Q&A: weaning, or not weaning?

Stephanie writes:

"I’ve been reading your advice since my baby was born 11 months ago. We are approaching the 1 year mark and I can’t quit thinking about how to wean, when to wean, etc. I’m conflicted about stopping and can’t even fathom how I would ever do it. On one hand, I would like my breasts back (as would my husband). I would like to (but don’t necessarily need to) do some work again and be able to leave her with a sitter. And, I’d like to have 6 months or so breastfeeding free before I start trying for another baby and I’d like to start that this summer. OTOH, I don’t want to stop breastfeeding before my daughter is ready. Although, she does eat a variety of solid foods and enjoys them, she is also not showing any signs of stopping breastfeeding. We also nurse for naps and I feel like stopping will make my life so much harder during the day. Additionally, my mom just found out she has breast cancer (non-invasive) and I’ve read how breastfeeding is a protective factor against breast cancer and since I have several other risk factors (started my period early, had my first baby over 30, family history), I feel like I should breastfeed as long as possible. 

In my life before motherhood, I always thought extended breastfeeding seemed weird, but I currently see no end in sight. It seems like so many moms I know said their baby just wanted to stop between 11-13 months. I don’t see that happening with my daughter.

I would love to hear your experience of when your babies were ready to wean and your readers as well.  I’d also like some advice on how to reply to people who say, “You’re still breastfeeding???” Thanks!"

I think we should just call Stephanie "Everywoman," because that's about the most concise summary of the classic set of conflicts between wanting to wean and wanting to keep nursing that I've heard.

(Am I the only one who feels sad that 11 months is considered "extended" breastfeeding? It's such a tiny slice of their lives, even if each feeding seems like an eternity sometimes.)

Anyway, it sounds like you want to do some kind of partial weaning plan. You could go down to one or two nursing sessions a day to keep the benefits, while still having your body back somewhat. Once you're down to those few feedings, you can decide if you're comfortable keeping with those for awhile longer, or if you want to wean completely. And weaning down from two feedings to nothing is lots easier than trying to get down from more feedings to none.

I think weaning is another one of those things that we think of as all-or-nothing, but unless you have to wean completely cold turkey for some medical or logistical reason, you can do it gradually enough that it doesn't feel like such a hard choice. (Let me say once again that if you have the time, it's an extremely good idea to wean gradually over the course of a few weeks. Weaning cold turkey can give you mastitis--which was worse for me than two unmedicated labors--and can also make your hormones drop so strongly that you could get thrown into PPD. Over a few weeks you can cut down a feeding every few days and dry up your milk using mint and sage tea enough to help prevent mastitis and PPD.)

So, back to the logistics. I'd figure out if there are a few sessions that you can drop in the next couple of weeks. The ideal candidates would be sessions that she doesn't seem to care about so much, but that make you nuts. I think if it were me, I'd keep the nap nursing sessions because you know you can get her down easily that way. Since the purpose of weaning is to make things easier, having to create a whole new nap routine seems counter-productive.

I think you should spend the next few days doing some careful observation about what sessions she seems attached to, and what sessions are making you jump out of your skin (if you're at that point). That'll tell you where to start working on the weaning.

Any comments or suggestions? I feel like 11 months is one of those points at which moms are starting to get really sick of nursing (18 months is another huge one). How did you make the decision to stop or not, and how did you make weaning the easiest possible on everyone?

Comments

[Lisa]

@hydrogeek: I too had PMS-y symptoms for MONTHS before my period actually returned (last month). In the last few weeks, I've been taking Moxie's/other posters' advice re calcium, magnesium, Omega-3s, oatmeal, and almonds... it does seem to be helping.

With you in cranky spirit,
Lisa

[stacy]

Wow, Stephanie. My little one and I are right there with you. He will be 1 next weekend, and I have been having soooo many of the same thoughts, for the same reasons.

Little Man has never slowed down with his nursing. He still loves it. LOVES it. I have a friend whose son is the same age, and her kid is almost entirely weaned already. I envy her sometimes. I think about weaning all the time.

But just this morning, Little Man skipped a nursing session. The stars aligned perfectly to make this happen - he woke up later than usual, he was in a good mood when I put him in the high chair, we had a busy morning and he was distracted. And that one skipped session was enough to make me feel like, "I can keep going." So I'm totally agreeing with what everyone else said. Gradual. You might surprise yourself.

