Breastfeeding at 8 - OMG!!!

[Glow]

it does feel good to nurse your baby. you are close to your baby, and it is very relaxing. i usually fell asleep while i nursed, i got so relaxed, especially at night time. other than that it just feels like... a baby nursing. but it is really usually more of an enviroment that parents give their babies while they nurse (quiet, calm, sometimes dark if at night or evening. sometimes you are rocking back and forth with them or laying down with them. whatever) and being close to your infant that makes people feel good. also, there are some thoughts on chemicals in the brain that are "feel good" chemicals, so that might be part of it as well.

I agree with you. Just reading your description made me "feel" all warm and fuzzy

Any woman that had a man just latch on and suck would probably slap him off her in a couple minutes.... if it took that long....any good sex manual will tell a man concerning the female breast that if you want to excite an erogenous zone, you need to vary the speed, the pace, the tension and so on....

having a baby's steady sucking away along with milk trickling out of their little mouth when they grin at you is a totally different kind of pleasure.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

i know people who have had send off parties for the pacifier and bottle. LOL... or they put it in the mail and mail it to a baby cousin, or whatever and make the child apart of it. or when they move, they tell the baby "the pacifier got lost in the move. its gone!"

how do you do that with a breast?

We didn't make a party out of it, but we did make a point of making a big deal out of breaking out the new sippy cups. I couldn't nurse any of my three kids due to health reasons on my part. We got rid of all bottles and pacifiers the day after they turned one year old. Nothing after that but cups.

 

[pedinurse]

Well - since the breast belongs to someone else, you just say "This is mine and it's not for you any more!" Now - if you have a thumb-sucker, you're screwed!

I actually don't have a problem with this woman's choice, but was just saying - I';m a different type of parent!

i'm just saying, at the age of 8... I would think that this would be a habit vs. a need and it would be hard to get them to stop. this is a lifestyle, not a need... (well, might be a psychological one!)

 

[Yeah me]

I think the appropriate age to stop, is when they form their memory function. No kid should ever remember suckling.

 

[hipmamajen]

This mom's assertion is that her daughter uses this method to help comfort herself.

Breastfeeding aside, what is going on with this eight year old girl that she needs that level of comforting from her mom?

3 of my kids are older than this girl, and one is younger. They're all done with blankies, pacifiers, lovies, and other external comfort objects, and have been for a long time (my youngest is 6.) I thought part of a child's change from a baby to a more mature child was to gain ability to comfort themselves under normal circumstances. From the video, this girl didn't appear to be hurt or distressed, it seems she shouldn't need her mom's breast to comfort her.

I'm all for breastfeeding, but I see this as a different issue. Or, I guess, an additional one.

 

[pedinurse]

I agree with you. Just reading your description made me "feel" all warm and fuzzy

Any woman that had a man just latch on and suck would probably slap him off her in a couple minutes.... if it took that long....any good sex manual will tell a man concerning the female breast that if you want to excite an erogenous zone, you need to vary the speed, the pace, the tension and so on....

having a baby's steady sucking away along with milk trickling out of their little mouth when they grin at you is a totally different kind of pleasure.

lol you are completely correct!

 

[pedinurse]

This mom's assertion is that her daughter uses this method to help comfort herself.

Breastfeeding aside, what is going on with this eight year old girl that she needs that level of comforting from her mom?

3 of my kids are older than this girl, and one is younger. They're all done with blankies, pacifiers, lovies, and other external comfort objects, and have been for a long time (my youngest is 6.) I thought part of a child's change from a baby to a more mature child was to gain ability to comfort themselves under normal circumstances. From the video, this girl didn't appear to be hurt or distressed, it seems she shouldn't need her mom's breast to comfort her.

I'm all for breastfeeding, but I see this as a different issue. Or, I guess, an additional one.

if that is the reason, then she needs some OTHER coping mechanisms

 

[Yeah me]

We didn't make a party out of it, but we did make a point of making a big deal out of breaking out the new sippy cups. I couldn't nurse any of my three kids due to health reasons on my part. We got rid of all bottles and pacifiers the day after they turned one year old. Nothing after that but cups.

We did the same thing at one year of age. I didn't last very long b.f.ing either one. My kids thought it was neat, no feeling abandoned here.

 

[southcitymom]

i'm just saying, at the age of 8... I would think that this would be a habit vs. a need and it would be hard to get them to stop. this is a lifestyle, not a need... (well, might be a psychological one!)

Yes - I think the child does it for psychological comfort (like thumbsucking). I think she will outgrow it soon. I definitely don't think it's a physical need.

 

[Diamond]

This would be wayyy outside my comfort zone, but I do support and pretty much practice 'child-led weaning'. In fact, I was just congratulated and even thanked by my ob/gyn and a nurse for still going at 2.5 years. I have a medical issue and needed to double check a medication my regular doctor put me on. I didn't even get my answer about the medication until after hearing all the gushing praise! My regular doctor has no qualms about me nursing either. Obviously, the pediatrician is just as supportive. I don't expect it will be much longer, judging by my past experience. Plus, I start subtly discouraging it at age two...distraction, snacks, other comfort, etc. Anyhow, I don't think it's sexual at all...but there is a time for growing up.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

This mom's assertion is that her daughter uses this method to help comfort herself.

