Photo courtesy of Dailymom.com

             As many of you know, I am a breastfeeding advocate.  I love all things breastfeeding! However, I also understand that there are some who are discouraged by breastfeeding after six or even 12 months.  Both of my kids are breastfed babies, while I decided to wean my son off the breast at 12 months, he completely weaned around 14 months.  I was ready for him to completely stop breastfeeding at exactly 12 months, because I was exhausted from it! But my handsome son had a different idea in mind.  So do you agree, disagree, or indifferent to extended breastfeeding? I know that this time around my ideas are a little different than I anticipated.  Here’s my thoughts.

           I feel like the topic of extending breastfeeding grosses out many people.  Babies have teeth, they are too old, there are no longer any benefits for a toddler to breastfeed, and it causes bone density for women.  While I did agree with this in the beginning, until I conducted my own research on the matter.   There are still actually many benefits to nursing your toddler after the age of one.  It’s really all about what you can handle and what you think is best.  In most cases, babies usually wean themselves, they will tell you when they want to stop or if they don’t.  Breastfeeding is a soothing mechanism for many babies, my daughter still wakes up at night to nurse, even if she is not hungry.  I also found a great article on BabyCenter.com that extending breastfeeding can in fact be beneficial for your toddlers health, and your own. It can also help prevent some illnesses for both you and baby, including lowering the risks of breast and ovarian cancer for women (Babycenter.com, 2013). 

        Another article I found to be interesting on Parenting.com states that extended breastfeeding helps your toddler’s behavior.  It’s interesting to see different pros and cons of this topic, however I think one of the major cons in this matter are other people’s opinions.  We really worry what others will say or think about it.  My pediatrician told me at my daughter’s 12 month appointment that I already exceeded his expectations by going the full year.  Anything after that is up to me, however he will not discourage me from it, because it will assist in my baby’s health and help fight off different illnesses.  It’s also a great way for mommy to stay healthy, to eat right, and keep a balanced diet.  Again, it’s whatever you want for your baby and yourself. It’s your choice. 

       In a perfect world, I like to think that breastfeeding is just like weaning your baby from a bottle or pacifier.  It takes time.  Just like some babies drink the bottle until they are three or even four, people are going to judge you on every decision you make.  Whatever you decide is obviously what you believe to be the best thing for you and your baby or toddler.  Just remember that every baby/toddler adapts differently to weaning from these things, we are just trying and doing our best.  Do not be discouraged mommies.

       Thanks for stopping by, I love to hear your thoughts and feedback on these issues.  Share my blog and posts with other mommies out there, we need to help encourage and motivate each other to strive for mommy success! 🙂

Here are the articles in my post if you want to check them out:

http://www.parenting.com/article/ask-dr-sears-extended-breastfeeding—-handling-the-criticism

http://www.babycenter.com/0_extended-nursing-is-it-for-you_8496.bc