Breastfeeding- how long is too long?

[KimberlyH]

I stated I wouldn't breastfeed much longer than two years because of societal norms. Breastfeeding is primarily a source of nutrition (and a means of comfort secondarily), not a value I hold. An example of a value I hold is the importance of education, and if teaching my daughter to do the same makes her stand out I don't care, we'll give her tools to handle that. It's apples and oranges in my mind.

 

[kennedy]

Additionally, at that age children are eating solid table foods. There's no nutritional reason for them to be breastfeeding at that age, and while I'm aware that studies show there is no psychological harm with BFing a child under the age of three, I believe there are also studies that show that BFing a child OVER three is done more for the comfort of the parent vs the nutritional benefit of the child.

Would you mind providing sources for these studies? I consider myself fairly well-versed in the subject of breastfeeding as it's something about which I feel strongly and it's loosely related to my field of work. As far as I know, there are very few (in any?) studies on the effects of nursing past 3 years specifically -- usually anything past 24 months is lumped into one category even though some children in the study might have nursed until 7 and some until only 2.5.

The research that I've seen has been very clear that there are in fact still physiologic and nutritional benefits to nursing past the 24-month mark and that the health benefits (to both mother and child) are dose-related and directly proportional to how much and how long a child nurses. And there is even one study I know of that links breastfeeding past the 6-month mark to better mental health in the teen years (I believe the sample size was 2,000). Does that mean all mothers should breastfeed longer than they might want to? Certainly not -- there are many reasons a mother might decide to wean early -- but I also don't see any reason to deny that the benefits exist despite the evidence and support from every major worldwide medical organization.

I have to wonder what would have happened if someone posted a thread titled "How Young is Too Young?" with a link to an article about a mother who weaned her baby at, say, 2 months. I would guess some people might criticize her choice, but probably many others would feel defensive of her right to choose what she felt was right for her and her child. Why is it any different for a mother who chooses to breastfeed an older child, especially since there is no research to suggest that extended breastfeeding is in any way harmful and, if anything, beneficial? I think the more pertinent question from a public health standpoint is how to help more women initiate breastfeeding at birth and then sustain that relationship at least until 6 months.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Honestly, I don't have a link to a specific study. My claim was based on a documentary I saw once about mothers who chose to nurse later into their child's life.

 

[kennedy]

Honestly, I don't have a link to a specific study. My claim was based on a documentary I saw once about mothers who chose to nurse later into their child's life.

Thanks for your reply. As we all know, documentaries can often times be heavily biased in a way that peer-reviewed research (hopefully) isn't. With all due respect, I think it's a little unfair to make the statement that breastfeeding past three is usually done to the meet the emotional needs of the parent. Is that any different than making the generalization that mothers who choose not to breastfeed at all or who wean before the recommended age are selfish or not acting in the best interest of their child? I would imagine you could find examples of both in each group, but I think most mothers do their best to balance their own needs and the needs of their child (to the extent they're in opposition).

 

[CNOS128]

I don't know about a 2 - 3 year old, but I find breastfeeding a 6 year old to be distasteful, frankly. I used to teach 6-year-olds who definitely regarded women's breasts in a sexual manner, and I would not want to breastfeed a child who was old enough to associate breasts with sex. I don't believe that women should be prevented from breastfeeding their 6-year-olds, if that's what they choose to do. But I certainly wouldn't make the same decision, as I think it's a little gross.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I don't judge the mother for extended breastfeeding so much as seeming to do it just because she doesn't want or know how to say no to her child. If she had said, "I believe in breastfeeding this long because x,y,z," then I'd respect her, but she just seems like a wimp who even admits she'd probably never have breastfed him if she'd known it would last this long. It's like parents who don't choose cosleeping based on beliefs or research but just do it because they don't want to deal with the meltdowns if they try to make their kids do something they don't like.

 

[MonkeyPie]

I would worry less about the health benefits (or lack thereof) and more about the mental issues this could inflict on a child as they grow older. Kids can cruel, and the mental strife would be significant as he grows older. And how stupid must this woman be, setting her child up for this kind of abuse by putting this on the internet? I think that is far more ridiculous than how long she breast feeds for.

 

[Maria D]

I just read this today on a Bengal Cat Rescue mail list I belong to and found it hysterical! She is talking about cats here -- remember that 1.5 cat years = approx 19 human years....

