Breastfeeding at 8 - OMG!!!

[Glow]

oh lordy! That was......interesting?

LOL!!!

 

[Diamond]

we are not talking about a sexual fetish. i know some people are turned on by sucking toes or doing the lawn furniture. breast like the vagina are related to both reproduction and sex. a smack on the bum or a kiss on the neck may turn you on but they are not directly related to sex. for example suck my toes from now til the (dairy) cows come home and it will not affect ovulation.

the breast are not just a bonus. they serve a dual function just as the vagina is not only a gateway for birth. a healthy attitude about breast feeding need not ignore the fact they are a sexual body part just as a healthy sex life need not exclude the breast.

the fact we are mammals is not relevant. natural sexual behavior and what are brings sexual pleasure can vary greatly from 1 mammal to another. for example in humans the breast are both for sexual pleasure and to feed our young and the penis is covered by relatively smooth skin. in cats the breast are only for feeding the young and the penis is covered with small barbs. by saying we are all mammals you are comparing apples and oranges.

In your post, you talked about "sexual objects", "sexual desire"...which can include what I mentioned. Breasts can be used for other reasons, but that doesn't change their true purpose...feeding young.

As far as suckling and ovulation...that's what helps space babies out. A man couldn't possibly suckle enough to affect your cycle...so, you would get the same result w/your toes.:crazy:

Also, I'm not talking about differences in mammals. Simply, the purpose of breasts...which remains the same.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I'm a big supporter of extended breastfeeding and child-led weaning, but I have to admit that I couldn't watch that youtube video because it kind of turned my stomach. I don't know why. I actually breastfed one of my kids until she was 4 (Mr. E is a woman); I know a woman who did it until her kid was 5. That was a little weird. But 8 -- when my kids were 8 they were so independent, becoming real little people, no longer needing mama all the time. Maybe that's why I find it so repugnant. Here's this 8-year-old girl who should be into school and friends and just being a kid, and she's still sucking on mama's breasts.

I have heard crazy things about breastfeeding that just aren't true. One girl told me that her mother said that breastmilk was contaminated, that pee was purer than breastmilk. Why would your body produce a food to nourish your infant and make that food inedible??

It is somewhat all about societal norms, I think, but that lady needs to get her kid involved in some sort of extracurricular activity that doesn't involve .

I couldn't watch it more than a few seconds either. I was sad that I wasn't able to nurse any of my kids and I feel that there truly are huge benefits for the child. I don't see, in any case, why this woman can't simply pump and give her child a cup of the breast milk. It seems to me that she could be doing other things with her daughter in order for them to remain close and as others have said so elloquently, the child must learn other ways to calm herself.

I think that America is overly sensitive with nudity and perhaps that's why men in this country are so enraptured with breasts. Maybe society makes them seem better than they actually are (except for mine, of course).

 

[Truly]

allow me to make this simple for you. despite the fact the evil men find them attractive our breast are linked to our reproduction in a way that the rest of our bodies are not. try reading my post slowly. i said our breast are linked to our sexuality and reproduction in a way our toes or neck or hands or any other random body part you wish to name is.
.http://www.menstruation.com.au/breastfeeding/ovulationafterbreastfeeding.html

breast feeding affects ovulation. that would be a link to reproduction. men's magazines or the bible or what turns a man on is not a factor. it is just the way our body works. anger at me will not change that.

btw what phase of the moon are you in?

Sherri, I certainly did not intend to be rude, and I apologise to you if I came across that way. Breastfeeding a baby certainly affects ovulation; that is still in the realm of their main mammallian function of nourishing our young. I am trying to understand where you see the dual function. A loving man kissing a breast will have no more effect on ovulation than if he kissed a toe. I see women's breasts splashed across magazines and billboards and portrayed as some sort of sexual object for men, but their main function for women still seems to me to be for nourishing an infant.

 

[Mr. E]

I couldn't watch it more than a few seconds either. I was sad that I wasn't able to nurse any of my kids and I feel that there truly are huge benefits for the child. I don't see, in any case, why this woman can't simply pump and give her child a cup of the breast milk. It seems to me that she could be doing other things with her daughter in order for them to remain close and as others have said so elloquently, the child must learn other ways to calm herself.

