I plan on saving money for my kids' college education by breastfeeding right until they go away to school.

lol julie. By then, they'll be objecting more than other people

julie and sofi enough said...

LMAO Julie! I should've thought of that!!

I breastfed until my son grew his first teeth, which was, at 6 months old. Then pumping up until he's around 10-11 months old.

I thought 2 sounded good. I watch a 4 or 5 year old kid pull up his Mom's shirt at the mall and latch on. EWWWW! I am all for natural but come on your not at home.

None of the above. Whatever's mutually desireable for both mother and child. That can be never breastfeeding, that can be breastfeeding until they're 6.

I breastfed my oldest until I got pregnant again when he was a month away from turning two. My second one, I weaned just after he turned three. He would've kept going, but I was no longer comfortable with it. I have no idea how long I'll breastfeed the upcoming one, but my goal is an absolute minimum of two years.

I don't do it in public once they're over a year, though.

Who voted six months? Doesn't the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend at least a year, and the World Health Organization recommend two?

I nursed my first son until he was thirteen months, and my second until he was fifteen months, and that worked for us. I can see up to three years, but any more than that I think would get awkward. Physically and socially!

When they can ask for it, I think they're too old for the breast.

Yes, the WHO recommends at least two years and then as long as is mutually desireable.

But if someone's comfort level is 6 months, why not vote it? I thought it was a question on what is too old for our own comfort, not in general.

Which is another reason I can't vote since my kids fall into two separate categories and I have no idea how long I'll be comfortable next time either.

hmmm I don't know how long I will be comfortable with it, I thought maybe a year. I guess we'll see. But never past two

I knew a lady who breastfed her daughter til she was 5 or 6...that's really pushing it too far.

I think what organizations recommend is kinda bunk. Some places say a year, some two, la leche league pretty much thinks your a terrible mother if you're not momma-milking them til kindergarten...all depends. Whatever the mother feels is appropriate, unless it's to an extreme. I said in some other topic like this I saw a mother feeding her four or five year old son at a hockey game...it was sick! Also, when I used to do day care we had a three year old who was still breast fed and got his mom's pumped milk for lunch...grossing me and the other teachers out aside, he was definitely the most behind of the group. We always had to tell him to "use his words" and overall he just seemed much younger than the other kids - to the best of my knowledge, he had no real problems or disabilities - and that worried me too. Could've been a coincidence, who knows.

I think another thing a lot of people forget that formula feeding doesn't mean your child will necessarily have lower immune systems, be less intelligent, etc.! A lot of children were brought up formula fed for one reason or another and turned out just fine. Like me!

I would only do one year. Then start mixing in cereal and other things in their diet. I can't see having a four or five year old that keeps up his energy on continuous breastmilk.

4- and 5-years old generally don't rely solely on breastmilk. I just wanted to make that clear. Unless we're discussing health problems that disallow regular diets, I've never heard of a 4-year-old existing solely on "continuous breastmilk."

If the kid is old enough to walk up to Mommy, lift up her shirt, whip it out, and start feeding himself, then I think that's probably too old. Also, if a child is old enough to have conscious memories of the experience, I think that might be a little traumatizing, especially for boys when they hit puberty.

I'm currently breastfeeding my 5 month old and plan on doing it as long as she wants. At the very least, I'm gonna breastfeed for a year and longer if she wants.

I might SERVE breast milk longer (by pumping), but I wouldn't breastfeed for more than 18 months.

As soon as a baby or child starts to get teeth, you stop!
That is the natural way to know 100% that it's truly time to stop. If you still want to pump and bottle feed breast milk it's ok. Any child still breast feeding past 1 or two in age, is just weird and you feel uncomfortable for them. I also don't understand why a woman would want to do that to her child when they can clearly see that other kids aren't stuck on the breast like them.

BTW, the AAP recommendation is actually It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired.

I was comfortable with a year for each of my children. But, I get SO fed up with everybody passing judgment on breastfeeding moms. It just might be that most moms are just as if not more capable of making decisions for their children than complete strangers.