I don't know if I'll be able to get Little Man to repeat his performance. But I've pretty much decided that I don't want him to have to rely on cow's milk as a major element of his diet. (He's shown some dairy issues lately.) So my tentative plan is to stick him in the high chair to eat solid foods as often as possible, but otherwise keep nursing before naps and when he asks for it. If my plan works, we'll be nursing about 4 times in a 24 hour period. Which I can totally live with for now.

I'm going to start TTC this summer, as well, and I'd also like to be weaned before then. But realistically, I've heard from many experienced moms that pregnancy is a good non-traumatic way to wean. So now I'm trying to live with the idea of nursing until the next pregnancy. It isn't perfect, but it might be the most sensible path of least resistance.

[Jenn]

I nursed my twins for 12 months. Around 10 months one started losing interest but the other didn't. Around 11 months I stopped offering one feeding. If they still wanted it, I nursed, but if they didn't, I didn't. I liked the "don't offer, don't refuse" option because I knew they were ready and more or less weaned themselves. It was gradual and it made us all happy, although I sort of wished they had wanted to nurse more, it seemed like they just didn't even notice if I didn't offer.

[Mandy]

My original goal was a year, though having PCOS made me wonder if that was going to be possible as some cysters have supply issues it seems.

As my daughter's birthday approached, people started asking when I'd be weaning. My husband even asked our pedi at a visit she had at about 9 months 'what we need to do to start the weaning process?" I don't know what "we" grasshopper was referring to, but I was really glad I'd already mentioned to my pedi that I didn't see stopping in our near future.

In her second year, she did nurse less as she ate more and more solid food, but nursing stayed a big part of her diet. I did introduce cow's milk in a sippy cup, that was given occasionally, but nursing still had its place. At 18 months, I started to reach a point where I felt I was more ready to wean her. And, I thought she was ready for it too.

We were down to one nursing, at night, which was skipped if I wasn't the one to put her to bed - when the world's worst stomach bug hit her. She was 20 months, it was the week before Christmas and it was awful. The only thing she had any chance of keeping down was breast milk and we went from that one sporadic nursing a day to nursing round the clock for almost 24 hours. By the time it was all over, my husband and I had both gotten it but my daughter was the only one not to need iv fluids for dehydration. To say we were grateful for breastmilk at that time is an understatement.

After that things wound down again and we finally eliminated that last nursing when she was just past her second birthday.

Nobody in my family or my husbands had nursed a child that long, and for some it was nothing for them to say "she's almost done with that, right?" Most never knew she nursed as long as she did because it was one nursing...but you know what? It's what worked out right for us. I wouldn't change it for the world.

Weaning can be done gradually and there's tons of advice out there about how to do that...so I'll keep my advice to what to say, etc.

You don't have to justify continued nursing to anyone, and it's only at a year that I would even start to consider it "extended." We've all seen the advice that recommends a year of nursing if possible. that's not a maximum limit they're setting, and there are tons of benefits to mom and baby for continuing.

If someone asks if you're STILL nursing, feel free to say yes. Or "yes, aren't we lucky?" and if they push about when you're going to wean "when the time is right for both of us" works nicely as does "why do you ask?" There's tons of medical info to back you up if you want it, lots of etiquette that says its none of their damn business.

And if you want to wean, that's ok. I say nursing can and should continue as long as it works for BOTH of you. When it stops working for one of you, EITHER one of you, then it's time to consider stopping. But it's not a decision up to anyone other than you and the kiddo. You'll get your breasts back and eventually so will your husband.

[nancy]

I'd like to recommend a book called "Mothering your Nursing Toddler." It has some great info on weaning, and some great support should you plan to go past a year. (I didn't have time to read all the comments, so sorry if someone already recommended that.)

I am still nursing my 22 month girl, with NO end in sight. 99% of the time it doesn't bother me, but I do have my days!

What I would like to know from Moxie, or any of you, is the advice about dropping sessions that are less important. This seems to me that other people are on a nursing schedule even with an older baby. With us it totally depends on the day. One day it will be at wake-up, before nap and at bedtime, and the next day it will be approximately 480 thousand times a day. While our days do have a schedule (or maybe routine is a better word?) nursing is still pretty much on demand day and night. Is that not other people's experience? Also, I am an over 40 FTM who is also a SAHM, so that makes the demands a bit easier.

Anyway, good luck - and try the book! I found/find it very helpful.

[Shandra]

Nancy, we have never really had a schedule, which is probably why we dropped contextual nurses (not out in the mall, then not at friends) first. Then I think (honestly don't know why I didn't take note) it was nurses right around meals. Gradually it became almost exclusively an "in bed" thing.

