How long to BF
Michael K. Haldenstein
I'm planning to bf my son until he is 6 mos. old. I've noticed from the
postings that some bf their children well into the toddler years. I have
read and my pediatrician said that infants receive the greatest benefit
from bf for a one year period, and after that nutritional and immunity
benefits begin to diminish. Is this true? Anyone have other information
about this? Thanks.
Dave & Colette
Well, it's not as if all the benefits stop the first day after your
child's first birthday. Also, breastfeeding is more than infection
fighting and feeding; it's a special bond that no one who has not
done it for a while can understand fully. Most toddlers have their
own ideas about nursing, and I'd like for a skeptic to even try to
explain to my almost two year old that she doesn't 'need' to nurse.
This is the same child who now role plays with her dollies ... "oh,
poor baby hurt, here, you need to get the mama (then lifts her shirt
and nurses whichever doll it is). Or when she hears a baby crying in
public, she informs me and my hsuband that "Baby's sad ... wants
to get the mama!" With toddlers it might not be such a great nurtional
need, although it doesn't completely disappear, it is more an emotional
soothing and constant in their lives.
It's also a life-saver when a little one is sick ... Amy has had the
flu only once (thank god); she was over a year old and was throwing up
a LOT. I was not freaked out, though, b/c breastmilk is so highly
absorbable that I knew if she even held down a little it would be the
perfect balance, have specific immunities targeted for that exact virus
(your breast will always produce special immunities that are tagged for
virus and bacteria to which you have been exposed), and keep her
hydrated. No dealing with pedialyte (and praying she would even drink
it), getting up to make something for her ... all I had to do is go to
bed and nurse her ... both the perfect drink and food AND the added
comfort of sucking at the breast. For two days she could eat or drink
nothing but breastmilk, but my supply increased to meat her demand,
and she was fine, and I didn't have to bother with running out (or
sending hubby out) the store to buy something that she could hold down.
When ever anybody I know calls our pediatrician (about 4 of my friends
all use the same one as I, b/c he's so knowledgable about long-term
breastfeeding and has 3 LC's on staff), the first question they ask
for anyone under four is: "is s/he still nursing?" b/c they know that
it's much easier to take care of a sick child that is nursing.
And even with the few colds she's had, she nursed more during those
times. Again ... it's comforting as a mom to know that she's getting
the best possible drink along with special immunities to help her
fight the virus. A child's immune system is not FULLY developed until
four or five years of age, so even a small amount of immunilogical
support is good.
And when she falls and hurts herself, she says that nursing makes her
feel better. She also likes little squirt of breastmilk if there's a
scrape instead of bactine (TM). It's antibacterial, and it numbs the
cut slightly (I've tried it on my own papercuts). It also works wonders
on diaper rash!!! No wonder the formula companies work so hard to get
us *not* to breastfeed -- I have never bought a bottle of tyleonol
or desitine (got a tube at my shower; there's STILL some left; I've
only used it a handful of times). The only things that I've used a
lot for first aid were some herbal teas for me (catnip tea for colic),
homeopathic teething rememdies when she was younger and 1/4 bottle
of anbesol when she cut her 12 month molars (all four at once), and
a few tubes of homeopathic arnica gel for the inevitable bruises that
all kids seem to attract. My sisters (one who only breastfed for 3 mos
and one who only breastfed for two weeks) were dumbfounded when they
found out that I've never even owned a bottle of baby tylenol; I mean
literally speechless. One offered to buy me a bottle until I explained
it wasn't lack of funds but lack of need.
Also, consider that the World Health Organization recommends a minimum
of two years (even for women in 'rich' countries), so long as children
are eating age appropriate solids starting around 6 months of age.
And even the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends a
minimum of one year, suggests that two years is okay.
So, yes, the benefits are greatest the first year, but they don't just
disappear as the baby makes that tranisition into toddlerhood. They
just play a little different role. I'll stop rambling now...
Colette (mom to Amy, a beautiful homebirthed 23 m/o)
(and Jumping Jack who is expected sometime in late December!)
"Nature can provide for the needs of people; [she] can't provide for
the greeds of people." - Mohandas K. Gandhi
dr...@drift.com
In article <328A77...@worldnet.att.net>, "Michael K. Haldenstein"
<michael.h...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> I'm planning to bf my son until he is 6 mos. old. I've noticed from the
> postings that some bf their children well into the toddler years. I have
> read and my pediatrician said that infants receive the greatest benefit
> from bf for a one year period, and after that nutritional and immunity
> benefits begin to diminish. Is this true? Anyone have other information
> about this? Thanks.
It makes a lot more sense, if you don't want to BF till he is a toddler to
wait until 9 or 10 months and wean to a cup -- that way you don't have to
go through the nonsense of bottle feeding and having a kid sucking on a
bottle at 2 or 3. That age makes for a natural transition as they begin
to eat more anyway and become more mobile and independent.
