Breastfeeding past one years old

lin

New Member
Hi,

Any breastfeeding mothers still breastfeed their child past a year old? I am still breastfeeding my 19 months old toddler.. i try weaning her off but she keeps on screaming and crying. Some of the mothers i heard mentioned that they breastfeed their toddler till the age of 2 or 3. Some mentioned the toddlers will self-wean. Any suggestions or advice to wean off a demanding toddler? Help!
 


Hi m in the same position. My 19 month baby is still bf. She refuses to drink formula although she will take chocolate milk. She screams until I give in to her. She also likes to bite/chew on me. hope one day she'll out grow it and just stop on her own.
 
Am in the same position too. But cos I just discovered I'm pregnant again, my gynae suggested I stop bfeeding .. so since tuesday afternoon, I've not given in to my baby. I feel so bad whenever she cries so hard. She is very strong-willed.. and have not had a drop of milk for more than two and a half days already!! I really hope that she'll give in real soon!!
 
hi mummies, i know u all are more experience in BF, can u help to answer my doubts?

i am currently breastfeeding my girl via both Express and latching on. lately these few days, she refused to latch on and started crying very badly each time i try to latch her. She seems to be having blocked nose. What is wrong? i dun seem to understand and very sad each time seeing her crying so loud.
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carole
i dun have this experience with my boy. maybe she got ear infection, which may make swallowing hard? not sure. perhaps u can give ur PD a call?

bride0712
can u do tandem bfg? the only worry abt bfg during 2nd pregnancy is miscarriage, so maybe u can ask ur gynae abt it. u may like to slowly wean ur girl, in time for ur little one.. it seems so cruel to refuse totally all of a sudden.
 
bride0712
u want to wean hard n fast?
btw, i was also bfd my 15MO when i preggy again.
milk got less and less as i go into 2nd tri. also, taste change. ds self wean instead.
he's taking fresh milk now.
 
carole
our ear, nose and throat are linked. sometimes liquid get trapped in the ear drum, esp common in babies, bcos their e tube is short. this makes swallowing hard, esp direct bfg. hope this helps.
 
Hmm, Gynae said that we should provide the best for the little one.. I've been trying to get her to drink formula for a long time.. tried different types but unsuccessful. Last month, PD also sugggested that I should actually stop BF too since she's already 16mths..and to try going "cold turkey" but I was very reluctant to put my baby thru the trauma.. I really been trying very hard not to give in to her these days.. as wat gynae has said, this is the best reason to wean her off the breast.

So sad, she's still not taking any milk and always crying for almost two hrs stretch.
 
bride0712,
Congrats on yr pregnancy!

I feel very sad to read that yr gal cried so hard & long. Is it a must to stop bf when preggie? I prefer pax and wendy's approach.

Anyway, my bb is 6.5 mths old, he still wants to latch on but I think won't be for long becoz I'm drying up. Hope he'll self-wean when there's no more bm.
 
Just to share my experience
I just stopped breastfeeding my 20 month old girl last month. Applied some ointment on my nipples and she was very scared after tasting it. I told her mummy's milk is spoilt. "Smelly" already and surprisingly, she took it quite well. Took only 3 nights of slight "suffering" cos she usually depend on breastfeeding to fall asleep. So, she will cry (but bearable type) whenever she woke up for that 3 nights I just have to remember to persevere and not give in. I will carry her and walk around in the house till she fell back to sleep. I am glad I weaned her off cos she used to wake up 3-4 times a night and the only way to make her sleep again is to breastfeed her. Now, sleep till morning without waking up already.
But I guess, different babies different reaction. I weaned my first one (son) when he was 15 months. Used the same method but he screamed and cried himself to sleep for 1 week plus. Very heartache. Thought the history will repeat itself for my second girl, esp I was a stay at home mom after I had my second one, and she was even more used to drinking from me direct as often as she liked in the day. But she took the weaning off much better than her brother :>
 
Hi Mimi,

I faced exactly the same problem when I was BFg my gal... all the waking up in the nights. Then the initial nites when weaning.. carrrying her for hours walking ard til she fell asleep again. She's kinda sleeping thru the night already these days( I cross my fingers every night!!)
But my problem now is how to get her to drink formula milk?? She has not been taking milk since I wean her.. so I'm kinda worried. Did you have the same problem?? If so, how did you overcome it?
 
