Feature
- Mental Health Screenings Not Necessary in Abortions
- The Burqa Ban is ON!
- Middle-Class Moms and Alcoholism: A Rising Epidemic?
- Murderous Moms: The Peters Tragedy
- Does Being a Pear-Shape Affect Long-Term Memory?
- Is Joan Rivers a Matriarch of Feminism?
- Mother-Murdering Teen Addresses the Media From Jail
- Forget Ron Burgundy ... Anchorladies on the rise!
- Celebrate! Argentina Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage!
- Saudi Group Using “Prophet of Four” Concept to Control Women
Some people say six, some people say three and some people say … eight.
Eight. Eight years old. Criminy. My mother breastfed me until I was about two and obviously, I don’t remember it. However, if my mother were breastfeeding me at eight years old, I’m pretty confident in saying that I’d remember it and it’d be … weird. When you think ‘eight’, you think pre-timetables in school, learning about Betsy Ross and riding the bus. Not, “Damn, I’m famished… Wish Mom were here — at school — so I could get a little sustenance.”
I am not opposed to breast feeding; I think it’s an extremely powerful thing for a woman to do and many media outlets and medical organizations have proven the validity and importance of breastfeeding your child for at least six months and thereafter, for as long as the mother and child are willing to do so. Despite that fact, age eight completely weirded me out. The average eight year-old is in third grade. Not pre-school, not kindergarten … third grade. Do you remember being in third grade? I do. I remember having, like, my first “crush” in the third grade. I couldn’t fathom my mother still breastfeeding me at that stage in my development, nor could I imagine heading over to a friend’s house to play, only to have his or her mother whip out a boob and start feeding.
However, two years ago, a book came out in the UK by the name of Extraordinary Breastfeeding and chronicled the choice of a mother to breastfeed her eight year-old daughter and just this past year, a book emerged by the name of Breastfeeding Older Children, which outlined just this scenario. Evidently, it’s more common than some people I think, being that it obviously happens.
What do you guys think? How old is too old? Is there even such a thing? And if you do think age eight is a little excessive for breastfeeding, do you also think that it could set the child up for social development problems down the road?
-
-
68
var feedback_widget = new GSFN.feedback_widget(feedback_widget_options);
I’ve always thought that once your kid can walk over and say ‘hey mom, I want a sip!’, they’re too old to get it.
But hey, if it works for your family, go for it.
Yes, I think the children will turn out weird. But then, people of this mindset tend to assume that ‘normal’ children have issues they’d rather not see in their own. so once again, to each his own.
I would be curious to hear from any 16 year olds and 30 year olds who remember breastfeeding though.
I was about three when I stopped feeding by my own choice and I remember the warm, comforting feeling of being fed. I don’t remember the taste though. I can remember a specific incident when I was hurt (I had sprayed perfume in my eye) and Mum fed me to calm me down, and how much it helped.
I don’t think I grew up ‘weird’, well, I was always very intelligent as a child, and very pushy and assertive too, but i think that has more to do with being confident because I was brought up in a positive environment. How do you judge ‘weird’? I was bought up vegetarian and organic, we grew a lot of our food and bartered for things we didn’t have. Then I became a litigation lawyer for GSK at one point so I guess that is ‘weird’. I think its ‘weird’ that some women won’t feed their babies from their breast, when even the animals do it.
That said the sooner Baby Goo wants to wean the better. I hate breasfeeding because it takes so bloodly long. But I will give her intil 2, as suggested buy the WHO, or until I get pregnant again.
I’m thinking it’s your good memories that are odd, not the length of breastfeeding.
But yes, your childhood sounds ‘weird’ to me. as in, off the norm. But also, as I said likely, not necessarily a bad thing.
I would think it was more alternative than ‘weird’. ‘Weird’ has a bad connotation, like ‘Flowers in the Attic.’
No, that is not ‘weird’. That is ‘fucked up’.