I think that America is overly sensitive with nudity and perhaps that's why men in this country are so enraptured with breasts. Maybe society makes them seem better than they actually are (except for mine, of course).

I agree. If she truly thinks her child still needs breastmilk for whatever reason, she should pump. At 4 my daughter nursed maybe twice a day, maybe one or two extra small sessions if she needed comfort for some reason. At 8 she shouldn't be using food for comfort, anyhow.

I know people who pump to feed their babies, but who don't breastfeed. I can't imagine doing that. Pumping is such a pain and so much more painful. Any woman who pumps exclusively to give her baby breastmilk has my undying admiration.

 

[Rino]

I see women's breasts splashed across magazines and billboards and portrayed as some sort of sexual object for men, but their main function for women still seems to me to be for nourishing an infant.

That being their main function does not take away the fact that men are totally turned on by them, that too is part of their beauty and funtion. In order to feed your babies, men need to be turned on to make those babies

 

[XcomSquaddie]

I know people who pump to feed their babies, but who don't breastfeed. I can't imagine doing that. Pumping is such a pain and so much more painful. Any woman who pumps exclusively to give her baby breastmilk has my undying admiration.

Ok, totally going to hijack the thread here. Funny breast pump story.

So the wifey is just home from the hospital after having our first child. So we're setting up the breast pump because she plans on breastfeeding, etc. etc.

So We're sitting there, she's all hooked up to the pump and I plug it in and she turns it on (lowest setting). So it's humming away, and after about a minute, 1 drop of milk falls into the container. Then it kind of catches on and starts going drip, drip, but still fairly slow. The wife looks kind of annoyed and says, "Well, this is going to take forever."

Now, me being the helpful husband, I look down at the machine and immediately see the problem. "No kidding, you've got it on low. Here." And I reached over and switched it on MAX.

(For those of you that have never pumped, this is not a good idea.)

She had just enough time to say "N..." but it was too late. Her eyes damn near popped out of their sockets. She kinda looked like the people on those taser videos where they spasm out and get all stiff-like.

Luckily her convulsion jerked the plug out and shut it off.

 

[Glow]

I keep seeing references to "developing countries" and "other cultures" where this would be normal.

I can't think of a single culture where it is normal. In primitive cultures the kids are weaned when they are able to obtain their own food.

Anybody have an actual example of a culture where bf at 8 is normal?

3 or 4 years old - ok. Maybe even 5. But I'm unaware of anything later than that.

A lot of the work done in compiling statistics on this is found in the form of thesis and anthropological studies. That tends to bundle the results so it is hard to break it back down into individual groups.

I did find this
Traditionally, Japanese women breast fed weaning was often late, with breastfeeding in rare cases continuing until early adolescence. After World War II Western medicine was taken to Japan and the women began giving birth in hospitals, where the baby was usually taken to the nursery and fed formula. In 1974 a new breastfeeding promotion by the government helped to boost the awareness of its benefits and the uptake has sharply increased. Japan became the first developed country to have a baby friendly hospital, and as of 2006 has another 24 such facilities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_breastfeeding


Before World Wars I and II babies all over the world were primarily breast fed either by a mother or a wet nurse. Children who were perceived and "sickly" or "frail" would be breast fed longer. Egyptian royalty being one example. After the result of two world wars women went into the work force in great numbers filling spaces previously held by men. This combined with the baby boom led to the popularity of formula. Nestle and then others began aggressive marketing tactics that have had spectacular results in convincing women around the globe that formula is "better" for the infant. Some watch dog organizations have tried to turn the tide but their success has been limited. The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes was organized and established in 1981 by the general assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO). This Code, and a number of subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions, place restrictions on the marketing of breast milk of substitutes, to ensure that mothers are not discouraged from breastfeeding and that substitutes are used safely if needed.

 

[Glow]

Ok, totally going to hijack the thread here. Funny breast pump story.

So the wifey is just home from the hospital after having our first child. So we're setting up the breast pump because she plans on breastfeeding, etc. etc.

So We're sitting there, she's all hooked up to the pump and I plug it in and she turns it on (lowest setting). So it's humming away, and after about a minute, 1 drop of milk falls into the container. Then it kind of catches on and starts going drip, drip, but still fairly slow. The wife looks kind of annoyed and says, "Well, this is going to take forever."

