What do you think about breastfeeding your child past 12 months?

Question

Obviously she is already eating solid food and has been since 6 months; I'm not suggesting only giving breastmilk. I'm simply thinking about letting her continue to nurse at night untill she's maybe around 18 months or so.

Answer 1

Wow! you have some amazing answers. It encourages me to read them because I am a breastfeeding mother of a 15 month old. I nursed my son till he was 13mo. and only stopped because I got pregnant. My doctor at the time told me to stop. I nursed my 2nd until she was 2yrs. I plan on nursing my 15 month old until she is 2 at least, if she wants to. Breast milk is beneficial to your baby no matter how long you nurse. The bond is incredible! Don't worry about anything being psychologically wrong with your child if you nurse a long time. That's ridiculous! How is being close to mommy and secure bad? If people don't approve, tell them not to look. You keep nursing if you want to, you won't regret it!

Answer 2

I think it is wonderful, beautiful, healthy, and biologically correct for our babies to be breastfed until they wean themselves. It gives so many benefits, I could go on and on! Mystic cited some good sources, so check them out. I'm just going to give my personal experience and opinion.

My dd is turning one this week, and we are still nursing often. Oftentimes, the only sustenence she gets (such as when she's teething or not feeling well.. or just overtired) is her momma's milk. Of course, my milk isn't just going to turn to water at 12 months, so why should I stop? I would be taking away her comfort, and promoting a detatchment that would lead to a possibly unsecure toddler. This would just hinder her development, her intelligence, and her independence, IMO (though I know of many studies that agree with me).
Humans will naturally wean right around the 2.5 to 7 year range, though this is just an average figure. When milk teeth start falling out, then it is a good indication that full weaning might be on its way.
I know my baby will still get tons of good stuff from my breastmilk, no matter how long she decides to nurse. It is best for my soon-to-be-toddler, so why wouldn't I keep nursing??

Answer 3

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until at least the age of 2.

I would've loved to nurse longer, but my baby self-weaned when I became pregnant (she was 11 months).

Answer 4

I figure as long as you can.... the longer the better. In fact, if you wait for your infant/toddler to self-wean, that is usually the best route to go. Personally, I probably won't do it past two, but that is more because my husband isn't all that into the breastfeeding idea, so I don't think he would deal well when our kid can actually speak while breastfeeding lol.

Answer 5

I think it's WONDERFUL for the child if you choose to do that. My first was weaned (stupidly) way too early at 6 months old. My second (ignorantly) at 18 months.

My now 3 year old is still nursing along with her 13 month old brother and she is SO MUCH more independant at 3 than they were - I attribute that independance largely to our secure attachment, especially through on-demand breastfeeding. She knows that I'm there for her when she needs me which gives her the security she needs to explore the world.

YES, there are health benefits, but the emotional and developmental benefits are HUGE too.

Answer 6

im still breastfeeding ollie (also 14 months) when he wakes up in the morning and sometimes after his nap. i stopped doing it before bed for self soothing purposes, but i think as a mother its my right to breastfeed as long as its comfortable. if that is breeched by all means begin weaning but there are amazing benefits as we can all see here, so whats to keep that connection going as long as we can? the above mentioned things all tell me whatever you could spawn against this opinion would still not weigh in under the numbers and facts:)

Answer 7

I think it's natural and wonderful.

I've breastfed all my children past 12 months, my girls all fed until the age of three. I'm currently tandem feeding my three year old daughter and my month old daughter.

At three, a toddler is old enough to know when she can and can't feed, and is perfectly capable of learning and practicing a bit of patience and restraint.

Once the baby teethes, you could potentially have problems, but they are not insurmountable. My babies were taught not to bite at the breast...being taken off, told NO and put on the ground very quickly convinced them that biting wasn't fun at all.

Extended breastfeeding certainly does NOT cause emotional problems, all of my children are intelligent, confident and happy children. None of them had problems separating from me when I went back to work, and all were eating a wide, varied healthy diet from the time they started solids (4-6 months) with little or no fussiness.

Answer 8

Nursing past 12 months ensures that your toddler get the proper nutrients and also helps their immune system. Human babies are not meant to be weaned at 12 months and cow's milk is a poor replacement:

Nursing an additional year also reduces mom's risk of cancer.

Extended Breastfeeding Fact Sheet
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html
* Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY
* Nursing toddlers are SICK LESS OFTEN
* Nursing toddlers have FEWER ALLERGIES
* Nursing toddlers are SMART
* Nursing toddlers are WELL ADJUSTED SOCIALLY
* Nursing a toddler is NORMAL
* MOTHERS also benefit from nursing past infancy
* Additional Resources
[See link for more on each]

Extended breastfeeding: Are there still health benefits?
http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tpweaning/0,,3x5j,00.html

If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned
American Association of Family Physicians
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/policies/b/breastfeedingpositionpaper.html

A Natural Age of Weaning
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html

Answer 9

I think that is personal decision. There are many women that choose to breastfeed beyond 12 months. I will probably start to slowly wean my daughter at 12 months. I suspect that it will take a month or two to wean her and if it takes a little longer than that will be fine with me as well.

Answer 10

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing at least 12 months, and past that if both mom and baby are willing. I personally chose to stop at 12 months, but see nothing wrong with continuing past that. Most other countries nurse way longer than we do in America. Now if i saw someone nursing a 3 year old I would think that was weird and probably not a good idea for many reasons, but I have heard of some doing it.