--------
Hello All,

My 1.5 yo male is still nursing on his mama. He's tipping the scales at 15.5# at
last check up. She's only 10.5#
(I got the over the glasses glare from my vet when she weighed him, "Not. One.
Pound. More") She told me
to quit free feeding them, but,honestly, if I dont free feed, I'll probably
forget to feed them!! (kidding--mostly).
And I see them eat...he's not sitting there horking it down, they both just
snatch bites throughout the day. I think
he's such a moose because he's still getting milk from mom.

I knew he still sucked at her when she was occupied feeding, but a friend (who's
a cat breeder!) told me she probably
didn't have any milk anymore and it was just a comfort thing. Well, I poked him
in the butt the other day when he was doing
it and he whipped his head out so fast, there were milk droplets on his
whiskers. Busted. His great hulking moose of a body does not
need to be snatching nutrients away from his itty-bitty mother. I separated them
once before for about 5 days hoping she
would dry out (if indeed still lactating) and break the habit. Apparently that
did not work.

So, my question is, how long do I need to separate them for her to dry out, to
get him into a 12-step program?


Thanks for your advice!

 

[Blenheim]

Maria - That is hilarious! Just wow.

To add to what Kennedy was saying in regards to nursing past 2 or 3 years:

NURSING BEYOND INFANCY
As recommended by the WHO, breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is not the cultural norm in the United States and requires ongoing support and encouragement.69 It has been estimated that a natural weaning age for humans is between two and seven years.70 Family physicians should be knowledgeable regarding the ongoing benefits to the child of extended breastfeeding, including continued immune protection,71 better social adjustment,72 and having a sustainable food source in times of emergency. The longer women breastfeed, the greater the decrease in their risk of breast cancer.73 Mothers who have immigrated from cultures in which breastfeeding beyond infancy is routine should be encouraged to continue this tradition. There is no evidence that extended breastfeeding is harmful to mother or child. Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the woman's personal decision. If the child is younger than two years, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child.19
--American Academy of Family Physicians

“There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer.”
--American Academy of Pediatrics

I agree with some earlier statements that this is just not as much of an issue as the news occasionally makes out, and that I know very few children who nurse past age 2 or 3. There isn't much societal support for it. When George was about 15 months old, I got some bad medical advice due to a ob/gyn thinking that he was too old to nurse and trying to get me to wean in order to resolve some badly clogged milk ducts. More lately, my mom told me that she thought there was a decent chance that my miscarriage was caused by hormones being out of wack from nursing him once every day or two, and that I should think about weaning. (Research does not support this.)

That being said, my goal has been to nurse until 2, and I think that I will probably try to gently wean him if/once we get there.

 

[diva rose]

Additionally, at that age children are eating solid table foods. There's no nutritional reason for them to be breastfeeding at that age, and while I'm aware that studies show there is no psychological harm with BFing a child under the age of three, I believe there are also studies that show that BFing a child OVER three is done more for the comfort of the parent vs the nutritional benefit of the child.

Would you mind providing sources for these studies? I consider myself fairly well-versed in the subject of breastfeeding as it's something about which I feel strongly and it's loosely related to my field of work. As far as I know, there are very few (in any?) studies on the effects of nursing past 3 years specifically -- usually anything past 24 months is lumped into one category even though some children in the study might have nursed until 7 and some until only 2.5.

The research that I've seen has been very clear that there are in fact still physiologic and nutritional benefits to nursing past the 24-month mark and that the health benefits (to both mother and child) are dose-related and directly proportional to how much and how long a child nurses. And there is even one study I know of that links breastfeeding past the 6-month mark to better mental health in the teen years (I believe the sample size was 2,000). Does that mean all mothers should breastfeed longer than they might want to? Certainly not -- there are many reasons a mother might decide to wean early -- but I also don't see any reason to deny that the benefits exist despite the evidence and support from every major worldwide medical organization.

I have to wonder what would have happened if someone posted a thread titled "How Young is Too Young?" with a link to an article about a mother who weaned her baby at, say, 2 months. I would guess some people might criticize her choice, but probably many others would feel defensive of her right to choose what she felt was right for her and her child. Why is it any different for a mother who chooses to breastfeed an older child, especially since there is no research to suggest that extended breastfeeding is in any way harmful and, if anything, beneficial? I think the more pertinent question from a public health standpoint is how to help more women initiate breastfeeding at birth and then sustain that relationship at least until 6 months.

