When will you stop bf? What makes your decision?

[DianaB]

1 year. I'm exclusively pumping. It'll be for sanity reasons.

^This. Unless by some giant miracle I can manage to get DD to start nursing effectively and not just latching on and doing nothing I think I'll have to stop at a year or go insane as well.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Minimum of 2 and then after that, for however long we are both wanting to. I see Scarlett bfing for a long time. i do enjoy it and the bond Scarlett and i have is bloody amazing, that has really surprised me and it must be something to do with bf.

 

[elohcin]

I have let all of mine wean on their own. My youngest, though, had some outside factors contribute (when I had my ectopic surgery I physically couldn't nurse for about 2 weeks) and he stopped much earlier than the others, at just over 2 years. I feel like this is such a short time I have with them while they are tiny, and it is so important to them physically and emotionally, so we will stick with CLW.

 

[Dk1234]

What if your child wanted to nurse until school age? Would you let them? Seems a lot of people would do it as long as the child wanted to. I just couldn't do that. Nothing against anyone who does but the TIme magazine cover really made me realize I wouldn't be comfy with that. I don't even know if I'll be comfy at a year.

 

[elohcin]

What if your child wanted to nurse until school age? Would you let them? Seems a lot of people would do it as long as the child wanted to. I just couldn't do that. Nothing against anyone who does but the TIme magazine cover really made me realize I wouldn't be comfy with that. I don't even know if I'll be comfy at a year.

Are you asking me? Not sure, but I'll give my 2 cents.

Personally, I think the Time magazine cover was phooey. That sweet boy was only 3, and they purposefully MADE it look unnatural. The mom was posed to look "sexy" and not like a mother nurturing her child. It was meant to stir up controversy, being a cover pic and all.

But 3 years to me is definitely not school age. 6 years, yeah, but mine quite well before that, and I have only ever heard of maybe a handful of children who nurse that long. The average weaning age around the world is around 4 years, and even the AAP recommends breastfeeding to at least 2 years.

Honestly though, I really didn't think I'd be comfortable nursing a baby past 12-18 months maybe, and so that was my goal. But as we went on, I realized how natural it still was even at that point, and I continued to feel that way until they quit. The only reason there is an issue children nursing past "X" age is because society makes it that way, you know?

So anyway, that's my take on it. I know many others don't agree, but I'm not asking anyone to.

 

[elohcin]

I originally wanted to go until 6 months but then changed my goal to 1 year. Now we are at 18 months and I'm finally trying to wean him but he is starting to wean himself too. As I'm pregnant I think the milk is starting to change and he doesn't like it so much.

I think I planned to stop when it got to the point where it felt right. Now feels right and also I want him sleeping through the night when the new baby arrives. At the moment he comfort feeds at night which doesn't bother me but I know I will need all the sleep I can get in a few months time.

It would be nice to just give him an evening feed but I think I'm sending out too many mixed messages if I let him nurse in the evening and not in the night.

Night weaning is possible if you want to. We did it when Alice was 2, and had no problems. She just knows that 'mukmee needs a rest!' Initially, DH put her to bed and she slept on his side instead of mine. After a couple of weeks, I could put her to bed and sleep next to her without her asking.

Ditto! I HAVE nightweaned my kids, all around 14-18 months. (I was pregnant around then each time, but I would have done it anyway) I let them nurse until they wean otherwise, but I can't speak for how I'd do it if they still nursed around the clock all that time!

 

[elohcin]

I plan to bf for 18months and then express my milk until he's 2, but my little man has a cows milk allergy -- so if things don't change then I will breastfeeding until he Self weans!! Thsts my plan but I love breast feeding so much I can't imagine stopping x

To you and the pp who mentioned loving it so much, when did you start loving it? Because honestly I don't hate it or anything but I certainly wouldn't say I love it. Sometimes I enjoy it but it's really something I find somewhat a chore. Between having to supplement with expressed milk in the beginning and pumping to up my supply because I have a big baby and thrush that refuses to go away, I find it a chore.

I just saw this, you said you have thrush that won't go away? SO SO sorry!!! I dealt with thrush off and on for about 3 years (8 months straight after my son was born). I've finally been able to get on top of it (I can share with you what worked for me, if you'd like), and it wasn't with the typical recommended methods. I tried pretty much everything though, but the hardest was dealing with it systemically. I hope you are able to deal with it because thrush is a BEAST!

My little guy was pretty big, too. He was born almost 10lbs with a HUGE head (15.5"...thankful he was born at home!!), and he was always off or at the very top of the charts until about 18 months when he started leveling out.

 

[freckleonear]

What if your child wanted to nurse until school age? Would you let them? Seems a lot of people would do it as long as the child wanted to. I just couldn't do that. Nothing against anyone who does but the TIme magazine cover really made me realize I wouldn't be comfy with that. I don't even know if I'll be comfy at a year.