I say if they can ask, they are too old to be on the boob. I wished that I could have fed longer. Unfortunately we had issues, and he had pumped milk after about a month. After 3 I got mastitis in a horrid way and was unalbe to pump any longer and he went 100% formula. I often wonder if he would have been different if he had been breastfed longer. Oh well. We are still extremely close, so I don't worry about the bonding issue. The next one I am planning on going as long as reasonably possible.

I had breastfeeding issues with my first and stopped nursing her at about 3 months. My son I nursed until he was about 15 months old, when I was two months pregnant with daughter #2. My son was a challenge to nurse because he weighed 10 pounds when he was born and required a LOT of breast milk the first three months! Daughter #2 breastfed until she was about 14 months old. After about 12 months they were only nursing in the morning and in the evening before bed.

If I could have afforded a better pump (like a Medela) I would have pumped until they were 2, especially for daughter #2; I found out she was lactose intolerant after she was fully weaned and I was dried up. Lactaid is expensive and she never had any reaction to breast milk, but as soon as I switched her to cow's milk it was ugly. Luckily she outgrew that sensitivity as she got older.

Anyway, I would say as long as it is mutually desirable; for me that would have been after about 24 months.

do it until they start talking about it.

no later than age 2. and i get freaked out by 4 and over, that is just strange. there's a woman on my girls swim team who INSISTS on bf her youngest and he is 4 now. she just yanks out a boob and the kid will stop every once in awhile to ask a question or comment on conversations going on around him. she says she will do it as long as he wants to. well what if he likes it at puberty?

I have no personal experience with this, but I had a friend who breastfed her daughter until she was 4, and that was rather weird. She just seemed a little too old for that. All the other kids were having sandwiches and her mother would whip out a boob. Ummmmm................................no.

Anything past a year!

It's a turn off at any age.

A turn off? But, children on formula turn you on? What a weird thing to say.

I think until age 1. That's how long they keep them on formula. After that the majority of their nutrition comes from solid foods. I only breastfed for 6 months. My son was pretty big and had two teeth by then...ouch!!!!Back then the doctor didn't want him to be an obese adult so he was weened and put on 2% milk. he's a very lean 25 yr. old now so I must have done something right. I also couldn't handle the fact that at six months, when he was hungry, he would turn himself sideways in my arms, reach under my shirt,open my nursing bra and remove the breast pad so he could nurse!!!! That was too much for me so he had to get used to a sippy cup and a bottle!!!

The main purpose of a mother's milk is the protection it provides in terms of the immune system as well as nutrients it contains. I've read that the protection only lasts 6 months, so I think 1-2 years of breastfeeding is okay if they find formula to be inconvenient. Longer than that is a little useless.

Veggies- i agree with you. i read that somewhere as well. I know its good for the child and its great and all but im totally uncomfortable with it- esp. situations in which they ask for it or get it themselves as DH described. i would ideally stop breast feeding around the first year, if not I'd just be using the pump istead. i think its beyond wrong to take it as far as four! some women didnt want boys past 3 in girls lockerrooms (bc they know too much?), but its appropriate to be breastfed at that age!!!!?? lickety split- a child chiming in on coversation while being breast is SO wrong! it would totally freak me out! she should at LEAST do that in private. i work at a day care (4-5 yr olds) and if any of my kids' mothers came on their lunch break to breast feed her child i would be traumatized. they eat full meals- and make themselves sandwiches- they do not need mommys milk. IMO you would be pyschologically stunting them.

Well, I picked two years, but I forgot about the teeth coming in! Honestly, I think I would try for 6 months & then see how I feel about it then. I would also refuse to feel guilty about it, if I decided not to breastfeed. My sister always has some snide comment about mothers who don't breastfeed & my mom always has to remind her that she was never breastfed & that she turned out just fine!

The oldest child I have ever actually seen breastfeeding looked to be about 3 or 4. He walked up to his mom & asked for it. The funny thing about it was that he was also holding a juice box the entire time! It was surreal!

So, if this is such a personal decision why do we need a poll on it? Maybe it would be best if women just let each other do what works best for them, bottle or breast instead of scolding each other for it. This is exactly the kind of crap that makes having children look so unappealing to me right now. Parenting shouldn't be a competitive sport.