I'm a speech pathologist so this is an area that concerns me. People come to me with feeding issues. We are the experts who specialise in dealing with mothers who need breastfeeding support or children with feeding concerns. We liase with dieticians to look at specific diets mothers/children need to be on. Doctors are also involved if there are actual medical reasons why a child/mother may have issues with feeding. e.g. they go on medication etc.

As a health professional, we recommend parents to breast feed when they can to up to 12 months in age. Solids are introduced around 6 months in age - mash/puree etc. By age 1 - children should be further developing oro-motor skills to eat, chew etc. They should also be getting their needs from solids and other liquids. Different types of textures of food, drinking from a cup or straw, using knife and fork - all relate not only to their diet but their overall motor skills for speech and development. Breastfeeding works on sucking mechanism. A child needs to develop other mechanisms for speech production.

In regards to the mother - I am pretty sure physiotherapists and occupational therapist will disagree with that article. Once a child gets to a certain age, they become bigger and heavy - this poses a health risk for mothers.

**Added:

I should clarify my comments about the age mark. We do recommend mothers to breast feed up to 12 months of age if possible. With children who are still breastfeeding up to 2 years, it's important to encourage them to eat other types of food for oro-motor development. What often happens is, mothers breast feed their child then complain their child is not eating solids. Well..it's because they are already full. So you need to balance it. For the child to be only having breast milk from 1 years up - that is a concern because they need to be getting other types of oral stimulation.

 

[kennedy]

Additionally, at that age children are eating solid table foods. There's no nutritional reason for them to be breastfeeding at that age, and while I'm aware that studies show there is no psychological harm with BFing a child under the age of three, I believe there are also studies that show that BFing a child OVER three is done more for the comfort of the parent vs the nutritional benefit of the child.

Would you mind providing sources for these studies? I consider myself fairly well-versed in the subject of breastfeeding as it's something about which I feel strongly and it's loosely related to my field of work. As far as I know, there are very few (in any?) studies on the effects of nursing past 3 years specifically -- usually anything past 24 months is lumped into one category even though some children in the study might have nursed until 7 and some until only 2.5.

The research that I've seen has been very clear that there are in fact still physiologic and nutritional benefits to nursing past the 24-month mark and that the health benefits (to both mother and child) are dose-related and directly proportional to how much and how long a child nurses. And there is even one study I know of that links breastfeeding past the 6-month mark to better mental health in the teen years (I believe the sample size was 2,000). Does that mean all mothers should breastfeed longer than they might want to? Certainly not -- there are many reasons a mother might decide to wean early -- but I also don't see any reason to deny that the benefits exist despite the evidence and support from every major worldwide medical organization.

I have to wonder what would have happened if someone posted a thread titled "How Young is Too Young?" with a link to an article about a mother who weaned her baby at, say, 2 months. I would guess some people might criticize her choice, but probably many others would feel defensive of her right to choose what she felt was right for her and her child. Why is it any different for a mother who chooses to breastfeed an older child, especially since there is no research to suggest that extended breastfeeding is in any way harmful and, if anything, beneficial? I think the more pertinent question from a public health standpoint is how to help more women initiate breastfeeding at birth and then sustain that relationship at least until 6 months.

I'm a speech pathologist so this is an area that concerns me. People come to me with feeding issues. We are the experts who specialise in dealing with mothers who need breastfeeding support or children with feeding concerns. We liase with dieticians to look at specific diets mothers/children need to be on. Doctors are also involved if there are actual medical reasons why a child/mother may have issues with feeding. e.g. they go on medication etc.

As a health professional, we recommend parents to breast feed when they can to up to 12 months in age. Solids are introduced around 6 months in age - mash/puree etc. By age 1 - children should be further developing oro-motor skills to eat, chew etc. They should also be getting their needs from solids and other liquids. Different types of textures of food, drinking from a cup or straw, using knife and fork - all relate not only to their diet but their overall motor skills for speech and development. Breastfeeding works on sucking mechanism. A child needs to develop other mechanisms for speech production.

In regards to the mother - I am pretty sure physiotherapists and occupational therapist will disagree with that article. Once a child gets to a certain age, they become bigger and heavy - this poses a health risk for mothers.

**Added:

I should clarify my comments about the age mark. We do recommend mothers to breast feed up to 12 months of age if possible. With children who are still breastfeeding up to 2 years, it's important to encourage them to eat other types of food for oro-motor development. What often happens is, mothers breast feed their child then complain their child is not eating solids. Well..it's because they are already full. So you need to balance it. For the child to be only having breast milk from 1 years up - that is a concern because they need to be getting other types of oral stimulation.