[midlife mommy]

Before I had my daughter, I had a friend who nursed her daughter until she was almost four. I thought that was unbelievable.

But, here I am. My daughter turned 3 in August. She likes to nurse in the morning, after work, and before bed. I pumped until January of this year; that got really tiring, and I'm glad that I stopped that (though AF came back shortly thereafter). I don't know whether pumping so long was such a good thing, since she won't drink cow's milk at all now -- just water. I was also very glad to give up night nursing.

I would like to have another one, even though I'm older than dirt now. But, even so, I don't see us stopping for awhile, even if I am lucky enough to get pregnant. It's good for her and good for me.

Oddly, our extended breastfeeding really bothered my mother, and her friends. Her friends brought it up to me at my mother's funeral -- "you're not still doing THAT, are you?" I would have thought they would have had better things to talk about, but I guess not.

I say just do whatever works for you, and what you feel comfortable with. It just doesn't matter what others think.

[Lisa]

Moxie, sometimes I think you live in my brain....the timing of your topics is uncanny!

My son just turned 1 and is nursing like a fiend. Like Nancy, we don't have a schedule. On the days he's in day care, he can go the whole day and into evening/bedtime without nursing, but then the days that I'm home, he'll snack all day long at the boob. So I think dropping contextual nursings is a great idea - I just don't think we're going to be able to do it anytime soon. Even though I'd love to be done pumping, he seems to have a milk allergy so our pediatrician is recommending that we wait until 15 months to offer dairy again. So he goes to day care with pumped breast milk and all sorts of solids. (And when he's home with me he barely eats except to nurse.)

I guess I have no advice or anything, just commiseration for Stephanie and the others who have posted about the I want to but I don't weaning conundrum.

[Must be Motherhood]

We're at 18 months of breastfeeding and I've been the "six months at a time" kind of planner/breastfeeding survivor myself. I've wanted to quit so many times, but then there are periods when my son is so clearly content and peaceful while nursing, and it really is magic after a surgery or a stomach bug...
He still nurses 6-8 times in a 24 hour period, although many of those sessions are quite short--5 to 10 minutes down from the endless (30-60 minutes) sessions when he was under a year old. Right now I just want to night wean. He's so active that nursing during the day is literally the only time I get to sit down.
I generally don't nurse him in public anymore, to avoid comments. But it is sadly getting to the point where I'm nervous to reveal that we still nurse because he's so "big." I'm going to do my best to absorb the great attitude of the ladies above.

[Snarky Mommy fka Sprengblingbling]

I wanted to be done at the one-year mark with my son, so I planned ahead and did it gradually. I remember we were at about four sessions a day at the 11-month mark, which was wakeup, nap, nap, bedtime.

I cut the bedtime one first. I had my husband handle the bedtime routine for a week and we gave a bottle of whole milk. My son was fine with it.

The next week I cut out the morning nap, and gave milk. He was fine with it. The next week I cut out the afternoon nap, gave milk, and again he was fine with it.

The next week was a week past his first birthday and my husband and I were going on vacation -- alone. So I had a hard deadline to meet. I woke up on a Monday morning and did not feed him, instead I gave him a bottle of whole milk. He looked at me like "what is this, where is my boob and lying in bed with you time?" but was fine with the bottle. That was it for us. He never asked about it again.

But after about a week, I was really engorged and feeling conflicted about weaning as he was having some digestive issues with whole milk and tried to get him to nurse. He literally had forgotten how in just a week and looked at me like I was a lunatic after a few seconds. So I tried some hand-expressing and just got clear liquid. Within two days I was totally fine, no engorgement, and we never looked back. Three months later, I was pregnant with No. 2, so everything worked out great for us.

[Caroline]

Brooke, there's nothing at all wrong with being proud that you've been able to exclusively breastfeed. But for those of us who were not so lucky, it's hard not to hear judgment in that statement, intended or otherwise. I, for one, had so much guilt about not being able to exclusively breastfeed, and had such a hard time making peace with formula that other's pride can just be hard to hear.

In my case, it was not an issue of lack of support. I was raised by a serious breastfeeder, had full familial and pediatric support, got to a lactation consultant early, and tried everything. Won't go through the list, trust me, everything. And never got anywhere close to a full supply.

Now, 2 months away from the arrival of baby #2 I've already seen the LC, I'll have the hospital grade pump ready, and I'll hope that things are a bit better. But I'll also have a very different set of expectations.