I’m a breastfeeding nazi but age 8? That’s eff’d up right there.
I think it may depend on when the breastfeeding happens. My son breastfed to almost three – but by two he was only nursing before sleeping. He wasn’t depending on nursing for a significant amount of nourishment – only for comfort. He only nursed at home before nap and bed. He was not ready to stop – but I made him stop because I was ready. I guess I would have to say that the time to stop is up to the mother. As opinionated as I am, I’m finding it hard to say with certainty when is the right time to stop. I’ll be interested to see what others have to say.
Breastmilk provides immunities that aren’t made in the body till a person is about 5. So I can even understand people breastfeeding for that long purely for health reasons. Because of that, I’m considering pumping and giving my son breastmilk until he’s 5 if he stops nursing before then.
He’s 2 1/2 and he nurses for about 15 minutes a day. I’m not grossed out by it and neither is my husband. We assumed he’d be done by now, but he’s not. He’s healthy (hardly ever gets sick) and he doesn’t have any independence issues, so we’re all ok with this. I can even see nursing him after he’s three. But I’m not sure how much longer than that I’m willing to go.
I have no desire to quit now, but I figure at some point I’ll want to or he will. I mean, there’s got to be a point where it’s no longer ok, right?
And then I think to myself, maybe this attitude is how people continue to nurse a kid till they’re 8…
I knew someone who (supposedly) breast fed her 5 year old grandchild. I mean the kid was attached to it. Whether anything was coming out, I don’t know. “Let’s go over to Gramma’s for a snack.”
Shudder.
I think breastfeeding/giving a kid breast milk is all fine and good, but by 8 I’d think it would hinder independent development. I would love to have a kid that doesn’t get sick very often, but breastfeeding too long seems like it would just become socially detrimental. No way in hell would I want to breastfeed a kid that was in kindergarten–at that point, it’s kind of ridiculous and there are far better ways to bond with your child.
I think 3-4 is my limit, partly because I can remember being three, I started preschool at three I remember hiding behind my babysitter as she walked me into the class.
So nobody should ever remember breastfeeding?
It’s not just the remembering its the fact that I was capable of choosing my own friends, not friends my murm had picked out but people I chose and who chose me, it’s the independence that happens at that age, it’s the fact that you can get your nutrition from solid foods at that age, to me there are a lot of reasons that 3-4 is such a pivotal age, I view that age as no longer being a baby and as such time to stop breast and bottle feeding.
Do you think a child that’s nursing can’t choose to do so? Do you think there are women forcing their kids to continue nursing?
Why do you think that nursing stops you from choosing your own friends? Or being independent?
At three nursing is no longer about getting all of your nutrients from milk, so the solid food thing doesn’t have anything to do with it. There are immunities that can’t be gotten anywhere else, though.
Also, at that point kids are spending about 20 minutes a day nursing. Tops. That’s not much different than the normal amount of cuddle time that kids that age get anyway. It’s just cuddle time with milk.
So really, how does that inhibit independence?
Honestly it’s just my own personal limit, I’m not trying to say anyone else who chooses to feed longer is wrong just that I personally would not go past 3 or 4 years old in my own life for reasons that are valid for me and only me.
I was just wondering why you associate breastfeeding with a loss of independence.
I know my son still has some hazy memories of nursing and he self-weaned at about 18 or 19 months. He got down to one quick suckle before bedtime and then pretty much stopped getting anything, sometimes he wouldn’t even latch on properly and it only lasted a minute or two, so one night I got my hubby to put him to bed with a sippy cup of water and that was that.
Everyone has some memories of being little and if those memories include nursing I don’t have an issue with that. It’s a huge part of their life for the first couple of years. I was a bottle baby (my mother was too embarrassed to nurse) but I have many memories of seeing my mother naked. She can’t believe it, she thought for sure she’d stopped before I was old enough, but I recall seeing her in the bath just after my sister was born which was when I was 5 1/2. There are times when I do stuff with the boy and I think “is this going to bother me if he remembers it in the future?” So far it hasn’t stopped me doing anything. OK, that sounds kinda weird! I just mean stuff like letting him hop in the shower with me or letting him come in my room when I’m getting dressed.