Now, me being the helpful husband, I look down at the machine and immediately see the problem. "No kidding, you've got it on low. Here." And I reached over and switched it on MAX.

(For those of you that have never pumped, this is not a good idea.)

She had just enough time to say "N..." but it was too late. Her eyes damn near popped out of their sockets. She kinda looked like the people on those taser videos where they spasm out and get all stiff-like.

Luckily her convulsion jerked the plug out and shut it off.

Oh that is hysterical! :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[Glow]

That being their main function does not take away the fact that men are totally turned on by them, that too is part of their beauty and funtion. In order to feed your babies, men need to be turned on to make those babies

Good job of summation there Rino! It's like that line from the song "do the hanky panky".......

"thats what its all about!"

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I agree. If she truly thinks her child still needs breastmilk for whatever reason, she should pump. At 4 my daughter nursed maybe twice a day, maybe one or two extra small sessions if she needed comfort for some reason. At 8 she shouldn't be using food for comfort, anyhow.

I know people who pump to feed their babies, but who don't breastfeed. I can't imagine doing that. Pumping is such a pain and so much more painful. Any woman who pumps exclusively to give her baby breastmilk has my undying admiration.

No doubt!! I worked with an attorney with four kids under the age of five, so that poor woman was pumping the ENTIRE time she was at work. She had a refridgerator in her office solely to store the milk. She was truly a dedicated mother and attorney!!

 

[pixies]

Ok, totally going to hijack the thread here. Funny breast pump story.

So the wifey is just home from the hospital after having our first child. So we're setting up the breast pump because she plans on breastfeeding, etc. etc.

So We're sitting there, she's all hooked up to the pump and I plug it in and she turns it on (lowest setting). So it's humming away, and after about a minute, 1 drop of milk falls into the container. Then it kind of catches on and starts going drip, drip, but still fairly slow. The wife looks kind of annoyed and says, "Well, this is going to take forever."

Now, me being the helpful husband, I look down at the machine and immediately see the problem. "No kidding, you've got it on low. Here." And I reached over and switched it on MAX.

(For those of you that have never pumped, this is not a good idea.)

She had just enough time to say "N..." but it was too late. Her eyes damn near popped out of their sockets. She kinda looked like the people on those taser videos where they spasm out and get all stiff-like.

Luckily her convulsion jerked the plug out and shut it off.

Hahaha!
Oh yeah! I often said I felt like my were on life support when hooked up to that machine. After the first kid, I never bothered pumping again because my husband would run around the house saying

"FLATLINE"...

What a jerk! LOL.

 

[Yeah me]

The breast pump stories are cracking me up. I never could use one very well, and found that hand expressing worked better for me. I hated those things.

 

[Mr. E]

Ok, totally going to hijack the thread here. Funny breast pump story.

So the wifey is just home from the hospital after having our first child. So we're setting up the breast pump because she plans on breastfeeding, etc. etc.

So We're sitting there, she's all hooked up to the pump and I plug it in and she turns it on (lowest setting). So it's humming away, and after about a minute, 1 drop of milk falls into the container. Then it kind of catches on and starts going drip, drip, but still fairly slow. The wife looks kind of annoyed and says, "Well, this is going to take forever."

Now, me being the helpful husband, I look down at the machine and immediately see the problem. "No kidding, you've got it on low. Here." And I reached over and switched it on MAX.

(For those of you that have never pumped, this is not a good idea.)

She had just enough time to say "N..." but it was too late. Her eyes damn near popped out of their sockets. She kinda looked like the people on those taser videos where they spasm out and get all stiff-like.

Luckily her convulsion jerked the plug out and shut it off.

My husband did this to me when I first started pumping, when our baby was about 3 weeks old. He turned it up to high and I thought my nipples would pop off. Never touch a woman's breast pump.

 

[Salem]

I came to say I think breastfeeding a child at the age of 8 years is inappropriate and then putting the tape on the net borders on, I'm not sure what, but not good. I see that you all have already discussed that, so I'll stop here. I think to the age or 4/5 is pushing it, but not a bad thing. To each his own, but to the age of 8 I have to wonder what the psychological impacts will be on the child. In my opinion, there will be some.