[AK]

My son is 23 months now and still nursing. Weaning him has been a slow, long process. I gradually cut down his night nursing sessions, since he was nursing all night long. I WOH and so cutting down the weekday sessions weren't difficult, though the weekends were difficult. He would ask to nurse through the day, and I would distract him with books or games. And, by the time he was 18 months, I had taught him that he couldn't nurse when we were out of the house. So, he stopped asking to nurse when we were outside. But, I'm still nursing him twice a day, once after I come back from work, and just before he sleeps at night. I also limit the time he can nurse for a session. I count till 5 when his time is up and if he hasn't stopped, I stop the feeding. Now, he's learnt to stop by the time I reach 3. I want to wean him completely by next month, when he'll be 2 years old and by now, beacuse of the gradual weaning, I no longer experience any fullness or pain due to engorgment. I'm both sad and happy that we'll be weaning, but it has been such a wonderful bond, and I don't know if I'll have another kid, I'm also sad to see this end.

[Joy]

Hi, didn't read the comments, but I have an 13 month old daughter who still nurses. She's my third, so I've done this before, but here's what I'm doing. Right about at 12 months I started giving her whole milk in a sippy cup during the day at mealtimes (she has 4 or 5 of them). (She'd never taken formula or bottles of any kind, but I'd been offering water in a sippy at mealtimes on and off for a couple of months.) At first she didn't even go through one cup in a whole day, but after about 2 weeks she started sucking it down pretty well. I pretty much just dropped daytime nursing altogether, and am now down to nursing at evening bedtime and at 6:00 every morning when she has been consistently waking for several months now (up from 3, then 4, then 5:00ish since about 2 months.) She has been a really good eater from about 8 months on; I never really did much spoon feeding, just dumped it in front of her and let her at it. I run a family day care in my home, so have always been home with her, but have 5 other small children running around so have a very active (um, crazy, manic, loony) household, except for 2 blissful afternoon hours when they're napping.

I like what I'm doing because it allows me sweet, peaceful nursing times with her, which she and I both enjoy, but relieves the monotony and overstimulation of always being sucked on and having to sit down with her during my hectic day. She has had a couple of times (usually during weekends when we have much more downtime) when she roots around during the day and I'll nurse her if she's obviously wanting to, but she mostly seems not to miss it. As with many other things, I think if you're comfortable with what you're doing, your kid will be, too.

[Lisa]

Nancy, it looks like we're in the same boat re the on-demand nursing with a toddler. I'd second other posters' emphasis on slowly curtailing "contextual nursing" - location/situation based.

That and using the old parenting tricks of the positive response and distraction: "We can nurse once we get home. Hey, look, there's a big yellow digger over there! Want to go look at it?" Though I love nursing, I, too, "have my days," and applying this kind of gentle pressure to frequency and location made me feel better when nursing felt overwhelming.

Finally, I'd like to add something about the book _Mothering Your Nursing Toddler_ - I found a lot of stuff in there helpful and supportive, but I didn't find one major component I was looking for: suggestions on how to wean a demand-fed toddler (once we were ready to do so - I wanted a plan despite not needing it for a while). I felt that the author was instead trying to talk the reader seeking such info into adjusting her attitude and keeping going, rather than *also* suggesting positive ways to wean gently, etc.

I know lots of women want or need support for "extended" breastfeeding (though I'm pretty committed/stubborn and don't really care about the [admittedly limited - in San Francisco] pressure to wean I encounter). It's just that the book didn't meet my particular needs.

Which reminds me: has anyone read _How Weaning Happens_? Thinking of trying that one - I tend to over-research... just like to be prepared. :->

[hedra]

Couple of notes:

1) Weaning often happens during or just after a fussy stage. So the 9, 12, 14/15, and 18 month weanings are typical ages. Nursing strike in a fussy stage can work *with* you if you want it to.

2) Ditto to not having to wait for an easy time to wean. No matter when you need to stop, doing so gradually seems to work best for many.

3) Night weaning can be easy, if they're ready. M and R - I just said we wouldn't be having any at night anymore. M just declined to wake up and ask from that point on! R, not so ready, but close. They were over 2 years, though.