I'm not entirely sure why you quoted my reply above. I'm also not entirely sure what you mean by health risks to the mother as the child gets bigger and heavier?? There is very compelling research to suggest that the longer a woman breastfeeds, the more she reduces her risk of a whole host of very serious diseases (namely, cancer). I've never seen anything to suggest that it puts a woman at risk for any sort of health concern.

I don't think anyone here who has mentioned the proven benefits of extended breastfeeding is advocating that solid food be discouraged or withheld. I nursed my daughter until she was 3, but introduced solid food at 6 months as recommended. By the time she weaned herself, she was nursing very little -- a minute or two in the morning or evening. It did not at any point inappropriately impact her interest in eating solids. I'm not saying that can't happen, but it could happen just as easily with a child who is formula-fed -- it's not unique to breastfeeding and I haven't seen any research to suggest that extended breastfeeding routinely interferes with a child's ability to eat solid food, assuming everything else is healthy and normal.

 

[diva rose]

It was in reference to the research you were discussing. I was wondering which study you were refering to but now know which one you meant. Sorry - I forgot to go and delete it.

In reference to children becoming heavier or bigger - when you breast feed - you have the child on your lap/carry them.
Which means the mother will bear the weight of the child. As children become big like 5-6 years old - that's a heavy weight placed upon the mother which increases risks for back injury etc. There is a reason why most health professionals or professionals working with children have a 'no lift' policy. Not because they are afraid of dropping the children or having physical contact with children. It's because there are physical risks for carrying/lifting children that big for the professionals.

Breast milk is better for the child than forumla - there is no question about that. Unfortunately not all mothers can continue with breast feeding for longer periods. As a professional if I had to choose between one or another - I would prefer the mother breast feeding the child rather than giving them bottle milk at an older age.

I was referring to long periods and large amounts where most of their meals are from breast milk or bottle milk. Amount and frequency is important. If the child is getting most of their meals from milk, how can he/she have enough space to eat other foods/drinks or explore their oro-motor skills?

And sadly, there are a lot of mothers out there with children between 1-4years old where their diets consist mostly of breast or bottle milk. Yes - it's shocking but true. And this can contribute to refusal of solid foods and delay in oro-motor functioning. Feeding, behaviour and speech development are highly related to each other - the skills overlap.

BTW Back tracking - if a mother is introducing solids at 2 months old - there are major alarm bells here. It is not ok and you are placing your child at risk.

 

[kennedy]

It was in reference to the research you were discussing. I was wondering which study you were refering to but now know which one you meant. Sorry - I forgot to go and delete it.

In reference to children becoming heavier or bigger - when you breast feed - you have the child on your lap/carry them.
Which means the mother will bear the weight of the child. As children become big like 5-6 years old - that's a heavy weight placed upon the mother which increases risks for back injury etc. There is a reason why most health professionals or professionals working with children have a 'no lift' policy. Not because they are afraid of dropping the children or having physical contact with children. It's because there are physical risks for carrying/lifting children that big for the professionals.

Breast milk is better for the child than forumla - there is no question about that. Unfortunately not all mothers can continue with breast feeding for longer periods. As a professional if I had to choose between one or another - I would prefer the mother breast feeding the child rather than giving them bottle milk at an older age.

I was referring to long periods and large amounts where most of their meals are from breast milk or bottle milk. Amount and frequency is important. If the child is getting most of their meals from milk, how can he/she have enough space to eat other foods/drinks or explore their oro-motor skills?

And sadly, there are a lot of mothers out there with children between 1-4years old where their diets consist mostly of breast or bottle milk. Yes - it's shocking but true. And this does attribute to refusal of solid foods and delay in oro-motor functioning. Feeding, behaviour and speech development are highly related to each other - the skills overlap.

BTW Back tracking - if a mother is introducing solids at 2 months old - there are major alarm bells here. It is not ok and you are placing your child at risk.

I wasn't referring to any one study in particular except for the one from Australia suggesting that there is a link between breastfeeding past 6 months and improved mental health in teens.

I would imagine most mothers who are breastfeeding a 5 or 6 year old aren't carrying them around while nursing, so I doubt they would be at too much risk for a back injury.

I'm not disagreeing that there are young children out there out there whose diet consists of too much milk. My point was simply that this could happen whether the child is breastfed or bottle fed, so I'm not clear how it's specifically an extended breastfeeding problem.

