Thoughts on this....??

[lovealittle1]

It is so sad that your friend is quitting. Please tell her to be sure that she is quitting for the right reasons. if she quits because of judgmental uneducated people she might regret it.

 

[aliss]

Other countries don't necessarily due it because it's essential, they do it because they believe it contributes to strong healthy toddlers/children.

Not to anyone in particular but,
Sometimes I get the impression that people think extended breastfeeding in other countries is because they are starving in refugee camps and running around in loin cloths with spears... no... plenty of mudhuts in Mongolia have television and radios. In Nigeria, extended breastfeeders send their kids onto a school bus in uniform!

Mongolia is a good example - extended breastfeeding until 6 or 7 is considered quite an achievement and to be commended/honoured. The majority of Mongolians are not starving on the frigid plains, like Ulaanbaatar:
https://www.overseaspropertymall.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/ulaanbaatar.jpg

 

[freckleonear]

Personally I could not BF that long. Your friend can do as she pleases. However from a nutritional standpoint as long as he is fed a well balanced diet is the breast milk really necessary? I know in 3rd world countries they BF as long as possible because they have no choice, malnutrition is common. But like I said to each their own.

Of course it's not necessary. Neither are vitamin supplements. Breastfeeding just happens to be an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, antibodies and comfort. If you could give all that in pill form then I'm sure lots of people would, so why shouldn't he have that just because it comes from breasts?

 

[cissyhope]

gosh,isnt it awful i didnt realise how bad it is for mothers to nurse their babies in public,i never experienced any negative comments myself,however i suppose i didn't really Bf in public that much.I think its the most backward society to ridicule something so natural,we should be treating BF women as precious jewels as they are feeding the future.
Our society has got it so wrong...

 

[tu123]

gosh,isnt it awful i didnt realise how bad it is for mothers to nurse their babies in public,i never experienced any negative comments myself,however i suppose i didn't really Bf in public that much.I think its the most backward society to ridicule something so natural,we should be treating BF women as precious jewels as they are feeding the future.
Our society has got it so wrong...

We REALLY have it wrong!

 

[Cupkake.Luver]

I'm currently FFing but when I breastfeed in public, I would get looks all the time. Once I was even told to cover up and that I should do it in the privacy of my home. LO was only 2 months old. lol.
Do you ONLY eat at home with the windows and blinds shut so no one sees you? No. So why should I have to do that with LO?

I think that lady was VERY out of line. She had NO right to say anything to your friend. Would I BF until LO was 4? No but thats just me personally. To each its own. I would never judge anyone for the decision they made on how to raise their child.

 

[lhancock90]

I'm currently FFing but when I breastfeed in public, I would get looks all the time. Once I was even told to cover up and that I should do it in the privacy of my home. LO was only 2 months old. lol.
Do you ONLY eat at home with the windows and blinds shut so no one sees you? No. So why should I have to do that with LO?

I think that lady was VERY out of line. She had NO right to say anything to your friend. Would I BF until LO was 4? No but thats just me personally. To each its own. I would never judge anyone for the decision they made on how to raise their child.

Did you kick her ass?

 

[XJessicaX]

not for me, but each to their own

 

[midori1999]

I feel really quite sad that your friend feels pressured into stopping BF because of the views of others. Her Mother's comments were especially ignorant.

Perhaps she can come onto this forum or the one Freckleonear sugested to see that not everyone thinks there is anything wierd, strange or wrong about BF a child for as long as the child wants.

 

[DLA]

I have a genuine question: What are the reasons for not pumping to prepare for when you're in public? I think I read that it's very time-consuming and a pain in the ass so that's obviously one. I'm asking because I definitely will be breastfeeding but it never occured for me to BF in public. All the friends I have that BF always just bring a bottle with EBM when they're in public.

I am not saying this is what everyone should do by any means but this thread got me thinking about it. I'm quite nervous about BFing in general. I can already say there is no chance in hell I'd be able to do it in public as I'm scared I'll be freaked out just doing it period. I want to do it because of the obvious health benefits and I've read it is a lovely bonding experience but I gotta say I can't help but view my breasts as sexual so I really don't know how this is going to go. I sincerely hope it will just be a wonderful, rewarding and DIFFERENT experience than what I currently view my breasts as now (does that make sense?).

But yeah sorry to deter from the original question. I am curious about the pumping vs BFing public thing... Thanks.

 

[aliss]

DLA: Some women can't produce anything with a pump - sometimes it's a fine substitution for some women, but some get nothing. It does not stimulate as much production, in general. Aside from taking the time to pump (15-20 minutes per breast plus 5 minutes to stimulate flow), you then need to sterilize bottles, prepare a place to keep the bottles, find a place to warm a bottle if it's cold. Some children also outright refuse bottles - some babies have never taken an expressed bottle.

Your concern about public nursing/sexual thoughts of breasts are not uncommon for women who have never breastfed - most women get over these fears quite quickly when they actually breastfeed.

I pumped full time because my LO had a medical problem - expressing sucks when the tap is so much easier to find & use, I'm sure. I wouldn't know, I didn't get the choice!

 

[Blah11]

I hated expressing. I'd sit feeding amelie on one side and furiously trying to pump from the other side and would still only get 1 or 2oz in 45mins-1hr even when i was really engorged. & then to make matters worse, she'd refuse the bottle I took 3 hours to pump for

 

[Miss_Bump]

^^^ yup expressing sucks!

Could never do it

 

[Blah11]

i remember literally crying over spilt milk one day, haha!

I'm not even buying a pump this time. It can go to hell and burn.

 

[Miss_Bump]

YES, ME TOO!! Its like liquid gold

I pumped about 1oz and DH was faffing around with the doidy cup and over it went!

We managed to save a mouthful but Evie spat it out anyway

 

[tina_h75]

I am probably going to say the wrong thing here and I apologise in advance for that but... I am absolutely for breastfeeding, all three of mine were breastfed until they were 8-9 months old however ... I only breastfed in public as an absolute necessity when my baby was hungry and needed a feed. I just don't see the necessity of it for a 4 year old. I don't have a problem with breastfeeding up to that age, that is personal to the mother and child and I would never make such a rude comment to a breastfeeding mother. I would just look the other way.

 

[bubbles123]

I really, in the nicest possible way, don't care what other people do. I don't get why some people get so upset by it (as in the lady who complained).
BF never worked out for me but I think it's important to remember that the child wasn't always that size; it's not like you start BF'ing a toddler, they start small and then grow. It must seem a natural progression for mother and child.
So basically the message sent out seems to be you must BF a newborn or you're a terrible person but this is only acceptable for a few months then you must FF or you're weird. Very strange!

 

[FLUMPY1984]

To be honest it is strange and i would never do it and i would be shocked to see someone breastfeeding their 4 year old in public or at all to be honest. But saying that its not doing no harm and i wouldnt say anything as its not my place or my business to x

 

[hot tea]

This is clearly a problem with OUR culture. There is absolutely nothing weird or wrong with extended breastfeeding. I will also be honest and say the fact so many people find it odd makes ME uncomfortable and sometimes angry. I hate this.

When this LO is older I will not be shy to go out in public and nurse. Why? Because someone has to do it. I am tired of fearing what other people think. This is not wrong. It is wrong that people have such a bloody warped view.

 

[Babushka99]

I'm totally not getting what is weird about a 4 year old breastfeeding. Is that really weird?????? am I weird for thinking its not weird? Maybe a 30 year old on their mums breast might be weird. But 4 no.... Love the word weird I do.