Hi Bride0712
So, your daughter was not drinking FM before you weaned her off? My daughter was drinking FM from spoon every morning before I weaned her off, though not very willing. I just perservered, no matter how little she would take, even if it was 50 ml at times. Did not face much difficulty with feeding her FM after weaning off. Just have to distract her and feed her spoon by spoon. Now, she drinks 200 ml of FM from the spoon twice, once in the morning, once before sleep, and she finish it in less than 5 min time! But with distraction like VCD or playing some games.
For my son, he had refused to drink milk (both FM and EBM) from any other source other than direct from my breast since he was one year old. Before that, he took from milk bottle only when he was half awake, with eyes closed only. So, after I weaned him off at 15 mths, he had not been drinking FM. I was very concerned about that and consulted the doc, but the doc only told me as long as they get the calcium from other source of food, it is fine. Then, when he was 18 months, I realised he will take fresh milk willingly. So, have been giving him that, thinking better than no milk! I have heard from quite a no of people that breastfed babies hates FM but dont mind fresh milk. My son is one good example. So, now at the age of 4, he drinks fresh milk twice a day, morning and night, each time 200 ml. But he takes it cold. You might want to consider making it warm. Heard not too good to give cold milk to kids. Cant help it now that he is used to it.
 
Mimi,

my gal is 16mths now. I had tried giving her FM before I started weaning but she would just throw the whole bottle away. I've tried using different bottles, cups, etc.. but nothing worked. I tried to add it to cornflakes but she'll not touch the cereal at all. I tried giving her fresh milk too but she does not like it too. The only thing she likes is the packet Milo.. which I'm not very keen as a replacement.. but if she's hungry, I'll give her a pkt.
 
Haha, that sounds like my son. With the experience of my two kids, I will only suggest that you try again after some time. At her age, it is really no point forcing, cos she may develop a phobia of milk. Maybe you can give her some milk when you happen to see some TV advertisemnent of kids drinking milk, or in VCD when milk or other drinks appeared? Encourage her to drink a little bit. She may surprise you one day! At the meantime, just have to introduce her to other dairy products like yoghurt, cheese, etc. How about giving her Pediasure or some other formula milk with chocolate flavour since you mentioned she likes Milo? Or add some Milo to her formula milk?
 
Hi mimi,

what type of ointment did you apply?

I also wana wean off my 19 mth tod. Whenever he sees me...its mama...milk milk. And he grabs and attempts to lift up my shirt. if i'm not ard, he would take his pediasure. i had a hard time finding the rite formula milk. TBM till he was 15 mths. Bought so many FM to try. Until my fren told me abt chocolate pediasure.

Weekends are a killer...coz he always wana nurse the whole day...and my supply is sufficient only for feeds in morning and nite.
 
Hi Audrey
That was how both my son and daughter behaved too before I weaned them off. I just used the usual "feng1 you2" that you apply when you feel giddy or headache on my daughter. Some people say rub some chilli on their nipple. I think anything your kid will be scared of will do. My son is more persistent. He will continue to suck even after I applied the "feng1 you2" but my daughter tasted once and would not dare anymore. So, depends on kid really. Trial and error.
 
hi michelle here
to all mother out there i looking for breast milk for my 6 month old baby due to my husband pass away recently i need to be on long term anti drpession medicine my doctor say i need to stop breastfeeding totally n my baby is allgeric to formual milk once she drink formual milk she will vomit n have stomah upset my milk supply is running out already i left with only 10 packet i have try all type of milk powder but she jus cant drink anything whateveer we give her she jus throw out everything so i hope mother out there who have spare milk can donate to me a millon thank to mother out there u can contact me at 93668423
 
Why would anyone want to wean their babies. To me breastfeeding is a thoroughly enjoyable experience which is enriching for both mother and babies. I wouldn't wean my baby even if I was pregnant again.
 