The major nutritional benefits are the first 6 months, but many, including
reduced incidence of infection continue well past a year. You may find that
the whole process is so convenient and pleasurable that you will let
nursing run its course -- for me that was 14 months with one and 24 with
the other. It needn't be an intellectual decision. As the baby gets
older and begins to eat table foods it is easy to move to greatly reduced
nursing e.g. mornings and bedtimes and then eventually gradually quit.
Dave & Colette
dr...@drift.com wrote:
>The major nutritional benefits are the first 6 months
Actually the major nutritional benefits are the first 12 months
according to La Leche League and implied by the AAP. Since babies
are just beginning to experiment with solids and getting tiny
amounts at the age of 6 months, and most don't start eating large
amounts of solids until the end of the first year/beginning of the
second year, breastmilk should still be the primary source of
nutrition. Short of that, formula should still make up the bulk
of a baby's diet (or goatmilk according to some).
EXCLUSIVE breastfeeding (meaning no solids or anything else) for at
least the first six months is often recommended for various reasons
(reduces risk of allergies, asthma and exzema, ensures a healthy
immune system), but that doesn't mean that once solids start the
nutritional benefits of breastmilk stop.
Anna
> I'm planning to bf my son until he is 6 mos. old. I've noticed from the
> postings that some bf their children well into the toddler years. I have
> read and my pediatrician said that infants receive the greatest benefit
> from bf for a one year period, and after that nutritional and immunity
> benefits begin to diminish. Is this true? Anyone have other information
> about this? Thanks.
It is certainly true that the *greatest* impact on health from breastfeeding is
during the first few months, but breastmilk continues to have health-giving
properties as long as you nurse (whether that be 6 months, a year, two years
or more) and breastfed older babies and toddlers do *tend* to have less
illnesses than their non-breastfed peers. I am sure others can give you
citations for this, but remember that most organisations recommend at least a
years breastfeeding (the British government Dept. of Health recommend
breastfeeding for at least a year, and the World Health Organisation recommend
a minimum of 2 years for maximum benefit to your baby). Breastmilk doesn't
magically lose all of its wonderful properties just because your baby can sit
up! :-)
If you are posting this because you want some justification for your decision
to breastfeed for only six months, I am afraid the medical science doesn't
really give you a let-out clause :-( However, it is your body and your baby,
and it is entirely up to you how long you nurse and every day you do nurse is a
wonderful thing you are doing for your baby. In Britain, few women get to 6
*weeks*, let alone 6 months, so you will be doing great to get that far. I also
don't want to put you off by making you feel you have to breastfeed until the
child starts school or not at all; you have to make your own decisions based on
your own circumstances and no one should criticise you for that.
I don't know your reasons for saying "6 months and no more", but maybe you there
is no need to be so definite about the weaning age at this stage? Maybe you
could see how it goes? I understand when you first start, you need to see an
end to it because it can be such a struggle, but when a baby is 4,5 or 6 mo,
nursing can seem so easy and it would be a pity to stop if you didn't need to.
After all, if you wean at 6 mo, you will have to start to bottle-feeding thing
- all that bottle-washing and making up formula and dragging stuff around. I
suppose if you are working, you'll have to do that anyway, but lots of people
on this newsgroup feel pumping and working is a good way to go. Why not look
into it, when you feel ready?
--
Anna (mummy to Emma, born 17th Jan 1995 and Alice, born 11th Sept 1996)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You were hungry and I was sorry.
You were thirsty, and I blamed the world.
You were a stranger, and I pointed you out.
You were naked, and I turned you in.
You were sick, and I said a prayer.
You were in prison, and I wrote a poem. STEVE TURNER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna
spook...@aol.com
>I'm planning to bf my son until he is 6 mos. old. I've noticed from the
>postings that some bf their children well into the toddler years. I have
>read and my pediatrician said that infants receive the greatest benefit
>from bf for a one year period, and after that nutritional and immunity
>benefits begin to diminish. Is this true? Anyone have other information
>about this? Thanks.
I also started off planning to breastfeed for a minimum of six months,
then reevaluate it, possibly switching to formula then. That was almost a
year ago, and we're still nursing. :)
Although breastmilk is *most* important in the first year of life, it's
still nutritionally and immunologically useful well past that. Nursing
also plays an important emotional role, fostering a loving intimacy
between me and my daughter that is so sweet I can't begin to describe it.
I'll be sad when Emma weans. I'll miss the closeness and the way that
nursing can comfort her when she's upset or has gotten a bump. I was
talking to a mother yesterday who is weaning her son and told me how much
harder it is to calm him without nursing when he's upset. It's a great
parenting tool, too!