I'm not sure who mentioned introducing solids at 2 months?? Not me!

 

[diva rose]

lol - the 2 months thing was someone's side comment. I don't think they were implying they were feeding their child solids at 2 months. I hope not!

Extended breastfeeding is not an issue - how much you breast feed during that time and what else the child eat is.

I've seen many things the mothers here on PS would be disgusted and shocked about.

I will share with you a strange story from my sister who has seen far worse things. She works for DOCS - For those outside Australia, it's a child protection team.

One time, they had to remove a child from a home. Basically the mother let her baby stay in a dirty diaper(nappy) with a rat inside. Yes - there was a rat inside the baby's nappy. The mother was like "I don't know how it got there."

 

[Pandora II]

As a mother of a 19 month-old who is still breastfeeding to a very large extent and who has little interest in solid foods - the advice I have received, the research I have read and my own observations show that children don't reject food because they are too full of breastmilk to be hungry (cow's milk/formula are different as they digest in a different way and much more slowly) and that cutting down the breast-milk doesn't result in increased solids consumption. Plus breast-milk is often more nutritious than a lot of foods we offer babies or that Daisy will actually eat - crisps and chips...

I have tried not feeding Daisy for 6 hours and had her completely reject any food in front of her and have also fed her a big 20 minute feed from both breasts and 15 minutes later she's eaten an adult size portion of curry and rice. The last couple of weeks her food consumption has massively increased - still not what most of my friends' kids eat but a big difference for her - and if anything she is asking to nurse more often than before.

I did Baby Led Weaning so she's never had purees or baby foods but always adult food/finger foods and she ate everything for nearly 5 months and then just stopped.

I did speak to a paediatric dentist, who we saw to check if there was a physical reason for her lack of interest in food, about extended breastfeeding and they said it's actually very good for the palate and bite formation because of the way they suck.

My sister is a speech-pathologist (and breast-fed her son till he was 2.5 years - her daughter had a cleft palate and couldn't be breastfed) and I spoke to her about it - her advice was that Daisy was well ahead on her verbal communication (around 150 words and 2 and 3 word sentences) and it almost certainly was just her doing what she wanted rather than her not eating because of a physical problem.

We're also seeing a child psychotherapist to look at her overall behaviour and the current consensus is that she is a normal happy child who is hitting all her milestones at the early end of the scale and her lack of interest in food just seems to be one of those things that she'll probably grow out of.

Diva Rose - I'm not sure why sitting an older child (5-6) on your lap to nurse should be any different to sitting a child of that age on your lap to cuddle/watch a film etc? I'll feed Daisy sometimes in the sling while we are walking around but I doubt I'll be doing that once she gets much heavier - I can't see someone trying to walk around feeding a 5 year-old... is it physically possible?

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

When I was about 5 I had to go to my cousins house for the day. The girls were around 4 and 3. After lunch the mum asked them both if they wanted chocolate milk or normal milk and then proceeded to whip out the boobs and feed them both. All I can remember thinking was that I really hoped that she did not ask me if I wanted chocolate or normal milk! lol

I guess there is nothing wrong with it if the child is still happy to feed but it wouldn't be a choice that I would make for myself personally. That said I had to supplement feed with formula from about 2 weeks as I didnt have enough milk and kt started refusing the boob from about 4 months so i guess I was never cut out to feed that long anyway.

kennedy - just curious, but are you referring to the study done by the Telethon Institute or another one?

 

[kennedy]

Pandora -- It sounds like you and I have very similar parenting styles. I agree with everything you said. After the age of 1, my daughter went from the 25th percentile down to the 5th or below. We consulted with experts to rule out all the obvious issues such as thyroid or celiac. Turns out she was just finding her new curve and has been on the same one ever since (she's now 4). At that time, she was still nursing quite a lot and there was never any concern that she was drinking too much breastmilk. If anything, I was told by more than one physician that it is still the ideal food even into the second year and that there was no reason to limit her intake. Had she been drinking nothing but formula or cow's milk, I imagine the advice would have been very different.

Hawaiiorangetree -- Yes, the research I was referencing was conducted by The Telethon Institute and published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

 

[Pandora II]

Pandora -- It sounds like you and I have very similar parenting styles. I agree with everything you said. After the age of 1, my daughter went from the 25th percentile down to the 5th or below. We consulted with experts to rule out all the obvious issues such as thyroid or celiac. Turns out she was just finding her new curve and has been on the same one ever since (she's now 4). At that time, she was still nursing quite a lot and there was never any concern that she was drinking too much breastmilk. If anything, I was told by more than one physician that it is still the ideal food even into the second year and that there was no reason to limit her intake. Had she been drinking nothing but formula or cow's milk, I imagine the advice would have been very different.