4) The pride in EBF thing ... pride can seem like a classification of action. I struggle with pride in choosing NOT to even try BFing (and I know a few people who felt that way), but pride for everyone who tried, and for those who succeeded is fine. BUT, it is important to know that pride can easily come across as 'this is the best choice, don't you wish you did it?' rather than 'I'm proud of my accomplishment, it was hard and not everyone even can succeed at this, and I'm just glad I could.' I'd rather see HUMILITY at succeeding, than pride. It says the same, without risking the mis-read of judgement. I know I'm humbled by my body's ability to provide food for another human being AT ALL. It is awe-inspiring, and for me, awe = humility. Likewise, I'm aware that I'm lucky to have been given a very positive set of messages about my body as a woman, and about birth and breastfeeding, and am lucky to be surrounded with supportive friends and family. That wasn't my doing, so pride isn't relevant. The only part I can be proud of is the effort I made, and I'm still more comfortable with humility regarding personal successes, but maybe that's how I was raised as well...

5) If prolactin is your concern, at least back when I was doing it, the info I had said that high dose B6 suppresses prolactin (thereby restoring luteal phase and in many suppressing supply a bit). Vitex enhances the hormones on the luteal phase side as well. If that was ever a concern, and you're having mixed feelings about weaning but want to try again, it may be worth researching whether you're a good candidate for either of those. Many RE's don't have a background in nutritional or complementary medicine methods, so do your research first, then talk to them. While I'm hyperfertile, I also didn't have stable cycles (especially post m/c's) without the additional help.

[hydrogeek]

@ Lisa - Months? Seriously? Ugh. Sounds like I better get me some supplements before I kill my husband.

Thanks so much for commiserating!

[Charisse]

@Lisa, the only resource I found that had useful information on weaning a toddler was the website http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com I was disappointed in the books and I too was frustrated by several that seemed to only offer information on how to resist weaning pressure. I wanted to wean at 2 years, and I didn't feel the books addressed that. Opportunity for somebody. :)

I also thought for sure there would be a weaning board-book for kids, much as there are a gazillion potty training books, but was disappointed by "Maggie's Weaning", the only one available, because it had crummy production and didn't really say what I hoped it would say. Hence my homemade book...and I'm thinking you might be the Lisa who emailed me for a copy last night, so I hope that helps! Good luck!!

[karina]

Hi. I have two sons, 6 and 4. My oldest weaned himself at 15 months, very gradually. The youngest decided he was not going to wean anytime soon, and even though I tried and tried, even telling him he was too old for Mommy's milk, he usually had his way. I never planned on bf for as long as I did with him, but I felt he had this need, and I wasn't going to be the bad guy here. So he bf for 2y10m. I did get so many comments from everyone, some were as nasty as "I think it's horrible how long you have bf him"! "Horrible"... unbelievable. Anyway, however short or long you decide, or get to, bf your baby, it's only between you and her, and that's it. You will eventually feel when the time is right, even if you get desperate to wean, believe me I've been there! But the benefits far outweighed the trouble, so I stuck through and I don't regret it a single bit. I know I gave both of my sons a priceless gift and they're both very healthy and independent. Try to ignore nasty comments, you can just say you're doing what you believe is best for your baby and it works for both of you. Good luck, and congrats ;-) K in Caracas.

[Ladyg]

My year old is still BF. He would never take a bottle or a paci. At all. Even during several times that we were apart for 8 or more hours. He would just scream. SO, bottle feeding anything went out the window. I had to only work part time, which I still do.

He started sleeping through the night at 4 months though, so that changed the eating pattern and at 8 to 9 months, he started having fewer, but more extended nursing periods.

I intend to nurse for as long as he wishes. Both of my sisters as well as friends nursed through pregnancies and such. Since my DH is not turned off by the nursing, that hasnt been an issue, nor has my wanting my boobs back - I think that only happened at week 4 or so - and was likely more about the tummy!

I have never had a supply issue. In fact, I have been a milk bank donor and later a milk share donor (the latter is a yahoo group for those moms that want breastmilk for their babies rather than formula). I feel fortunate and thankful that my over active breasts have produced enough milk that several ill babies -- and some were adopted or just allergic to formula -- could thrive. (one just past the 14 pound mark after being a preemie YAY!) Its so awesome to help and be part of that!

Formula or BF is whatever to me. Its a choice, and those that choose formula shouldn't feel bad - and neither should those moms that choose extended BF or to use donor milk. We should all start thinking about other, more important things like seeing if we american women can get some of the maternity (and paternity) leave and pay that women in all other developed countries can take for granted! OR for that matter, make it so that women cannot be arrested for discreet breastfeeding in public.

