How long do you plan to breast feed?

Question

In your opinion how old is to old to be still breast feeding?

I plan to breast feed for a year what about you?

Answer 1

My daughter started weaning herself about 10 months. She didn't want anymore by the time she was a year old. I think anymore than a year would be kinda awkward.

Answer 2

There is no set age that is 'too old' to breast feed.  A baby will decide when that time is.  Most babies, if allowed to self wean, usually wean between the ages of 2-5 years.  I breastfed my son for 17.5 months, and I plan on allowing this baby to self wean, whenever that may be.

Answer 3

I stopped at a year.  Actually, my daughter stopped.....one morning she bit me instead of nursing.  The next day she did it again.  She wouldn't nurse for anytthing!!  Everytime i brought her to my breast, she bit me. I guess she was ready to be done!  I had stopped nursing in public when she was about 7 months old....she just became too curious, always pulling away and leaving me exposed while she looked at whatever caught her fancy.  

Answer 4

I think a year and a half is too old to be breastfed, after then they should be transitioned to a cup/sippy cup.

edit: haha everyone is getting thumbs down for expressing their point of view.. now thats real mature

Answer 5

I stopped breastfeeding my first daughter when she was around 10 months. My milk "dried up" when my twins were around 6 months. I wanted to continue breastfeeding, but my body said otherwise. I'm not sure if I want to breastfeed the triplets, we'll see.

I think that 2 years old is too old! That's my opinion though. My friend breastfed her daughter until she was 4 years old. She stopped breastfeeding because her and her husband were going to try for another baby. If they hadn't decided on another baby, she probably would have kept breastfeeding. I think that's crazy, but I didn't say anything to her.

Answer 6

I said 1 yr but i definetly don't want to stop anytime soon (my daughter is now 13months).  I plan on letting her breastfeed atleast until 2 yr but if she decides to ween herself before then that's fine too.

Answer 7

I plan to nurse until my boys are done.

Answer 8

I think the age should be a personal preference... whatever you and your baby are comfortable with.  I hope to keep going for as long as I can.  My son is 8 months old now and I'm not producing as much as he needs so I'm adding formula to his daytime bottles, which I seem to pump continuously, but that's okay.  We both love breastfeeding and I just can't imagine not doing it for as long as possible.  

Answer 9

At first I said only till I go back to work...that was at 3 months, then I said oh well 6 months, well Now she is 9 months and I have no intention on stopping her until she weans herself or she turns 2 years old.....We love to nurse...I never thought it would be such a great thing.

Answer 10

My goal was six months.  I breastfed until my daughter was just shy of 13 months.  I think it's great unless the child is old enough to say Mommy I want to nurse and then help themselves.  :)

Answer 11

Well, I'll breastfeed my baby naturally (when the baby sucks for milk by him/her self) for about 6 months. However, when my baby begins to get teeth, I will give her a bottle with breast milk in it. So, I guess that's pretty much a year too.

Answer 12

all of my kids (i currently have 2 girls - dd1 is 2 yrs and dd2 is 3 months - but we plan on expanding our family) will be allowed to self wean. the world avg for weaning is 4.6yrs old, but it is still considered "normal" to nurse at 5 and 6 yrs old.

cutegirl - "research shows it only benefits your baby till 6months"....show me this research please.

Answer 13

I am breastfeeding my son until 18 months but he only nurses at night right before bed.  He has had alot of changes at one time so I wanted to wait until everything else settled down.  It has been so great and I have had no problems so I know that I will miss it.

Answer 14

research shows it only benefits your baby till 6months... but i say as long as your comfortable do it... i know someone who still breastfeeds her 2 and a half year old...

Answer 15

You know I thought I'd stop at 6 months but I love it so much...I don't want to stop even at a year! Maybe a year and a half?

Answer 16

At least a year :-)

Answer 17

Okay I am not trying to be rude, I am for breastfeeding b/c it's the best but isn't strange to have a toddler breastfeeding. But to each their own, I think its weird.

Answer 18

I stopped breastfeeding my son when he turned 3. I plan on breastfeeding my daughter till whenever she doesn't want it anymore. I really don't think there is an age limit on breastfeeding. Nothing wrong with it at all. And just cause your still breastfeeding doesn't mean they don't know how to drink from a cup.