Hawaiiorangetree -- Yes, the research I was referencing was conducted by The Telethon Institute and published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Daisy was 75th centile at birth for weight and gradually moved to 25th, for height she was 75th at birth and gradually moved to 2nd and now 9th centile. She isn't a skinny child by any means - she still has chubby rolls on her legs - and the paediatricians aren't at all worried about that and also said it was just her natural level. I even asked them if they thought she was malnourished and they said absolutely not.

I was very suprised when the paediatric dietician said on no account to stop or decrease the breastfeeding as I was totally anticipating being told that she was too full of milk to want food.

Following some of the research I have read I'm thinking of getting some of my vitamin levels checked to see if it may be a nutrient deficiency on my part as bm is meant to have good levels of vit. B12.

Does sound like we have similar parenting styles - I basically do the Dr Sear's AP pretty much to the letter. I'm not that way of thinking on giving birth though - give me an epi and a nice hospital anyday!

 

[Jennifer W]

Pandora, DD's dentist was very keen on BFing for as long as possible too. A weaned herself at 15 months, and I was really disappointed, as I'd planned to carry on until she was at least two, partly based on her dentist's advice.

 

[diva rose]

Diva Rose - I'm not sure why sitting an older child (5-6) on your lap to nurse should be any different to sitting a child of that age on your lap to cuddle/watch a film etc? I'll feed Daisy sometimes in the sling while we are walking around but I doubt I'll be doing that once she gets much heavier - I can't see someone trying to walk around feeding a 5 year-old... is it physically possible?

Yes it is possible and I have seen mothers do it. When you nurse, the child is sitting in a different position to sitting on your lap to cuddle etc. Nursing position, the children are tilted and their weight is shifted to other parts of your body besides your legs e.g. arms to hold the child in a reclining position.

Pandora - your daughter sounds like she's very select with her food and really likes her milk. The fact she's not interested in food but likes her chips says it all. If she had a physical problems, you would have noticed it earlier or your sister would have as a speech pathologist.

To me it sounds like from the information you have provided, your daughter's reason to refuse food most likely based on her preference. If she eats curry and rice, chips etc - those are foods with strong flavours - also more on the salty side.
Baby food/puree usually don't have strong flavours and are not salty. What else does she eat?
Check what types of food she likes to eat and when. Does she have a regular pattern of eating? Or does she just eat solids when she wants at random times. Being so young though at 19months, refusing certain types of solid foods is fine as long as there are no physical issues related to it.

There are many reasons why a child may refuse food:
- physical issues with feeding
- previous trauma with feeding
- they are too full
- timing /when you feed, how long for, how many times etc
- diet
- likes/dislikes
- behaviours

If you are interested in why a child may refuse food - make a food diary. Check their patterns and behaviours.

 

[Pandora II]

Daisy likes curry & rice, fries, crisps, chocolate, peas, ice (but not ice-cream) and occasionally baked potatoes. Once in a blue moon she'll eat a bit of banana or grapes (but spits them out).

I'm convinced that there is nothing wrong physically. She's extremely strong willed and I think she just eats when and what she wants. She has meals with DH and I where she may or may not eat and if she wants snacks they are available and offered.

She has no interest in puddings or candy other than chocolate. She only likes water or BM to drink - won't touch juice, cow's milk or formula.

Over Christmas the only full meal she ate was on Xmas Eve when we all went out for curry - she did try some turkey etc on Xmas Day but spat it back out. There is never any playing with food and she likes to use a spoon and fork and is very unmessy when she does eat - doesn't like getting food on her hands.

I think she will eat normally when she decides it's time. In the meantime I'm just hoping her blood-tests on Jan 4th come back as normal and I can relax again.

 

[JonyLeaber]

Thats what i always said but she got her 1st at 7 months and i just kept going. Ive only been bit once. A poperly nursing baby cant bit, so dont worry about that.

the WHO recommends breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond

my daughter is 13 months, has 6 teeth and is still breastfeeding

 

[labellavita81]

Personally, I think when the child can ask the question "mummy may I please have some milk" and pull up your shirt to nurse, then it's too long.

I agree with this.