I have absolutely no problem with breastfeeding until school age in theory. The natural weaning age for humans is between 2.5 and 7 years, with the worldwide average being about 4 years. In practice, I sometimes find myself getting fed up of breastfeeding so might gently encourage her to wean before then. We'll just see what happens.

 

[hanelei]

I will probably look at stopping BFing when we start TTC #2, which will be around when LO turns 2. I would happily keep BFing, but as I'll be 38 by then I don't want to take the risk of anything affecting my fertility and my periods are still a bit all over the place, which they weren't before getting pregnant.

 

[Kel127]

I work full time and pump at work, and I will quit pumping at 1 year old, but will continue to nurse on demand morning, nights and weekends. My goal with DD is 2 years old but will let her self wean.
My son was down to 2 feeds a day when I quit pumping at 1 year old, and he self weaned at 16 months, when my milk dried up in my first trimester.

 

[tu123]

As long as possible. I expressed for my first and investing alot of time right now in sorting out the difficulties. I would love for hI'm to go past two.

 

[Dk1234]

I plan to bf for 18months and then express my milk until he's 2, but my little man has a cows milk allergy -- so if things don't change then I will breastfeeding until he Self weans!! Thsts my plan but I love breast feeding so much I can't imagine stopping x

To you and the pp who mentioned loving it so much, when did you start loving it? Because honestly I don't hate it or anything but I certainly wouldn't say I love it. Sometimes I enjoy it but it's really something I find somewhat a chore. Between having to supplement with expressed milk in the beginning and pumping to up my supply because I have a big baby and thrush that refuses to go away, I find it a chore.

I just saw this, you said you have thrush that won't go away? SO SO sorry!!! I dealt with thrush off and on for about 3 years (8 months straight after my son was born). I've finally been able to get on top of it (I can share with you what worked for me, if you'd like), and it wasn't with the typical recommended methods. I tried pretty much everything though, but the hardest was dealing with it systemically. I hope you are able to deal with it because thrush is a BEAST!

My little guy was pretty big, too. He was born almost 10lbs with a HUGE head (15.5"...thankful he was born at home!!), and he was always off or at the very top of the charts until about 18 months when he started leveling out.

Please share! I have tried all the perscriptions so now we are using GV and I'm afraid it is dangerous or sir thing because I hear mixed reviews.

 

[elohcin]

I plan to bf for 18months and then express my milk until he's 2, but my little man has a cows milk allergy -- so if things don't change then I will breastfeeding until he Self weans!! Thsts my plan but I love breast feeding so much I can't imagine stopping x

To you and the pp who mentioned loving it so much, when did you start loving it? Because honestly I don't hate it or anything but I certainly wouldn't say I love it. Sometimes I enjoy it but it's really something I find somewhat a chore. Between having to supplement with expressed milk in the beginning and pumping to up my supply because I have a big baby and thrush that refuses to go away, I find it a chore.

I just saw this, you said you have thrush that won't go away? SO SO sorry!!! I dealt with thrush off and on for about 3 years (8 months straight after my son was born). I've finally been able to get on top of it (I can share with you what worked for me, if you'd like), and it wasn't with the typical recommended methods. I tried pretty much everything though, but the hardest was dealing with it systemically. I hope you are able to deal with it because thrush is a BEAST!

My little guy was pretty big, too. He was born almost 10lbs with a HUGE head (15.5"...thankful he was born at home!!), and he was always off or at the very top of the charts until about 18 months when he started leveling out.

Please share! I have tried all the perscriptions so now we are using GV and I'm afraid it is dangerous or sir thing because I hear mixed reviews.

I am copying and pasting this from an old blog post of mine, hopefully it helps you a little! Please just ask if you have any more questions. Thankfully I had my MIL (RN turned naturopath) and my FIL (MD) helping me a lot along the way!

-Nystatin and Diflucan are decent options, aqcuired through prescription. However, anymore many cases of thrush are resistant to nystatin. And Diflucan carries it's own risks to the body! I did use them both several times throughout my years of candida battles, and sometimes I think they helped, but overall I believe it was the OTHER changes I made that contributed in the most noticeable ways.

-The "candida" diet is great...in theory. But as a nursing mom (especially of multiple children), it simply did not sustain me. I felt like I was dying of starvation. I did my best to cut out sugars, carbs, and just eat healthier overall, but I tried to balance it with eating what I felt my body needed. And sometimes, I NEEDED me some bread. (of course, the candida NEEDED some bread, too, but I tried to ignore their calling and go by my own instead)

-Not all probiotics are created equal! We have always been very diligent about probiotics in our home. They really are so important to gut health, ESPECIALLY for anyone who has ever (EVER) been on antibiotics or had a poor diet (who can raise their hand to not qualifying for either of those?). However, my "Multidophilus" wasn't making the cut during my issues. After my son was born, I finally stumbled on to the recommendation for Threelac, and I am SO glad I did. I truly believe it made a HUGE difference for me. I also made a specific effort to get plenty of L. Reuteri, as it quite literally "rebuilds" the gut, which I needed at this point. And I took Sacharomyces Boulardii as well.