A child's immune system is not fully developed until he's around 5 or 6.
Before that, the immunological support that breastmilk provides will
continue to be useful, especially since it's antibodies are targeted to
the microorganisms in the child's environment. Emma, since she was born
last Dec, has NEVER been sick. Her Dad has, her cousin -- who she plays
with -- has, as has both sets of grandparents, and she was exposed to them
all. I'm pretty sure that breastfeeding made the difference.
Right now the official pediatric recommendation is that a child be
breastfed for a minimum of one year. I would encourage you to try for a
year if at all possible, when your son can begin to drink cow's milk.
Breastfeeding has the advantage of being always available at the correct
temperature, and is free! Formula stinks, costs a fortune, and can send
you scurrying around convenience stores at 2 am. To breastfeed, you need
merely roll over in bed. No bottles to scrub, prepare, warm, etc. The best
thing for your baby is also the best for you! (In more ways than one --
did you know that breastfeeding helps protect you from osteoporosis,
breast cancer and ovarian cancer?)
Good luck to you!
Diane D
Sheri Durham
Michael K. Haldenstein <michael.h...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in
article <328A77...@worldnet.att.net>...
> I'm planning to bf my son until he is 6 mos. old. I've noticed from the
> postings that some bf their children well into the toddler years. I have
> read and my pediatrician said that infants receive the greatest benefit
> from bf for a one year period, and after that nutritional and immunity
> benefits begin to diminish. Is this true? Anyone have other information
> about this? Thanks.
>
Certainly a child *does* receive a great number of benefits in the first
year, but they continue as long as the child is nursed. Breast milk is
always a perfect form of nutrition, and comes in handy when a child is
sick, upset, or just not feeling right. Many moms have found that
breastfeeding "saved" a child who was otherwise too ill to eat. I know
from experience that kids get colds and flus and won't eat, when they
really need fluids. There have been many times I wished my son was still
nursing so he'd get *something*! (he was, unfortunately, weaned at 4.5
months)
In addition, the World Health Organization recommends that children be
nursed for a minimum of two years, and I believe the American Association
of Pediatricians is about to change their recommendation to reflect the
same. Our previous Surgeon General said that all children should be nursed
for the first year, but that it was a *lucky* baby who got to nurse until
age two! Children *do* continue to receive some immunity benefits for as
long as they are nursed, and the emotional benefits never stop. Some
moms (my best friend, for example), find they are able to lessen the
effect/startup of allergies or asthma by extended breastfeeding, especially
when there is a family history of allergies.
Besides, once you stop nursing (if your child is under a year), you have to
replace it with something, and starting bottles and formula opens up a
whole slew of possible problems an inconveniences. Weaning from the
bottle, increased chance of illnesses, allergies, yadda yadda.
Hope this wasn't too overwhelming.. I have more opinions/info if you want!
;)
Best of luck to you in making the best decision for you and your child.
There are some good books out there on the subject if you are interested.
Sheri, mom to Adrian, March 23, 1992
wife to Jon since August 2, 1996
ready for another little one!!
Bonnie Shepard
> I'm planning to bf my son until he is 6 mos. old. I've noticed from the
> postings that some bf their children well into the toddler years. I have
> read and my pediatrician said that infants receive the greatest benefit
> from bf for a one year period, and after that nutritional and immunity
> benefits begin to diminish. Is this true? Anyone have other information
> about this? Thanks.
I've noticed a lot of responses to you saying basically, "Why only six
months?" I know this is for you to decide...I just want to say when I
was pregnant I thought, well, let's see if I can even do this at all.
Then when my milk came in, it was, okay, this isn't easy, it takes a
lot of time, but let's try to do it for a few weeks at least. After
a few weeks, it got so much easier, and I thought, oh, a few months
would be nice. Well, here it is almost seven months and I feel heart-
broken just thinking of weaning. I (we) are enjoying it so much! I
used to think it was strange for women to breastfeed toddlers but now
that sounds so warm and wonderful to me. It's not only nutritionally
beneficial but emotional as well. I get comments from my mom like,
"Are you still doing that!?"...and..."How long are you going to do that?"
And I just say, "As long as we want."
Bonnie
Shannon
Bonnie, I swear, it's almost like I wrote your post! I too started out
thinking I would wean at 6 weeks (when I had to return to work) then
pumping was working pretty well and I thought I would BF for 3 months.
At 7 months I have no desire to quit and am also kind of sad thinking
of ever weaning her. And to think that I once thought BF a toddler was
kind of gross. It was nice to read your post.