Has anyone seen the show Little Britain? They have a reoccurring sketch about an adult male who breastfeeds. Usually it involves his fiancee or a very public place. He asks his mom for “bitty” and she whips it out and he suckles. Totally bizarre but so so so very funny.
My mom breastfed me until I grew teeth and started biting her. O.o. I have no memories of this.
I would say that by the time a child is ready to go to school, it’s time to stop. They can eat solid food and are starting to have some independence, so why not?
My older son nursed until he was three, which coincided with my becoming pregnant with my second son. It was just too painful on my nipples at that point. He could also understand the situation at that age so it worked out pretty well.
Since he sees his brother (now almost two) nursing, I’ll ask him if he remembers and he says he does and that he liked it, but he’s a Big Boy now. I don’t know how long the baby will nurse, but I doubt it will be until 8 years old.
I am absolutely pro-breastfeeding, but there is NO way I’d let my kids breastfeed that long. I’m thinking 2 years, maaaaybe 3 at the most.
[...] seymour still rock a bikini? hollywood rag † how old is too old for a child to be breastfed? zelda lily † male model hottie patrick salvato does have a killer smile! oh la la † will arnett [...]
I can’t imagine the amount of time and effort it would take to breast feed until 3 let alone 8. I’m not saying anyone’s choice is wrong but breastfeeding is alot of work and you have to have the ability to pump or feed when your milk supply is ready. Most people’s jobs don’t give them enough time to pump at work while the baby is a newborn let alone pump everyday at work for 3 or more years. That is why most women give up breastfeeding so early is because of the time and ability to pump or breastfeed. If you don’t have an accomidating job breastfeeding is impossible after a few months.
Three year olds don’t breastfeed all day. Like any kid with a bottle, the more food they eat, the less milk they drink.
If you don’t have 15 minutes a day to spare for your kid, there’s something really wrong. Not that the time has to be spent breastfeeding. I’m just saying it doesn’t take longer than that to breastfeed a toddler.
You know you are really pushy and judging in your response to other people and I’m not entirely sure why. And I’m talking about all of the stories you post comments on. I remember your name because you are always so pushy with your ideas. “If you don’t have 15 minutes a day to spare for your kid, there’s something really wrong.” Really?
I’m talking about the fact that a mom gave up breastfeeding because of the inability to have time to continue doing from the moment it started, that continuing to do until a child is 3 is impossible for some. If you work in customer service and you face to face are helping someone you can’t say “Hold on I have to go pump my breasts for 15 minutes.” or “Lets take a 15 I have to go breast feed.” And just because it takes 15 minutes for you doesn’t mean it is that way for every other woman in the world that breastfeeds. I’m very happy that you have the opportunity in whatever job it is you are doing that you can take breaks whenever you want to do whatever you want, but there is no law(at least in my state) that mandates breaks for breastfeeding. So taking a “15″ whenever you need is not possible. You get 30 min for every 8 hrs that you work and no matter what your childs age that isn’t enough time to pump or feed a child. So like I said “Most people’s jobs don’t give them enough time to pump at work while the baby is a newborn let alone pump everyday at work for 3 or more years. That is why most women give up breastfeeding so early is because of the time and ability to pump or breastfeed.”
In my state employers do need to provide time and space for pumping breastmilk. Sorry it isn’t like that in your state.
And I was commenting only on your notion that breastfeeding a three year old takes a lot of time. It doesn’t. It doesn’t take more than 15 minutes a day. If you read my pushy post, you’ll notice that I never suggested that time had to be spent breastfeeding. Just that most parents do spend 15 minutes a day with their kid, so it’s not something that takes an unreasonable amount of time.