-Candex, Candidase and/or GOL's Fungal Defense (my fav) are powerful allies. It was SO important for me to find something enzymatic to actually BREAK DOWN the substances that were causing me so much trouble (especially since biofilms are such a stubborn roadblock). I had to literally plan around taking them, since they require no food for 2 hours before bedtime and upon waking (a nursing- and especially a nursing while pregnant- mom is generally, er....HUNGRY!). But along with the ThreeLac, I believe these made one of the biggest differences for me.

-Supplements can be your best friend. Diet changes alone were not enough for me. I had to add a LOT of supplements into my daily routine. A LOT. I was taking Grapefruit Seed Extract, Olive Leaf, garlic (although I eventually switched to fresh, raw garlic...chopped in to quarters so I could easily swallow them without having to taste it, AND it helped SO much more!!), a B-complex vitamin, modified citrus pectin, coconut oil (and/or Lauricidin), dandelion root, pH Basic, Takuna, and I know there are more....but that's all I can remember right now. And I really did need to take ALL of them. They all worked either together or on their own in a much needed way. I still take many of them as soon as I start feeling a little "off base," and I know they help.

-You MUST be diligent with topical treatments. We tried a lot of different things here, too. Gentian violet worked a couple of times, but that stuff is SO messy, and carries potential risks with prolonged and/or repeated use. So I tried to keep it at a minimum. What we were able to do regularly were vinegar rinses after every feeding (ACV works better than white vinegar...and warning, if you have thrush pretty badly, it will STING and BURN like crazy the first few times...but I always took that as a good sign, and imagined it killing those little yeasties on the spot!), Grapefruit Seed Extract rinses to alternate with the vinegar, coconut oil to moisturize (because as thrush dies off, it can dry your nipples and cause cracking and eventually bleeding...which is excruciating! And coconut oil is antifungal. Do NOT use something like Lanolin, it can contribute to the problem rather than help it.) I would also put on a mix of something like generic Lotrimin and Monistat cream on at night (if there was to be no night nursing, that way I didn't have to wipe it off), or if I got really itchy. But topical treatment really is half the battle while nursing, and diligence is a must. If you aren't positive whether babe is dealing with it orally or not, treat them too, because otherwise you aren't likely to rid yourself of it.

 

[Dk1234]

Thanks so much!

 

[snowfia]

I'm hoping 2. But shh, don't tell OH

 

[katrinalorien]

I am going to make it at least a year... that's what I'm telling myself! Right now I'm feeding her on demand, and its demanding! But I'm so happy with her weight gain, she was up to her birth weight in one week, and I can just see her gaining weight and growing... so I dunno! I can see myself on her first birthday wondering why I should stop breastfeeding the next day though, it just seems so arbitrary.

 

[lovemyDD]

My DD is 15 months now and still breastfeeding. I plan on stopping when DD self-wean in which I feel she will be in a few more months!

 

[albs]

I just saw this, you said you have thrush that won't go away? SO SO sorry!!! I dealt with thrush off and on for about 3 years (8 months straight after my son was born). I've finally been able to get on top of it (I can share with you what worked for me, if you'd like), and it wasn't with the typical recommended methods. I tried pretty much everything though, but the hardest was dealing with it systemically. I hope you are able to deal with it because thrush is a BEAST!

sorry to hijack this thread, but i'm currently struggling with thrush that won't go away and it's seriously threatening my will to BF. i'm in so much pain and it's stopping me enjoying BFing. could you let me know what worked for you? and anyone else that's had to deal with this?
feel free to message me if you don't want to post here.
thanks so much!

 

[Dk1234]

The genatin violet seems to be working for now for me. But it all really depends on if it stays gone.

 

[elohcin]

I just saw this, you said you have thrush that won't go away? SO SO sorry!!! I dealt with thrush off and on for about 3 years (8 months straight after my son was born). I've finally been able to get on top of it (I can share with you what worked for me, if you'd like), and it wasn't with the typical recommended methods. I tried pretty much everything though, but the hardest was dealing with it systemically. I hope you are able to deal with it because thrush is a BEAST!

sorry to hijack this thread, but i'm currently struggling with thrush that won't go away and it's seriously threatening my will to BF. i'm in so much pain and it's stopping me enjoying BFing. could you let me know what worked for you? and anyone else that's had to deal with this?
feel free to message me if you don't want to post here.
thanks so much!

I posted above! Feel free to ask any questions though, some of that might not make sense if it's the first time you've come across certain info. I'd be happy to help if I can!