Breastfeeding Beyond One Year – Why I Do It
September 3, 2008
It happened again. As I lifted up my blouse to nurse the nearly-2-year-old Anton, I got an incredulous response: “You’re still breastfeeding him?” I merely smiled and kept right on nursing.
On hindsight, I should have done better. It was a perfect opportunity to educate another woman about the benefits of breastfeeding beyond one year. In fact, the woman I was with is a registered nurse and yet she didn’t recognize the importance of breastfeeding my toddler.
So I’ve been thinking of what I wish I had said, or what I will say next time this happens. I think it’ll be something like, “Yes, of course. As far as breastfeeding is concerned, the longer a mother breastfeeds, the better it is for her baby and for herself.”
And if the person I’m talking to is still interested, then I will give the juicy details:
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I like being able to put my toddler to sleep easily, without having to carry him or rock him to sleep.
With my little boy’s weight, I can barely carry him, let alone rock him to sleep. But when he’s tired, I can just sit down or lie down and nurse him and he’ll be out like a light.
It’s great to be able to comfort him when he’s having a rough time or even after a tantrum.
Toddlers are prone to sudden emotional shifts, which they cannot control. Breastfeeding allows me to help my toddler calm down and regroup in a loving, nurturing way. Nobody can deny that breastfeeding beyond one year is great for emotional bonding.
My milk continues to give him plenty of immune system boosters.
When the little guy started having a runny nose last week, I made a mental note to nurse him more frequently. His cold disappeared after one day. My breastmilk still contains antibodies and there’s just no other better way to give them to my child than through breastfeeding.
Scientists say babies who were breastfed the longest have higher IQs even up to adulthood.
Many studies have been made and published showing that there are differences in IQ between children who were breastfed vs formula-fed. The greater differences were observed among children and adults who were breastfed the longest. Need I say more?
Next time somebody makes an innocent (I won’t say “ignorant”) remark about me breastfeeding beyond one year, I’ll be ready.
What do YOU say when other people comment about your breastfeeding?
Related Resources:
Articles on Breastfeeding – From getting started to overcoming common problems, to nursing in public, and many more!
Breastfeeding Videos – It’s easier to learn how to breastfeed with the help of high-quality video footages. Includes advice from world-renowned experts, too, such as Dr. William Sears and others.
Photo by Alexander Tundakov
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Thanks for posting your approach on the subject. I breastfed my son until he was almost two years old, and had very little support from those closest to me. Now I have better replies for the next one!
@Katherine: We do tend to get better with breastfeeding as we have more children. I wish I could come up with a witty retort though. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi. This is a very interesting read. I was unable to breastfeed my first daughter, but I’m pregnant again, and really, REALLY want to try with my second child.
I’m just curious, as a toddler, is breast milk the only nourishment he’s getting, or do you feed him regular food as well?
This certainly makes sense the way you’ve put it, and I commend you for doing so. I would really like to look more into the subject as a whole. If you’ve got any tips, please do let me know!
I do not judge mothers who choose to breastfeed after one year. Both of my children weaned themselves at around 18 months. However, I am concerned with your practice of nursing your child to sleep or in order to comfort them when upset. Being able to calm oneself and to fall asleep independently are important skills for children to learn. In addition, teaching your child to eat as a calming or soothing mechanism can lead to inappropriate uses for food, such as stress eating.
Breastfeeding past a certain age is not the issue for me. Using your breast as a pacifier is counterproductive at any age.
Hi
I fed my now almost 12 year old son until he was nearly three, albeit at night time only for the last year
It was a huge confort and consolation to him, I realise that genes have a lot to do with his poersonality but I firmly believe the nursing and teh one to one that he got at this tim emade him as he is today, all through his life strangers have commmented on how relaxed he is, how caringand kind to other kids, how he appears to have lived before…..I think it sets them up as secure young people and onto adulthood, that along with shared sleep is or excellent benefit to our kids
If i mention that he still comes into my bed for cuddles or the night if my partner is away people scold and say you’ll have to get him out of it..WHY?
The factthat my child feels comfortable with me, does not mean he will do it forever, Im sure in a year or two it will disolve, and hes a great cuddle!
Good for you. I wish I’d been able to feed my son for longer, I managed till he was one and then he refused, I now realise I should have carried on through it.