The pushy thing? It’s because I’m opinionated and this is a forum where people share opinions.
I worked 7-8 hour shifts when my son was an infant. I pumped before work, on my lunch break in the restroom, and after work I’d give him a feed straight from the tap and pump what was left. It’s not easy but it’s far from impossible. Raising kids means making some sacrifices and I sacrificed 25 minutes of my 30 minute break every day and used the other 5 minutes to scarf down a quick lunch.
Well I certainly wouldn’t breastfeed a kid past two or three myself, but I guess I can’t knock someone for choosing to do otherwise. Breastmilk is really healthy, and I would imagine that in places without enough adequate nutrition, breastfeeding for a long period of time would help reduce childhood mortality significantly.
I’m not really sure why someone in a developed country would really WANT to breastfeed a kid for 8 years, and I would worry a bit about the social and developmental complications that could arise, but considering all of the other things that could stump a child’s emotional or social growth, I find this rather tame.
1. I’m all for breastfeeding until a certain age.
2. Little Britain has an amazing sketch on breastfeeding :D :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnIeDYfoJoE (only 1:56).
I say, if the kid’s old enough to undo the buttons and get it himself, that’s too old.
Women who breastfeed past 2 or 3 are doing it for themselves, and not for their child.
If the kid is old enough to ask for the tit by name, then they’re too old to breastfeed.
And what is that gives you this amazing insight?
What gives you the amazing insight that he’s wrong?
Because if you look at the ID and the pic accompanying it, you can see that it is someone who identifies themselves as a man.
Now, call me a fussy bitch, but I just can’t seem to recall a man ever breastfeeding. No, I am sorry, but the transsexual doesn’t count – even if s/he breastfed – which I don’t know.
This tells me that this particular Bozo knows nothing about being a woman, let alone a breast feeding woman.
And, that, my dear is how we know these things.
Blurry, I have very much missed your words of wisdom. Well said!
Good to be back, V. I have been reading, just not commenting, although it has been very difficult.
I just got home today from a little mini vacation, so I feel refreshed and ready to tackle some minor fools.
How is the ZL party planning going?
Party is not coming along as planned. Bottom line, I have a relative dying and have been traveling between a few cities helping where I can. Still reading ZL at night before bed and sometimes in the am with coffee. As soon as life gets out of the way, I will be back on the party. hugs! and tackle away!
Sorry to hear that Vchilds!
And goodd to see you Blurry!
I’m sorry, V. Things will play out as they must, I’ll be thinking of you and your family.
As far as your ZL responsibilities, we will be ready whenever you are to resume the planning.
Thanks, Lady :) I have missed you.
Aw noo shame I wish I could attend a Zelda Lily party… whip round to pay me a plane ticket? Haha.
Vchilds – hope things get better soon with your family xxx
V- very sorry to hear about your family situation. I’m sure you feel pretty drained right about now. Grief is much more exhausting than a newborn, my thoughts are with you :)
Because I’m breastfeeding a 2 1/2 year old, and I know many other women who are doing the same. I’m not doing it for me, and neither are they doing it for themselves. So I have some insight on the subject.
My insight directly clashes with the above statement, which seems to be left by a man. I want to know why he thinks he knows so much about a subject that he couldn’t possibly have any personal experience with.
It’s a reasonable question in light of his asinine statement.
This “bozo” as you so succintly labeled me has two children under 5 and another one on the way. My wife breastfed our 4 year old daughter until about 15 months, and just recently stopped breastfeeding our 17 month old son. My wife has friends who breastfed their children until the age of 5 so she’s no stranger to women who want to extend that time of nurturing (for their their benefit or the child’s only they know). For what it’s worth my wife agrees with me.
On a side note, you think just because you “own” the milk that you have sole input on how long a child gets breastfed? In a giving marriage, the father should have equal say in the raising of the children, and breastfeeding is part of that. You think I have to be a woman to “get” breastfeeding, or to have a say in it? That sounds to me like you’re “encouraging” men to not even WANT to be involved. Am I right?