The WHO recommends up to age two because it's considering countries that a) have very poor diets and b) have unsanitary conditions that make formula very dangerous. So yeah, maybe in underdeveloped countries breastmilk is best up to that age, but in countries like ours it's not necessary. I agree that you should breast feed if at all possible - but not until 2 (or beyond!)

I was at my boyfriend's colleague's house, whom I was meeting for the first time. His wife was in the room, and in walks their son, probably 3, who walks up to mommy, lifts her shirt, and says "give me some of that hot butter." Um, yeah. GROSS. And she fed him right in front of us. I'm all for breastfeeding, but give me a break.

Haha, blingbling, that was such a disturbing story. Who taught the 3-year-old the term 'hot butter'. Yuck!

Personally I would stop breastfeeding after six months. I think a good time to stop is when the kid has teeth.

I honestly believe that when breastfeeding goes on for too long (years)it is more for the mother's benefit and her having detachment issues than for the health of the child. If a child can ask for it they are clearly too old.

I planned on doing 6 months or teeth...whichever came first. I ended having to stop at 2 months b/c I wasn't producing enough.

The baby in the picture looks like a brown-haired Sean Preston. Or am I just crazy??

Oh my gosh, Higgy, when I saw the picture I thought the exact same thing! Weird.

If I ever had a kid,as soon as I see that first tooth cut, than no more breast feeding. I was watching Maury a few years back and this lady breast fed her son up until he was 6 because she claimed "he still had his milking teeth". I feel that if a kid can reach under shirt and pull for your boob to fed than that's pushing it.

I fed my daughter with Mommy milk until she was 13 months old, then SHE stopped because I was pregnant again and the taste obviously changed, so she didn't like it anymore.
My son now is almost 12 months old and I'm still breastfeeding him 2x a day, in the morning and in the evening. I don't think of stopping feeding him as long as he likes it. He has 8 teeth now, is working on 4 grinder teeth, so obviously I didn't stop when he got his first tooth ;P
I voted for 3 years, because I love breastfeeding but even I do have a "stop", which means 2.5 years for me. That is what I think and feel right now. I probably won't feed him with Mommy milk that long, but who knows, right?

I agree with discocactus - it's a private matter, so why make it a poll? That said, for health benefits, when I have kids I'll try for at least a year and as long as my child wants to. I can't speak from my experience, but it seems like most children get...bored? or want to discover new things and wean themselves. My nephew lost interest at around 18 months (i.e. would feed less, and less demand = less supply), so it was a very natural gradual process for him and his mom.

When I was in college I worked at a restaraunt and this woman, her child, and the grandmother used to come in for lunch all the time. The child was old enough (I'm guessing 4 or 5) to sit in a regular chair (no high chair/booster seat) & eat a children's meal. After he was done eating he would then climb into his mother's lap and start breast feeding. The mother did not try and cover herself at all, no receiving blanket or anything. She also always insisted on sitting in the front of the restaraunt which had big open windows that faced a busy downtown area that is a historic national park. There was one day when we didn't have any tables in the front so we sat her further in the back and she demanded to speak to a manager because she said that we were trying to "hide her". She waited a half hour for a table in the front instead of sitting right away at an empty table not by the window. Nut job.

I tend to think between 6 mos and 1 year. I loved breastfeeding my son though we stopped around 7 months when his teeth started to arrive.

I say about a year and a half to two years for me. I really can't imagine children much older being breastfed.

I dunno, I'd say a year and over is pushing it...

I'm all for breasting feeding until about 6 months, but after that I don't think soo...little kids start getting teeth and and start gnawing on anything they can get in their mouth, my breast will not be bitten...By the way lmao Julie

when the kid can ask for it, its time to stop.

i feel like breastfeeding should go on as long as mutually desired. i'm a little put off by the ignorance and misogyny in the opinions expressed here. probably the majority are from people who haven't researched the topic fully or don't have kids. or both.

I say if they have teeth they are too old. Ouch!

I say a year old. Or when they start teething. Personally i won't breast feed.
I'm just not that comfortable with it, don't judge, its just me. i will use the pump though.
But there is this one lady that was on Tyra Banks that is still breastfeeding her 8 year old.
That is just unnatural and wrong. Who does that? how about your kid going to school saying something like, "mommie's titty milk tastes better than the school's milk!" Once they can talk thats definitely where the line should be drawn.