@Erin: My son has been eating solids since he was about 6 months old. Now at almost 2 years of age, he mostly eats what the rest of the family eats. Lately he’s been so busy exploring the world that he nurses just a few times a day, definitely not as often as before. For more breastfeeding tips, please check out the resources I listed at the end of the blog post. Good luck on breastfeeding your second child. If you put your mind to it, you CAN do it!
@Dean: You raised some good issues. Children will and should learn to comfort themselves – when they’re ready. Besides, I don’t nurse my child every single time he’s upset! Nursing is more like the last resort, when all else fails. I do not believe in forcing children to self-soothe before they are ready. Right now, my child is conflicted between being more independent and fear of separation from me. It is only normal that he would seek comfort from me when he is hurt or upset. And I would prefer him to seek out people rather than objects when he needs comforting. I don’t think it will lead to stress eating at all because breastfeeding is so much more than merely feeding a child. It is part and parcel of a strong bond between mother and child.
@Ann: Congratulations on breastfeeding until your child was 3! After having 3 kids myself I can assure you that they do outgrow that crawling-into-your-bed-in-the-middle-of-the-night thing
@Emma: It’s great the you breastfed your son until 1 year. Many others don’t last so long.
i bf our first for 6 years and have tandem nursed the three following. our last had suck swallow problems, but with two other nursing i was able to pump 18- 30 oz a day for 9 months before getting pg and having my milk dry up.
@amber: wow, 6 years! and pumping full time for a baby – kudos to you!
No one has ever really said anything to me about it at all, much less in a negative way. My baby is 17+ months old. I still pump at work, too. I think sometimes my co-workers talk about it behind my back, but they dont say anything to me.
What would I say? I dont know. If it was a confrontational thing, I am sure I would be too stunned to think of what to say until later. I would have a witty repartee later, I’m sure. Why do I do it? Because my baby’s not ready to wean. She wouldnt ask to nurse if she didnt want to nurse. And yes, I certainly nurse her for comfort and for sleep as well. Because she asks for it. She is a beautiful happy healthy little girl. Thanks for listening!
Hi – It is very reassuring to meet Mother’s who have breastfed for a long time and know how special it is. I have been breastfeeding for 13 months now. My son is very active and is little low on percentiles. That is because both I and his Dad are lean people. My doctor wants me to wean him of breast because she thinks he is not gaining weight because of breastmilk and he is over dependant on breast and it is absolutely not necessary. I was shocked. I am feeding him variety of good healthy food and I will not stop breastfeeding. Has anyone else faced such a situation?
@srab – Make sure your doctor is using the growth charts for breastfed babies. You can find them in the World Health Organization website at http://www.who.int/childgrowth/en/
My children tend to be on the lean side, too, and I used to worry. It was my children’s pediatrician who reassured me that there was nothing to worry about. After all, both DH and I are on the lean side. It helps a lot to have supportive health care givers!
I breastfed my oldest daughter until she was 19 months, my youngest just turned two and she nurses a bit before we rock at bedtime. Nursing at this stage isn’t about food intake for the baby, it is about security and comfort. If my daughter is distraught, I can quickly soothe her by holding her close, talking to her and letting her nurse. It is never for more than a few minutes.
I never realized the importance of breastfeeding and our Western cultures hangups about it until I had children. When asked, I just tell people that she isn’t ready to wean completely so neither am I. Frankly, I don’t care what anyone thinks about it, including my mom who is pretty much disgusted by it!
Though many would find this very strange, I have been breast fed up until I was 6 years old. I’m 13 now, and my IQ is 135 and I excel in all subjects.
Despite the mean comments that mothers may receive when breast feeding past 5 months, those who do so feel very rewarded. Seeing their child blossom into a healthy, intelligent individual is worth the time and effort
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My son is 15 months old and sadly our breastfeeding will be ending soon. I am in the Military and I am being deployed. I was told by family and friends to stop earlier to help him better transistion to my deployment. I simply felt like I needed to breastfeed him until I left, he does not want to stop and I don’t want him to suffer anymore than he already has to because he is losing his mommy. If I wasn’t deploying I believe we would continue beastfeeding until he lost interest. I breastfeed my son once in the morning, when I get home from work, and several times in the night. I just hope that he will be OK with Daddy when I’m gone. I commend all breastfeeding mom’s and highly recommend breasfeeding to full time working mom’s.
Kudos to you, Flora, for doing everything you can to breastfeed your son! It’ll be tough on all of you, but you’ve already laid a solid foundation by breastfeeding your son as long as you could.