@Alzaetia See my previous comment. Yes, you have firsthand knowledge of breastfeeding…good for you…you have breasts. my LACK of breasts doesn’t prevent me from knowing about the topic and being personally involved in it. In case I didn’t make it clear, I am wholeheartedly FOR breastfeeding…it’s lifegiving, and nurturing, and good for my wife, and our children.
You’re not wholeheartedly for breastfeeding. You’re for breastfeeding so long as the mother follows your rules. Your rules might be more lenient than some other people like the ones who think babies shouldn’t be fed in public or breastfed at all but they’re still ridiculous.
You think that women who breastfeed past age 3 are wrong. You’re wrong. It doesn’t really matter who agrees with you and what your personal experience is.
“my LACK of breasts doesn’t prevent me from knowing about the topic”
Agreed. Wholeheartedly.
It does prevent you from accurately stating that any woman who breastfeeds past two is doing it for themselves, though. Even if you had breasts you wouldn’t be able to say that with any accuracy. How could you possibly know the reasoning behind every woman’s decision to nurse past a certain age?
If you’d even said that some women do it for themselves, I wouldn’t contest what you were saying. I’m sure there are some women who want their children to remain babies forever and prolong breastfeeding.
Although I’m not sure how you could get a kid to nurse who doesn’t want to, so on some level it seems like it would have to be for the kid too.
Regardless, you personally lack some insight. Not knowledge. I never said knowledge. I said insight, and I stand behind that.
They’re just being selfish. Looking after a sick kid is a total drag therefore they’re nursing to keep the kid well to avoid work.
Believe it or not but nursing isn’t all that fun. It’s not like they’re gently sucking and flicking the nipple with their tongue. When they’re latched on properly and sucking they’re stretching the nipple way out. There are hormones at work that can make the mom feel contented but nothing more than you could get from a good foot rub or a chocolate truffle.
Look, Matthew (or Bozo – whatever you prefer) let’s not turn this into a pissing contest, okay? I will win.
I personally have 5 children and I breastfed them all. I never went beyond 2 with any of them, either – that was my and my child’s preference. They all just sort of naturally weaned. Everyone is different.
The point is that you really don’t have a say in what ALL women do, you have no clue as to individual circumstances.
THAT was your mistake. You don’t come in and make grand, sweeping statements when people are having a serious discussion about something that interests them. You came off as bossy and ignorant, and I truly believe an apology is in order.
Do not expect us not to respond when you behave like a twit.
I just read all of the comments and realized that I missed an important point here.
No one in their right mind would discourage a father from being part of the process.
Given your knowledge of the subject, I would strongly encourage you to get the hormone shots when and if you have another child. I think your wife would probably be a bit relieved if you could take your turn in nursing.
Drop me a line if you do, I know of a great cream for cracked nipples.
Ta.
[...] seymour still rock a bikini? hollywood rag † how old is too old for a child to be breastfed? zelda lily † male model hottie patrick salvato does have a killer smile! oh la la † will arnett [...]
There is no right answer to this question. This is one of those grey areas. In my heart, I feel like over age 5 is too long. For me personally, I don’t think I could make it past 2 years. Nursing is warm, cuddly, loving and nutritious all at once. I love feeding my little piglet almost as much as he does. It’s a win-win for me. Everyone is different though I guess. How come we as a society feel like we can say when someone has nursed long enough (one pediatrician told me at my daughter’s 1 year checkup “It’s fine to stop now, she can drink regular milk”!!! And then also say it’s fine, good and acceptable to never breastfeed at all? I wish it was the norm for mothers to do what is best for their children. I posted a pic of my daughter nursing on ibreastfed.com. We are the ones with the frilly pink sunhat- my head is cropped out. It’s an awesome website with stories about how women overcame difficulties feeding their children. Great breastfeeding support :)
I think that with the constant BREAST IS BEST AND YOU WANT WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR CHILD, DON’T YOU? AND YOU MUST BREASTFEED AND ONLY BREASTFEED OR YOU WILL BE A BAAAAD MOTHER AND YOUR CHILDREN WILL DIEEE! message that so many poor women are hearing these days (instead of a reasonable ‘there are many benefits to breastfeeding, and if it is possible for you and your child, it is highly recommended), doctors want to help out a bit by letting you know by what point you’ve reached the ‘this is the key time for you baby’ level, and can continue freely or change up if that would be easier for your life.