Anyway, all of the babies that I know of that did very well with weaning were weaned very gradually, over a period of at least 4-6 months. Some had the end of day (before bed) feeding often going on for up to 3 years or so. When the weanign was faster many of the moms went into a depression as did the child, which took up to a year to fix. ( Just a note here, I have 9 siblings and am the youngest and last ot have kids and my best friend is one of 17, so between us we have a fair amount of data on all this stuff!)

[Naomi (Urban Mummy)]

Haven't read all of the comments yet, but this post echoes a lot of my own conflict.

My first weaned himself at 7 months. I know more now then I did then, and he was probably just going through a stage. But he'd been supplemented with formula from 3 months, and just preferred the bottle.

My second boy is just over 14 months, and still nurses about 4 times a day. I am back to work, but am lucky enough to be part time (I work only afternoons), so he nurses in the morning, before I go to work, when I get home, and before bed.

When I'm not with him, he only drinks water. I am starting to wonder if I should introduce some sort of milk, but haven't had a chance to ask my doctor (although she will tell me to give him milk). By the way, at 14 months, he's the size of a small 2 year old, and only about 3 inches shorter then my 3 year old, who is not tiny.

I did question what I should do when I went back to work (11 months old), and am glad that I persevered. It still seems weird that I am now considered to be an "extended" nurser! I plan to revisit when I am on work holiday in April - he'll be 18 months then.

[Beth]

I am so thankful for this post and the comments! I have been thinking so much about weaning in the past month or so. Bean is 8.5 months old and his nursing sessions are just SO plauged with distraction. I had no idea that this was a normal occurrence and not a sign that he was ready to start weaning (even my pedi told me he may be self-weaning). Frankly, I'm not ready and I am glad to hear he may not be either!
I am with the crowd that, pre-Bean, thought nursing for more than a year was weird. Now I can't imagine not nursing him. I suppose I will have to give up at least a few nursing sessions because of logistics shortly after his first birthday, but I am so glad to hear that there are so many women who continue to nurse and enjoy doing so beyond that point. I don't have very many friends that have nursed, or nursed beyond 3 months or so, and I am getting the "you're still nursing?" line. I love the "why buy the cow" response and will definitely use it! That's the general idea of the response I currently give -"hey, we both like it, and more importantly, since I quit my job, it's my financial comtribution to the family"- only vastly more clever.

[jacqueline]

Hi-
My son is one year old and I still breastfeeding on demand during the day. I recently cut out his before-bed feed as I was so exhausted from his all-night nibbles. And luckily he's now sleeping through the night...And now am trying to decide when to wean him, but after reading the comment thread, I feel no rush.
And for those women with low milk supply, here in Peru, when I was pregnant many people told me to drink and eat lots of quinoa to have lots of milk. As I love quinoa I had no problem -- I consumed loads of it. I have/had a good milk supply. Of course I'll never know if there was any correlation...but quinoa is super healthy so no harm either way.

[Fahd]

A job in a nursing oroainzatign that does not include hands on would be hard, but they exist. Remember, if you got a position in a long term or even acute setting with the background as an LPN, I promise you that when they are short staffed, you WILL be called upon to do the best for the patient and work the floor. ( I know, I've been there)In order to avoid that, jobs to consider that would appreciate your knowledge of nursing and management could be:Insurance companies doing quality assuranceConsulting FirmsLegal FirmsAgencies needing Admission Coordinators or Billing AuditorsOr make up your own business using your skills it would be great, probably hard, but you could tailor it to what you love to do!Good Luck

[Anghelescu]

I saw the headlines and diecded not to read the articles so I couldn't get cross/anxious about it because what is done is done. Boy1 I breasfed exclusively and weaned at 6 months. He wasn't interested and it was a struggle to get him interested in food until 8 months. Boy2 also breastfed exclusively for 6 months. Weaned him and he GOBBLED everything up, I think he was starving although I hadn't really noticed. All children are different. Unfortunately you only learn that, as a parent, with experience. It's so hard to know what the right' thing is first time around so you tend to follow the guidelines to the letter, and headlines like yeterday's are so unhelpful for that reason. Interesting post, thank you! x

[Pstesco]

I could have written this my self. My lo is 17 mhtnos, and still very much in love with her boob-boos! There are days and times when I feel like I am just done, but then there are the days like today where I cherish every snuggly moment and just get drunk off her smell and sweet face staring up at me. I never thought I would still be nursing at her age, but really, it is addicting. It's hard to deny the benefits. And the benefits WAAAAYYYY outway the reasons to wean her for us. So for our family, we will stick with what works.