How old is too old when breastfeeding?

Question

I have a daughter of 2 months old whom I breastfeed. My 3 year old gets incredibly jealous of her and wants me to breast feed him too. I've read up on the subject extensively, but thought I'd ask around.

Answer 1

Psst, Sarah? You know the answer in your heart. I know, I've read those websites too. They say 5 years old is ok. That's kinda creepy to me. It's time to break your 3 year old of the habit. He's jealous because he used to be the baby. He's not ready to give up that position. Just give it about 3 months. Your son will adjust. This I know.
Good luck you!
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Answer 2

This is such a cultural subject - and in most western societies today it is considered pretty much taboo in a lot of circles to breastfeed even your newborn! For someone to say, once they have teeth you should stop... come on! You mean for those babies who are born with teeth they should go straight to a bottle? I should have stopped at 5mths when my daughter got her first?? There are many people who have continued to breastfeed their 3yr old without any sort of psychological issues. It's only going to be an issue with you or your child if you or someone around you MAKES it an issue. This is really your call, if you think letting your 3yr old try it out for a minute would end the curiousity and his attempt at focusing the attention on himself again, then go for it. I did like the woman's response of telling him all the things he can eat and drink that his little sister cant. If that works, great. But if you've tried everything else, and he's insisting on wanting to 'be a baby' again and nurse, if you are comfortable with it then that is all that matters. You dont need to ask anyone else their opinion about, it's only between you and your 3yr old.
Have you heard that the natural weaning age is anywhere between 2 1/2 and 7yrs old? Of course 95% of people will act shocked and disgusted by this, but they shouldnt be. I have a good friend who is Thai, who remembers nursing with her mother (up until age 4 I think). She loves her mother for doing it, and would like to do that with her children. It's not weird, gross, disturbing, etc unless you make it into something it's not. I havent told anyone around me I've continued nursing up until now (my daughter is 12mths) because I get so much negativity. How wrong is that? You do whatever you feel like doing, without a care for what someone else says about it.

Answer 3

I have a 9 month old and a 3 yr old. At first my three yr old was the same but I just told him that the reason he could not eat was because he had teeth and that it would hurt mommy. He actually accepted this pretty readily. I tried to make him feel special by telling him that the baby was not allowed to have any of his chocolate milk. He thought this was really cool! But I had asked my midwife about this before I had ever even had my second son because I was worried about it .. she suggested pumping some and letting them have it because most likely (according to her) they are NOT going to want it after they taste it. I never tried this because the teeth thing worked ..... It would really bother me to feed my three year old from my breast but if you are comfortable doing it I don't think that it would hurt anything as a last resort because I think that it is just curiosity once that goes away he will not want it anymore. Also a girlfriend of mine reads a story to her older one every time after she finishes breastfeeding her younger that way he feels like he has his special time too. GOOD LUCK .. I know that must be difficult because it was a huge fear of mine..

Answer 4

The age to stop is completely up to you. I am currently breastfeeding my 2 1/2 year old and my 5 month old. Yes, I am selective about who I tell, because not everyone is accepting of this, but I am not going to deprive my child of what she wants just because of someone else's ideals. For my older child, breastfeeding is more about comfort and acceptance than food, and sometimes just allowing her to hug my breast is enough, that way she is not taking too much milk from the younger one. (yesterday she told me, "mama, i wanna nurse all day"!) I personally would stop before she is of preschool age, but it is really your choice- I once knew a woman who was nursing 6 year old twins! I know that the WHO ( world health organization) recommends children be breastfed up until at least age 2.

Answer 5

Depends on how you feel. Your 3 year old is being jealous as you're aware. He's been weaned so I wouldn't go back to feeding him breast milk. But if he hadn't been weaned it would be fine up to 4 or 5 before he went to school, except for the effect on your energy of feeding 2 and the effect on your nipples. Give your 3 year old plenty of cuddles.

Answer 6

I breastfed both of my children. They were 10 years apart though...so i didn't have the jelousey issues. I weaned my first at 18 months mostly due to family pressure... actually constant nagging from bottle feeders! how annoying is that! But with my youngest I nursed untill he was 2 & 1/2 ( i moved 500 miles away from the nags) I think it is entirely up to the mother. I think once they reach school age, they should be weaned. But it sounds to me as if your 3 year old is just wanting the familar comfort of momma boob. I think that it is ok to continue feeding him if he was never weaned, but if you already went through the weaning process once, then you really should draw the line. At three he should be able to understand that lil sis NEEDS momma's milk & he gets to eat all kinds of other food, that she can't have. At each meal make a big deal about how cool it is that he gets to have peanutbutter & jelly, or pizza or what ever is on the menu. I am sure he will get the picture, give him lots of cuddles & reassurance that he is not being usurped as the baby, and that you love him just as much as you did before he was a big brother...

and to all those who said babies teeth hurt, either you never breast fed or you did it wrong...babies & toddlers suckle they dont chew! if it hurts, contact la leche league and see if you can talk with a lactation consultant to help the mother get the baby to latch on properly!

Answer 7

You might want to let him give it a try. He'll probably do it once and not ask again, though you have to be prepared for the possibility that he'll keep it up. He may also just want to know that he can if he wants to and once he knows that he may stop. He might not even remember how to do it. Worldwide the average age of weaning is 4.2 years. There's really nothing wrong with breastfeeding until the child wants to stop. I thought my 2 1/2 year old was weaned but she wanted to nurse again last night so I let her. It seems we're nursing about twice a week. I'm expecting a baby around her third birthday and if she wants to nurse more when the baby is born I will let her. I have tandem nursed before (nursed one baby and one toddler) and it's kind-of cool. It reduces sibling rivalry, too. Any reasons for stopping breastfeeding before the mom or child actually want to are usually cultural. People don't nurse long enough in our culture, plus we tend to sexualize the breast, so it seems weird to us. But it's not. Three is still young. Nursing toddlers are more well-adjusted and happy than those who don't nurse. I don't know a toddler who is as happy and well-adjusted as my little girl. I say go for it!

Answer 8

The textbook for my human developmental psychology class says "American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding (2005) recommend that babies be exclusively breast fed for six months.... Breast feeding should begin immediately after birth and should continue for at least the first year of life or longer if mother and baby wish." So yeah... after the first year, its okay to stop breast feeding. Don't substitute with a pacifier though. Many babies will go through withdrawl when you finally force them to stop using it. I think the answer with the chocolate milk is pretty nice too. I don't suggest you continue to breast feed your three year old because it's kind of... reinforcing his behavior and thoughts. It's better you give him some sort of explanation or substitute. Try not to go overboard with the overcompensation either. Good luck! =)

Answer 9

A 3 year old nursing is not only unnecessary but gross. When they can lift your shirt and undo your bra for a snack, then it is too old. Babies should stop nursing at one year old unless you live in a third world country and have no other options to feed your child.
I understand that your son may be jealous of the new baby. Luckily the baby will sleep a lot and you can have more quality time with your 3 year old. That's what he wants....Time with mommy. He doesn't want to nurse, he just wants to be close to you. Are you going to put him back in diapers because the baby wears diapers? Probably not. Good luck and remember, each child needs their own special time with mommy and daddy. Congrats on the new baby.

Answer 10

I let my 2.5mo self wean. He did it when he was 15 mo. I thopught that was to early.
I plan on letting my 9mo self wean too.

I say to old is when one person in the nursing relationship is uncomfterbal with it. Mom or baby.

Dont' attach a public stigma to it.

Express some milk & put it in a cup to let your 3yo try it. I doubt they will ask for it again & it might end the jelousy.