See, I don’t get that. As a mother of 2 who only ever intended on breastfeeding, I’ve had very few supporters in my life. My mom and sister were always my breastfeeding cherleaders. When hospitals are stumping for the formula companies and people give you a sideways sarcastic “good for you!” look… I don’t know. My in-laws are pro-formula and so is my husband to an extent. I know the majority of my peers don’t breastfeed, only 1 of my friends did it for longer than a month or two. And any Dr. or pediatrician who ever advised me set the mark at 6 months. WHO says 2 years, but in the land of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, 6 months is good enough. I’m going to make a wild guess and say you don’t have kids yet.
And to the people who say they or their children were formula fed and turned out just fine, healthy and top of their class- that’s great. If they were breastfed they might have turned out even better!
Wow. I guess where you live and where I live are running different cultures at the moment. Why would whether I have kids at present or not have no impact on this? I’m discussing the culture, not any individual.
I suppose it is unfortunate that there is not more systemic support for breastfeeding where you live. I’m definitely in favour of it – just not in favour of the extension to ‘women who don’t breastfeed don’t care about their children and don’t want what’s best for them’ sanctimony.
I know several women hereabouts who have felt like breastfeeding was a new chain, something expected of them regardless of any possible circumstances. Women who have been given dirty looks by other women for feeding their child a bottle (and one of those had breastmilk in the bottle..). Women who feel it has gone so overboard that it’s a judgement of whether you care, not just a support structure in favour of a healthy choice. I will believe you that your area is somewhat to the other side.
I think it’s important for women to support others making different choices, rather than turn everything into a battle. The constant breast vs. formula and working vs. SAH battles do nothing to help women as a whole.
Having kids is relevant because a lot of people change their minds about this sort of thing once they have kids. Usually not going from pro-nursing to against it but certainly the other way around. I know many women who said they didn’t want to because they were too modest then they actually had the baby and realized that the modesty aspect isn’t really a big deal. Giving birth tends to shift your ideas on modesty a tad. Many women say they don’t like nursing in public and that they’re going to go somewhere private but that usually changes the first time they feel trapped in a bedroom at a party or their kid starts howling for milk in the middle of the mall.
That’s not to say that women who don’t have kids can’t have an opinion on the subject, just that it’s likely to change if they do have kids.
I just think that if you had children, the reality of what you percieve to be current culture would be different from how you percieve it to be. In America, the majority of babies are formula fed. Tell me how something that is in the majority gets more flak than breastfeeding, which many see as taboo or un-necessary? I have recieved more dirty looks for breastfeeding in public than I’m sure any bottle-feeding mother has recieved. And I always have a blanket over my baby, I never flash boob. Formula is subsidized through the government by the WIC program, hospitals give out sample-sized cans in the free diaper bags. Many working mothers make their lives a little bit easier by using formula instead of pumping in a bathroom on breaks. Our society SUPPORTS formula feeding.
And I don’t believe I ever took the the stance of sanctimonious breastfeeder. My point was that it’s sad for breastfeeding to not be “the norm”.
I have mistakenly replied to the post instead of to this post. See below.
and if you really want to know, I don’t have kids, but am at the age where a lot of friends and inlaws and such are having kids, and I have been hearing all about the joy of the mommy wars. I don’t expect to ever have kids, so I lack personal opinions on most of the issues. I defer to science.
Pink hat with white trim? Hope so….