Julie-Mommy to Tess
Elizabeth Gardner
I felt this way at 7 months, too. Now, at almost a year, the baby has
started to bite me (not hard, but hard enough) for the sheer entertainment
value of hearing me say "ouch"! (I know it entertains her because she
gets the giggles.) I say "No!" immediately after, and remove her from the
breast, but I don't know how long this phase is going to go on and (if
it's more than a few days) whether I can or want to outlast it.
All I can say is, the experience changes so much from week to week that
I'm making no prognostications either way. I've seen enough jolly,
sturdy, healthy toddlers that were weaned before a year that I don't worry
about losing the health benefits at this point, and she's developing
emotionally so fast that I think there will be plenty of other ways to be
close when we stop breastfeeding. I know I'll have no regrets, whichever
way it goes, so I'd advise you to play it by ear and do what feels right
at the time. (But do try to stick it out for at least the first few
weeks, even if they're rough; don't trust the "feel right" instinct while
your hormones are still raging, since it might tell you to put the baby up
for adoption ;-)).
Elizabeth Gardner
John R. Beaton
spook...@aol.com wrote:
>In article <1996Nov18....@llyene.jpl.nasa.gov>,
>bon...@jpl.nasa.gov (Bonnie Shepard) writes:
>>I've noticed a lot of responses to you saying basically, "Why only six
>>months?" I know this is for you to decide...I just want to say when I
>>was pregnant I thought, well, let's see if I can even do this at all.
>>Then when my milk came in, it was, okay, this isn't easy, it takes a
>>lot of time, but let's try to do it for a few weeks at least. After
>>a few weeks, it got so much easier, and I thought, oh, a few months
>>would be nice. Well, here it is almost seven months and I feel heart-
>>broken just thinking of weaning. I (we) are enjoying it so much! I
>>used to think it was strange for women to breastfeed toddlers but now
>>that sounds so warm and wonderful to me. It's not only nutritionally
>>beneficial but emotional as well. I get comments from my mom like,
>>"Are you still doing that!?"...and..."How long are you going to do that?"
>>And I just say, "As long as we want."
>>
>>Bonnie
>I whole-heartedly agree with Bonnie's response. Most of the women I know
>started out just trying to get through the first few weeks! Those first
>weeks are not always easy, and can leave a woman wondering what all the
>fuss is about. It's once you get past that...........
>The reason, I'm sure, that so many people are asking "Why just six
>months?" is that so many of us know how strong the bond created by nursing
>is.
>If there are circumstances in your life that make it truly impossible for
>you to nurse past six months, then I'm sorry. Nursing reinforces the warm,
>loving bond between mother and child in much the same way lovemaking does
>between husband and wife. It's an intimate physical act that creates a
>very deep sense of connection. It's lovely to be able to offer your child
>comfort and nourishment -- to offer of yourself in a very fundamental way.
>I used to think that nursing a baby past a year was a bit strange. Now I
>really don't want to put a time on when we'll stop. Soon enough she'll be
>an independant little being -- I want to enjoy the closeness we have now.
>I love her!
>Everyone has to make the decision for themselves, of course, but women who
>have to go back to work after a leave often appreciate nursing even more
>*because* they have to be away from their babies all day. Nursing provides
>a good way to maintain the depth of the mother/child bond for women who
>can't be home. I strongly encourage anyone planning on nursing to do it
>for at least a couple of months before making up their mind.
>Diane D
I was the same way. When I first started nursing Sean, I figured I'd
wean him at about 6 mo. but when 6 mo. came along I enjoyed it so
much I didn't want to stop. It felt sooo good to have a time when we
could sit and relax and I could know that I was giving him the best
present I could-- milk and security, not to mention how much easier
and more convenient it is than solids or formula.
I also used to think that nursing a toddler was weird until I started
nursing and realized what an important bond it creates between mother
and baby. Well, now we've been nursing for almost 11 mo. and I don't
see an end in sight-- I've decided to let him wean himself (unless I
get the urge to have another one before then :>).
Karen (mommy to Sean, almost 11 mo)
Trijntje Downes
John R. Beaton wrote:
>
> I also used to think that nursing a toddler was weird until I started
> nursing and realized what an important bond it creates between mother
> and baby. Well, now we've been nursing for almost 11 mo. and I don't
> see an end in sight-- I've decided to let him wean himself (unless I
> get the urge to have another one before then :>).
>
> Karen (mommy to Sean, almost 11 mo)
I though breastfeeding was slightly gross until I did it. Instant convert.
I also though nursing a toddler was just weird, but now Matthew is 13 months, and
we've evolved a whole new nursing relationship. My husband (who usually isn't around
while we're nursing) can't believe when he sees how I let him poke at and talk to the
nipples... but I point out that they are old friends to him: always there for comfort
and a quick drink when he needs them.
Isn't it simply amazing how living it can so totally change your attitude?
Trink, mommy to Matthew, 10/21/95