Breastfeeding aside, what is going on with this eight year old girl that she needs that level of comforting from her mom?

3 of my kids are older than this girl, and one is younger. They're all done with blankies, pacifiers, lovies, and other external comfort objects, and have been for a long time (my youngest is 6.) I thought part of a child's change from a baby to a more mature child was to gain ability to comfort themselves under normal circumstances. From the video, this girl didn't appear to be hurt or distressed, it seems she shouldn't need her mom's breast to comfort her.

I'm all for breastfeeding, but I see this as a different issue. Or, I guess, an additional one.

Excellent post!!! I agree.

 

[Glow]

This would be wayyy outside my comfort zone, but I do support and pretty much practice 'child-led weaning'. In fact, I was just congratulated and even thanked by my ob/gyn and a nurse for still going at 2.5 years. I have a medical issue and needed to double check a medication my regular doctor put me on. I didn't even get my answer about the medication until after hearing all the gushing praise! My regular doctor has no qualms about me nursing either. Obviously, the pediatrician is just as supportive. I don't expect it will be much longer, judging by my past experience. Plus, I start subtly discouraging it at age two...distraction, snacks, other comfort, etc. Anyhow, I don't think it's sexual at all...but there is a time for growing up.

Good for you Diamond. You have given your child a good start and I am glad that your Drs are supportive. I like your subtle discouraging part too.

We end up doing a lot of that as mothers in one way or another dont we?

 

[philamena]

it does feel good to nurse your baby. you are close to your baby, and it is very relaxing. i usually fell asleep while i nursed, i got so relaxed, especially at night time. other than that it just feels like... a baby nursing. but it is really usually more of an enviroment that parents give their babies while they nurse (quiet, calm, sometimes dark if at night or evening. sometimes you are rocking back and forth with them or laying down with them. whatever) and being close to your infant that makes people feel good. also, there are some thoughts on chemicals in the brain that are "feel good" chemicals, so that might be part of it as well.

What a beautiful description of breastfeeding.:blowkiss:
My exSIL didn't describe it like that at all.
(She actually said that breastfeeding made her feel 'happy' in a certain body area.)

 

[philamena]

Phil,

I am confused. Did your exSIL say that in a yucky way? I mean - once my nipples toughened up - I loved the sensation I got when I breastfed my children - not in a sexual way - but in a lovely, snuggly, satisfied way.

Honey she meant it in a yucky way.
She was weird....

 

[hipmamajen]

if that is the reason, then she needs some OTHER coping mechanisms

It sure seems like it to me.

 

[Malapoo]

It's creepy to me, but I guess it's a family decision. But if it's for comfort, when is she going to learn other ways to deal with life and comfort herself?

A friend of mine went to a LaLeche meeting before her first was born and the mom hosting it was breast feeding her infant. The 6 year old boy got home from school, plopped down beside Mom and promptly uncovered the second breast and had his own snack. My friend was flipping out. When you're old enough to get it out on your own, it's time to stop!

 

[Diamond]

Good for you Diamond. You have given your child a good start and I am glad that your Drs are supportive. I like your subtle discouraging part too.

We end up doing a lot of that as mothers in one way or another dont we?

Thank you...and very true!

Breastfeeding this past time truly turned out to 'save the day'. I'm soooo glad I did it again, because the baby had/has GERD. At first, I thought my milk was causing problems, so tried formula (several types) w/terrible results. Solids had to be postponed to a MUCH later date due to extreme vomiting and spitting up. The only thing he could tolerate was breastmilk...small, but frequent feedings. Also, as far as pumping...not everyone can pump. I can't pump out enough for feedings, even using the Medela Symphony (quality pump). Babies are much better at getting the milk out.

 

[pedinurse]

What a beautiful description of breastfeeding.:blowkiss:
My exSIL didn't describe it like that at all.
(She actually said that breastfeeding made her feel 'happy' in a certain body area.)

ew, yeah, that sounds weird! lol! i am going to trust your assessment on that, because if someone said that i might take a double take and agree... lol!!!

 

[philamena]

ew, yeah, that sounds weird! lol! i am going to trust your assessment on that, because if someone said that i might take a double take and agree... lol!!!

bahaaaaaa :crazy:

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Maybe the gangbangers we see today with no respect for anyone should have had more maternal bonding in such a way. I don't see my friend's child ever becoming a person like that. He is respectful to everyone, but especially women. Maybe some children would find a benefit in the bonding alone.

I agree that 5-8 is off the charts for me personally, but I don't think it is unreasonable up to 3-4 years depending on the child. My last being a premie had a "thing" for her pacifiers. I was strongly advised by her Pediatrician NOT to remove them from her. She explained to me that my dd would eventually overcome the desire to suckle which she did at about 4 years old or so. The Pedicatrician also believed that especially with her intial problem with severe premature suck and the role a pacifier played...it went beyond the normal attachment. I was highly criticized for not taking them away, but she was always a very well adjusted child.