessary to transition to formula. I personally can't imagine nursing a 4-year-old, but I don't have a problem with it. Anything past 5 or 6 would seem a bit weird to me, too, but maybe that's just because I've never known anyone who nursed that long.

2006-08-23 10:27:21 · answer #4 · answered by Mom to 3 under 10 7 · 3 0

I saw a documentary a few months ago where an 8 year old was still breastfeeding - for my that is a bit too long! around the age of eight children will lose the skill to be able to breastfeed anyway.
I have just stopped breastfeeing my daughter who is 8 months old and did it because I want to conceive again. it is entirely up to you, if i'd had a choice I would carry on doing it until either i or my daughter no longer found it enjoyable.
breastfeeding for a long time has been proven to reduce obesety in children and also reduce the risk of breastcancer to mothers. It has all the nutrients your baby needs (until they need solids) and builds a bond between mother and baby. Most people stop when they have to return to work but if that is not an issue for you then keep going as long as you want.

2006-08-23 09:11:52 · answer #5 · answered by heli 2 · 1 2

I think until they are three or four is great. Under 18 months is too young to be weaned. The best course is to let the child wean themselves, then you know that THEY are ready. Too many times in our society it's the babies and young children that have to make the concessions. Babies are hard-wired to breastfeed, sleep with mom, be carried etc.. It's when we try to force our Western culture on them that you have developmental problems. My daughter just turned one and will be allowed to nurse for as long as she wants. ALL children will wean. The human body loses its ability to process lactose (milk sugar) around 6-7 years, so that would be the maximum age of natural weaning.

2006-08-24 08:21:36 · answer #6 · answered by all_my_armour_falling_down 4 · 2 0

I believe that under 12 months is too young to stop breasfeeding. Too old? By the time they start school is about right. My son is two and we plan to let him self wean but I'd like to have him most of the way there by the time he is 3.
If you are breastfeeding and you really want my advice - go with what feels best for you. I would definitely go at least the first 6 months. Beyond that - well, many worry about teething. Don't, it isn't as bad as you might think.

2006-08-23 08:46:22 · answer #7 · answered by AlongthePemi 6 · 3 2

Too old is when your baby and/or you are no longer comfortable with it. Too young is something you should not decide now. Set small goals (2 wks). Each time you make it to that goal, set a new one (1 mth, 2 mths, etc).

For breastfeeding support, go here:
http://www.laleche.org

2006-08-25 22:12:37 · answer #8 · answered by Jen 3 · 0 0

All my kids have weaned themselves either before a year or just a little after a year. My current baby is 9 mos and i'm hoping he breastfeed until at least 2-3 yrs old since it's best for him.

2006-08-23 11:42:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1 1

That is really up to the mother...Usually the baby will let you know when it's ready to stop. The way I look at it this: Pediatricians recommend that babies be put on whole milk at 1 year old. I say after that, there's no need to breast feed. I mean personally, I wouldn't want to carry around a 3 year old and be breastfeeding the child.

2006-08-23 07:43:22 · answer #10 · answered by Gayle 3 · 3 3

I nursed my son until he was over 2 1/2 years old. I believe that the child should have the choice to wean him/her self off of you. Nothing is wrong with a child that is 2+ nursing. You should at least nurse for 6 months. but, the longer you do it the better off both you and your child are.

I am 5 months along with my 2nd child. and I will nurse him/her as long as he/she wants too!

2006-08-23 11:32:03 · answer #11 · answered by LITTLE 1 :o) 6 · 2 1

fedest.com, questions and answers