Hi, I have been bf my son for 15 mths already. Still don't intend to wean him off yet. Can feel tired when expressing but still enjoy the bond with him.
 
i'm still bf-ing my 13m old baby girl.. she was able to sleep through the night for awhile.. but now keeps waking up to comfort latch.. don't know if i should let her or try not to..

mindset right now is to continue bf-ing til i get pregnant again.. but the lack of sleep cos my baby girl keeps waking up at night is starting to take it's toil on me.. i wake up tired.. go to work tired.. then when i see my baby in the afternoon (i work part time and when i work, baby goes to IFC and i have no maid) i'm still tired and so don't really play with her and the cycle goes on..

mummies can advise on baby with teeth? how to stop them fr biting you? my baby just started to have her upper and lower incisors.. 4 teeth in total that are all starting to come out at the same time.. and she sometimes bites me!
 
Hi Fushiastar,

My gal's also 13.5m. Still bf her as I work part time from home too. My gal started teething when 4 mths plus. Now she's got 8 teeth. When she started teething, she tend to bite a bit, I'll react violently and stop her from feeding to let her know I'm upset. After a few times of such incidents, she learnt and stopped biting.

Since your gal's able to understand more things now, you can talk to her and let her know you are not happy.
 
mummies
my gal is now 9.5 mth old. and i intend to wean her off when she's around 1 yr old 'cos intend to plan for #2. really bu she de to wean her off leh...

all the while my gal will latch before her sleep, and she showed hunger when she wants to latch. however, recently, i notice that she would look for me to latch on when it's about her time to sleep and she was not really hungry. if i don't let her latch, she would kind of showing me the crying face.

i start getting worried on how i should wean her off when time comes if she builds up the habit to latch before sleep. and how i should kick away her habit of wanting to latch before sleep...

anyone can help?
 
joyful:
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i say "no no" sternly to her when she bites.. still trying to let her get the idea she's not to bite me..

sunny: must we stop bf-ing when we have #2? thought can continue? i'm gonna see my gynae for a pap smear next month.. better ask her when i see her..
my baby sometimes wants to latch to sleep and sometimes doesn't.. what other mummies advise is that if you wanna wean her off latching to sleep.. to try letting someone else put her to bed cos she associates you with latching to sleep.. so may be more receptive if she's put to bed by patting/ rocking by another person.. then when she's used to the new method of going to sleep then mummy can try putting her to bed again..

*my baby just recently learned to say "mama" and now whenever she wants to latch, she'll say "mama" don't know if she thinks "mama" refers to latching or to me... the past 2 nights she's been sleeping well
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from 730pm til about 4am, then wakes up tp latch, then wakes up at 6am for breakfast.. i finally got 7 hours of continuous sleep!
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fushiastar
ya, i read that we can continue while having #2. but there's a risk of miscarriage 'cos womb will contract when bb is sucking and i had 1 missed abortion case before my gal's born... so kind of worry loh.

i will try to let my hb to put her to bed and see if she will cry for me. hehe...
 
sunny: oh.. i didn't know that... better to be safe then.. may ur baby get used to ur hb putting her to sleep quickly
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actually, if your kid is already a toddler, it is ok if he or she does not drink milk

my 20 month old is a TBF baby, and rejects formula.
my supply has been decreasing
so I brought her to see PD and dietician as I am concern of her not having sufficient milk

the reply I get is, she does not need to drink milk
the purpose of milk is to ensure that growing children have sufficient calcium
since my girl dont take milk
I feed her calcium rich food like cheese, yoghurt, ikan bilis, etc
 
Hi, I've also just weaned off my 22-month old boy. It's been just over a month now, but he still thinks of the breast sometimes. Just have to be firm. I found it easier this time round (my 2nd kid), because I roped in my hubby's help. He'll distract the boy, and carry him. Being physically away from the baby helps as he knows the breast isn't around. I was also spared the traumatic wailing (traumatic for me, mostly).
But like most of you, I have a problem getting him on to FM. Thanks to Kat's post, I won't be such a worry-wort over him not taking any milk. Phew!
 
breasfed my #1 till 2 yo and #2 till 2.5 yo. Now bfg #3 who is 19 mths.

The easiest route to weaning is when the kid is bigger and understands better. Unless one has some urgent reason to wean off, weaning later actually saves all the crying and heartbreak.

i actually know of some mums who continued to bf even though they were preggy. If the pregnancy is normal, won't really harm the foetus. Also know of mums who tandem bf, i.e. bfg the toddler and the newborn. Is possible also but i guess it is very tiring.

like what Kat said, when the baby is already taking solids, don't really need to drink milk after weaning off breastmilk. can take other calcium rich food.
 
