How long is too long?

[melindajane]

i have a 17week old boy, my first, he is happy, healthy, growing well and sleeping perfectly in his own room. My MIL thinks he should already be on solids and is really pushy about it, saying any longer than 16weeks is "creepy" which i think is rediculous. My mother on the other hand is very pro breast feeding saying to feed as long as i can as long as bub is healthy (she breast fed my youngest brother for almost 3 years). How long do you think is too long to breastfeed and how soon is too soon to start solids? :confused:

[Jem]

I think you should BF for as long as you feel comfortable.. i stopped bf when ds2 was 14 months...

As for solids.. i always started my bubs on them a few weeks before they hit 4 months,, they seemed to be more content when fed solids and bf :yes:

[MamaSage]

Breasfeed for as long as you can, and as long as your child wants to. Delay solids for as long as you can. Little babie's guts are not developed for solids, or anything other than human milk. Tell your MIL she has had her kids and her choices, and that you will make the choices you deem best for your baby.

[the_queen]

Solids are not recommended before the age of 6 months, because of the immaturity of babies digestive tracts, and because of the risk of developing an allergy. That being said, many people do start solids earlier than that, with no problems.

Breastfeeding is about more than just nutrition. It's a relationship, and who the heck does your MIL think she is to dictate what you should be doing?? Sorry, it just makes me mad when people use words like "creepy". Did she breastfeed?? Does she even know what she's talking about???? Sorry, don't mean to lambast a woman I've never met :o .

You keep breastfeeding for as long as suits you and bubba. I'm planning on CLW - child led weaning, which means he'll give it up when he feels ready, and I'm happy to feed him until he chooses to stop. If that means 13 months old, 2 yrs old or 5 yrs old, I'll be fine with it. I had such challenges with BFing DD, that I'm eternally grateful for how easy it is to feed DS. I'm not going to stop until HE wants to stop. :thumbsup:

[meme]

it really is a personal choice on how you feel comfy raising your bub.

infant formula was developed as a substitute for when breastmilk isn't available. breastfeeding is the normal way human babies get their nutritional needs met for growth, so if everything is going well and you are happy to continue breastfeding, there is no need to stop.
using a rubber nipple to give milk from another species could be considered creepy....:rolleyes: not that it is and neither is breastfeeding.

i am happy to breastfeed my baby for about 24mths, that is my personal preference. i really think it's up to each breastfeeding pair to negotiate how long to breastfeed for. i do think it's interesting to look at different cultures and research into breastfeeding that indicates that natural weaning age could be as late as between 4-7 years. it's good to get a sense of normalcy about 'extended' breastfeeding, even if you think you will lbreastfeed for a much shorter time, you might find it reassurring to know that many mums and bubs do breastfeed until they are ready to wean, whenever that is.

solids- i waited until 6mths. i didn't want to take any risks with food allergies and my bub wasn't interested until about 8mths anyway.

[Mum&bubs]

I agree do it when you feel its the right time. Take it what others say but dont do something unless your comfortable with it. As for the breastfeeding again its a comfort thing, I thought id only breastfeed for the first 12 months but now ive been doing it for 17 months because Summer & I were both comfortable with it and enjoyed it :thumbsup:

[DQ]

My opinion is to breastfeed for as long as you can. I BF my DS#1 for about 15 months and really enjoyed it, but I must admit I now know I took it for granted. My DS#2 just would not feed from my breasts. We just couldn't get that "groove" going and I was forced to put him on the bottle, which was heartbreaking. I really felt like I had failed him.

I say feed away as long as you are comfortable because you never know when you won't be able to do it anymore, and that is sad!:crying:

[shed]

Yes well, MIL's...:laughing:

anyhoo, I am planning to bf my baby for about a year or so I suppose. And I am planning to start him on solids at six months.

That's the plan, so we'll see how we go with it. DP supports the plan and I am sure bubby does too.

Anyone who doesn't like our plan can have their OWN baby and do what they like with it.

Good luck with whatever plan you decide on.

[MamaSage]

Anyone who doesn't like our plan can have their OWN baby and do what they like with it.