I needed to see some “new” life instead of what I am currently seeing. How joyful all the pics were!
Thanks all for the support, my body is giving me a hard time right now (ya think it could be do to a little stress?)but otherwise doing good.
Yep, that’s my daughter- she was 1. She’s 2 1/2 now and I’m bribing her to eat her roast and veggies. Never had to bribe her when she was on momma’s milk! Haha! Hope you feel better soon, stress is serious. Take care of yourself!
Eight is totally creepy, but I can’t decide if it’s more or less creepy than finding out my dinner host served me her breast milk in my risotto.
Haha!
“Having kids is relevant because a lot of people change their minds about this sort of thing once they have kids… That’s not to say that women who don’t have kids can’t have an opinion on the subject, just that it’s likely to change if they do have kids.”
It is relevant if I were giving my opinion on breastfeeding, but that is not the case. I have no opinion on breastfeeding, acutally. I *do* know a number of breastfeeding women (or formerly so) who have told me what they observed and perceived and felt and were told.
“In America, the majority of babies are formula fed. Tell me how something that is in the majority gets more flak than breastfeeding, which many see as taboo or un-necessary? I have recieved more dirty looks for breastfeeding in public than I’m sure any bottle-feeding mother has recieved. … Our society SUPPORTS formula feeding.”
Uh huh! And did you read my note about difference of culture? I am NOT trying to claim that things are not as you say *where you live*. But I do not live where you live, and was remarking on things *where I live*. First, I think ‘America’ is too big an area for averages to matter. You could have states where no-one formula feeds, and states where everyone does, and it’ll average out in the middle. I think it is more useful to look at cities or states or regions than large countries as a whole. But that is completely irrelevant. Even if all across ‘America’, formula is standard and people look strangely at breastfeeders, it doesn’t matter.
I don’t live in your ‘America’. I amended to state that I was speaking from experience somewhere different than you, and I understand your experience is not that of people living with me.
“And I don’t believe I ever took the the stance of sanctimonious breastfeeder. My point was that it’s sad for breastfeeding to not be “the norm”.”
No, I didn’t mean to say you were. I was remarking on comments that exist out there, not specifically what you said.
ooops. This should be up in reply to Jess.
When I had my first son, I started to breastfeed him. My neighbor had a son a week after I had mine. She had some medical problems and wasn’t able to breastfeed him. Since my breasts were big enough to feed a couple of babies, I offered to breastfeed her son and she was so very thankful. Her husband had maturity leave and brought their son over several times a day. I would pump and give the milk to our neighbor for the times I might not be available. This worked out for weeks and then months and then years. I was still breastfeeding them at the age of 4 when my husband asked me when was I going to stop. They only took short drinks at that time when they didn’t want to stop playing and just needed a few swallows. They continued until they were 7 years old. They just helped themselves whenever they wanted to. It was no big deal.
How unusual to hear about a modern-day wet-nurse situation. This was VERY common before formula was invented, and seen as normal. 7 seems a long time to me, but you weren’t hurting anyone and you enabled another child to be be properly nourished- so more power to you!
Thank you Jess for your comment. I know several other women who have breastfeed their children to what is considered to be an older age. Some people seem to like the taste of breast milk and like a sip from time-to-time (even dads). I have always liked the way my breasts have felt when they are full of milk and having the milk sucked out of them. I am not sure if there are other woman who share this or not.
Well… I guess it’s a relieving feeling, in as much as emptying one’s bladder is, after “holding it” for too long. I don’t think breastfeeding should be seen as a “fetish” or anything other than nourishing and bonding with one’s children. I would love for the taboo to be obliterated so I don’t have to feel uncomfortable in public while feeding my child. Further objectivication or sexualizing the act of breastfeeding doesn’t help that cause in the least. Thanks alot Sigmund Freud…
I totally agree. Thank you for sharing. Everyone must decide for themself as to when breastfeeding should stop.