My ds is 17th coming 18 months and still BF. She refuses the milk bottle. Oh she was curious when she saw her cousin use the milk bottle and want to 'eat' when I gave her hers she only play with it even though I put milk in it. She does not like fresh milk (she's allergy to milk other than mine).

Weaning: I did wean her off her afternoon session and I replace it with food (bread cereal or porridge) It was quite hard... I think we should wean them gradually (very traumatic for them and us if we are too abrupt)

BF: Some people do continue to BF though they are preggie.
 
my gal is 13.5. since 1 or 2 wks ago, she suddenly didn't wanna latch on. is it self wean?
i feel quite sad about it. but thinking that it's painless to wean in this way, i feel that i am lucky.
meanwhile i have to express the milk and feed her thru bottle.
 
nancy
i didn't do anything. normally her routine would be latching on early in the morning and before night sleep and day time would be bottled feed except during weekend which would be 100% latch.
then about 2-3 wks ago, she didn't wanna latch before night sleep, then few days later, didn't wanna latch during daytime. and then, she totally refused to latch anymore.
 
hi mummies,

my gal just passed her 1 year old. still on TBF. however, my ss continues to drop quite badly. now drop to 50ml per pump. does anyone have the same situation with me?
 
Hi haystack,
its natural as the your child will be/ should be taking solid food so your body adjust the supply.
 
Hi Haystack,
I don't pump out so I can't tell you but I know that my supply reduce as dd increase food intake.
 
Hi Haystack
I have the same experience as you. But my pumping output decreased much earlier when my bb was abt 8 mths. The reason i can think of is that bb is bigger and eats more solid food, thus milk ss decrease. Also, I find that as my bb gets stronger and sucking becomes stronger, the pump i used cannot imitate the same strength as when i latch on, thus the xplanation for the low output. now i dont even pump, only latch on.

Search through the forum for useful info on breastfeeding while getting pregnant and saw some useful info here. was hoping i can still continue to bf my bb while planning and conceiving a 2nd one bu looks like the risks involved are high.. got to wean off my darling soon.
 
hi wawapiggyling

do u have the feeling of "unable to let go" with ur bb? actually i have difficulty of weaning off my gal. i mean apart the difficulty on my gal part, i seemed to have an emotional attachment to her too. cannot let go. haha

now she is sick. the more cannot let go... but ss not enuf. dunno how
 
Hi haystack i totally agree with how u feel... emotional attachment, not only for our bbs but on our parts as well..

i suggest you wait till your bb gets better.. not a time to wean off when she is sick.

do u latch her on?? cos i understand that the amt of milk we get when we ppump and when bb suckles is very different.. when bb suckles,, you normally produce more milk, so if you latch her on, shouldnt be a prob.. if still not enurf milk, go back to the traditional mtds of papaya fish soup, drink lots of water etc. jia you!
 
ya... i do latch her when i'm home. these few days bcos she is sick, she kept wanting to suckle. at nite, she can suckle for 2 hours continuously. haha
 
Hi wawapiggyling,

Saw your posting. Juz thot I'll share my experience. I nursed my 1st gal till 18months while planning to conceive. I conceived successfully while still breastfeeding my gal but stopped when I found out I was pregnant. Actually, I've a fren who actually continued breastfeeding her elder one throughout her pregnancy and even tandem fed both kids.

It's a matter of choice but it's actually safe to do so. However, I personally stopped cos I thot it would be tiring to continue feeding while I'm pregnant. Thank God my elder kid weaned off very easily in a week's time.
 
Hi joyful

saw ur posting. I also hope that i can BF while planning conceive. can u share ur experience when u realise u are pregnant? i mean how u know that u are pregnant.
 
Hi joyful
thanks for sharing your experience. Indeed, if we can physically take the strain of 2 bbs absorbing all our nutrients, I believe we as mummies will want the best for our bbs.

haystack
definitely you can conceive while still bfeeding cos you are ovulating. the only thing is what to do after you get pregnant while still bfeeding. Like me, I wld lovve to have a 2nd child soon but cant bear the tot of weaning off the 1st bb yet.
 


hi all, my sis who juz weaning off BF for a mth, told me tat her bust size reduce from pre-preggie cup B to now smaller than cup A. & she is quite upset abt this
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Any1 experience this & will it get back to her pre-preggie size after awhile?
 

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