Answer 19

I can't brest feed

but every other women in my family breast feed until their babies were about a year old. than preceded to pump and give them breast milk in sippy cups until they were closer to 3 or 4  years old...  

Answer 20

Too old is when you and/or your child is/are ready to quit. However, it does freak me out a little when my friends tell me about mothers who are still breastfeeding their children after two years.

I personally plan to breastfeed at least 6 months but no more then 1 year. I would like to see her well established on solids before I stop.

Answer 21

Breastfeeding should continue as long as mother and baby mutually desire. Setting some arbitrary age limit on breastfeeding is terribly unfair, as each child will reach their natural age of weaning at a different time.

I will breastfeed my children until they decide to stop. I am still nursing my 21 month old, and am 17 weeks pregnant. Most likely I will be tandem nursing my son with the new baby, and will allow them both to wean when they are ready, as I will with my future children.

The AAP, WHO, and the rest of the major health organizations of the world state that there is no upper age limit to breastfeeding, and that it is healthy, natural, and beneficial to breastfeed for 3 years and beyond.

I am currently nursing my 20 month old and he shows no signs of weaning any time soon. I will continue to nurse him until he decides he is ready to stop.

http://www.llli.org/ba/Aug94.html

The biological natural age of weaning is between 2.5 and 7 years.

Answer 22

I plan to stop when my LO wants to stop, 1,2 or whenever. shes 8 months now.

Too old? no such thing, really. the WHO recommends 2 years and beyond. most wean by 3 or 4

Although there has been little research done on children who breastfeed beyond the age of two, the available information indicates that breastfeeding continues to be a valuable source of nutrition and disease protection for as long as breastfeeding continues.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/eb...

Answer 23

Well, the AAP recommends a minimum of one year, the WHO recommends a minimum of two years.

With my first, I didn't know what to expect, but I was determined to make it to at least one year, and I would have walked through fire to do it.  

And I just about did.  For the first several months, it hurt like h**l.  I guess I just have sensitive skin, because even the lactation consultant checked and everything was fine.  It was pretty painful everytime.  At the peak, it actually brought tears to my eyes when she nursed.  BUT I WAS DETERMINED, and didn't stop.  I did not give her even one drop of formula.  After that pain subsided, it was smooth sailing except for the occasional plugged duct.

Like I said, I was determined to make it to at least one year.  Once a year came and everything was going fine, I just continued and planned to go to two years, unless she self-weaned first.  At two, I slowly and gradually weaned her.  Never forcefully, just mostly by distraction.

She was completely weaned at a little over 2 years.  With my 2nd daughter, it was the same.

I think 2 was the perfect age to wean.  At one, they're not really old enough to understand what you're doing.  At two, I was able to reason with my daughter.  In the morning, I'd say, not now, later, and she understood that.  And finally I was able to explain that she was getting too big, and she understood that.  A child much younger than around 2 cannot really understand that.

As for how old is too old, I think around 3-ish is around the top age.  To me, 4 is too old to still be nursing, but everyone feels different.  I wouldn't think of someone as a freak for nursing at 4, but I'd start to wonder if they're 5...I mean they're in school by that age!

Answer 24

I told myself I would breastfeed for 12.5 months.  My daughter weaned herself at 11.5.  You have to follow your child's cues, because if you don't, you'll be nursing forever.  That said, you also have to do what works for you.  So if it works for you and your child to nurse until she's in kindergarten, so be it (I myself wouldn't do that because I believe if a child can walk and talk, then she can feed herself and doesn't need my breastmilk anymore).  

Answer 25

I nursed my son until 2. I was pregnant again and my b*****s were really sore from pregnancy. My daughter will turn 1 next month with no signs of stopping.

Even when children can ask for food and are eating solids, breastmilk fills the gaps on days when they only want Cheerios or peanut butter and jelly. Nursing through a picky eating toddler phase gave me such peace of mind!

About the research stating breastmilk is no longer superior past 6 months, I can guarantee that either the research is more than 10 years old and/or financed by a formula company :)