Good one :thumbsup:

[Oscar's mum]

I think delay solids till at least 6 months then still don't bother rushing. And as for breastfeeding well as long as you feel comfortable feeding go for it!

[Rainbowbrite]

Do it for as long as you & bubs is happy to. Its no-one elses business. I'm still feeding MJ at 15.5months, much to the disgust of most people i know. MJ will stop bf when she is ready, not before :thumbsup:

[blueeyes]

We only have a short breastfeeding time and a lifetime of eating. Make the bf time fabulous and then the eating will come.
I dont plan, rather than flow, and I will let the babe self wean (like Rainbowbrite says, much to everyones disgust) and we have just started to try solids at 7.5mths.
I love the bf, so am not fussed about the solids.

[gremily]

I bf DD1 til she was 13 mths, she started solids at 4 mths which at the time was recommended.
DD2 is 13 mths and still bf at least 5 times/day, she'll be bf til she's a teenager (LOL), started trying solids just before 6 mths but she didn't want it. Tried again at 6 1/2 mths and slowing increased from there.

Alot of things have changed over the years, especially since our MIL raised their children. There's only 7 yrs between my 2 and heaps of things changed in that short time.

Get some pamphlets for your MIL about feeding solids and breastfeeding. Maybe if she sees it in writing she might stop giving you flack (I can't promise anything though!)

[melindajane]

That's a good idea about the pamplets, i'll take some info over next time - not sure how she will react but i'll try, i hate feeling like i have to hide from her when we visit to go breastfeed. God forbid DS gets hungry or thirsty more than 3 times a day because according to her that means my milk isn't good enough for him and not satisfying him :banghead: The worst thing is she is into my DH's ear about it. He believes every word that comes out of her mouth. He actually believed her when she said tickiling a babies toes will cause him to stutter when they get older!!! I don't know who is worse some times.

Thanks for all your advice, i feel much more comfortable with the whole situation now. :)

[stellarella]

WHO says no solids before 6 months and continue BF for at least 1yr.

But you can continue for as long as you like. The health benefits of breast milk continue for as long as you BF, so the longer the better really.

Explain to MIL that since she was a mother health authorities have changed their recommendations on feeding, and that generally people realise that 6 months is a good time to start solids as baby is developmentally not ready until then. If you want to back up your agument, explain that babys exposed to solids too early can develop more allergies and disgestive problems etc

In the end its your bub and you dont have to justify anything to her.

[nats]

That's a good idea about the pamplets, i'll take some info over next time - not sure how she will react but i'll try, i hate feeling like i have to hide from her when we visit to go breastfeed. God forbid DS gets hungry or thirsty more than 3 times a day because according to her that means my milk isn't good enough for him and not satisfying him :banghead: The worst thing is she is into my DH's ear about it. He believes every word that comes out of her mouth. He actually believed her when she said tickiling a babies toes will cause him to stutter when they get older!!! I don't know who is worse some times.

Thanks for all your advice, i feel much more comfortable with the whole situation now. :)


Have patience for her :) (silly old cow she is)

[OJandMe]

I started solids with the boys when they natually started showing interest in food. They started trying to grad the things of our plates and opened their mouths whenever a spoon when near it about 5 months, so we introduced the farex then.... but only once a day if they were in a good mood... and they didn't really eat it, it was just a 'taste' a little bit on thier tongue to familarise themselves with a texture different to milk. It isn't reccomended to start solids much before 6 months, they say a baby can 'start' (tastes in small amounts) from 4 months on, but this shoudl only be done if they are showing interest in food. breastfeeding as a sole diet is reccomended until 6 months, but after this the BM is not as nutrient rich as the first 6 months and introducing a range of nutritious solid foods is encouraged.... however you can soley BF for up to 8 months with not nutritional deficits.... but I was told not to wait till after 8 months to start solids as it can make it more difficult for a baby to learn to 'chew' (however, I wouln't know..as I didn't have this situation with the boys)

MIL's arfe like that. Mine is convinced that DH was saying 'mama' at 2 months and was eating mashed steak at 5 months, and drinking full cows milk at 3 months!.