I love the breastpump stories - made me laugh till I cried

Salem

 

[pedinurse]

lactation amenorrhea method... breastfeeding exclusively to delay ovulation. this is actually a somewhat effective method of BC. but once you start introducing other foods, or supplementing bottles, all bets are off. you have to be breastfeeding frequently for it to work (its a feedback thing). upon the introduction of foods / supplements or skipped feedings, the body usually starts to ovulate and the period will often return.

How exactly, for a woman, are breasts more sexual than any other part of our bodies? What about our clits? There's the source of sexual arousal for a woman. No matter what a man might be more turned on by.

Where are you getting this information from? Do you have a link? Sucking your breasts affects your ovulation??? Are you kidding ? (Only when the moon is right, I would expect.) Please don't tell me that the bible or some men's magazine says that men have some god-given right to get a thrill out of oolging women and fondling our breasts, or to make stupid sexist baby-babble titty-sucking sippy-cupping comments in the tags, and that women are then supposed to go 'oh, yes, baby, whatever turns YOU on, that's fine with me'? Puh-leeese.

I love my whole entire body. Every inch is an erogenous zone. The fact that men's magazines focus on and does not mean that we ought to accept it. Breasts are perfect for feeding our babies. Clits are where the action is, sexually, for women. You know that, right?

It's just Basic Woman 101.

truely, see what I posted above re: breastfeeding and ovulation.

 

[pedinurse]

I think what bothers me is they seem to be preoccupied with the breast. The pictures, the names,the constant groping that's what is bothering me.

i soooo agree with this! i think that is part of what is really distrubing!


LOL i was just laughing at the tag added... "not just for breakfast"

you guys are bad!

 

[Glow]

I came to say I think breastfeeding a child at the age of 8 years is inappropriate and then putting the tape on the net borders on, I'm not sure what, but not good. I see that you all have already discussed that, so I'll stop here. I think to the age or 4/5 is pushing it, but not a bad thing. To each his own, but to the age of 8 I have to wonder what the psychological impacts will be on the child. In my opinion, there will be some.

I love the breastpump stories - made me laugh till I cried

Salem

Good to see your thoughts on this Salem :blowkiss:

I dont believe any of us know quite what to think!

 

[SeekingJana]

OK, I watched it, and I think it is a hoax. Here's my rationale to support my belief.
There is something out of sync with the mother/child relationship depicted ( play-acted?) in the video as it is not age-appropriate in our society. Maybe cavewomen nursed their own and perhaps even other womens' children for close to a decade of the child's life, who knows. However, from a modern psychological standpoint, we measure a CHILD'S growth and development in psychological milestones which are good, based towards independence, of self-awareness and self-esteem. The child sets his or her own pace, but is eager to reach new milestones. Each age level has its own set of parameters.
Below are the main developmental milestones for our society in a child who has no documented developmental disabilities. I don't think they are out of sync for either 1958 or 2008. They are healthy for the CHILD. The parent plays a secondary supportive role from the time the child is around 6 years old.The focus is on helping the child become his or her own person, not an extension of the parent. Children will naturally rebel against such attempts IF they see different behaviors with their peers and their parents.

• At age 5 to 6, a child is aware of their own body. They usually become uncomfortable with nudity, either theirs or viewing another person nude. They may resist physical exams by health care professionals which include disrobing. They often resist being bathed by a parent because of the modesty factor, not because they do not want to be clean.
• At age 6-7, a child begins to establish relationships outside the family.. friendships with peers at school and social organizations. The child has an established personality unlike any other child's ,which is recognizable to any observant adult, not just a parent. The child still views their primary caregiver as the person to go to with hurts, both physical and emotional.
• At ages 7-8, a child is setting self- goals of achievement in learning, is much more independent than at age 6, has definite preferences and dislikes in play, clothing, food, and is selecting friends based upon their preference. The child is learining the moral rules of life and is able to encompass the social mores into his or her own life. ( Don't steal, don't lie, etc). Guilt is present when a moral rule is broken and the child has the ability to feel shame.
• The child may start to develop role models at around age 7-8, with a favorite teacher, a parent, or a grandparent often being a positive role model.

Incidentally, this is the age at which an abused child will often begin to actively avoid the abuser. If physical avoidance is not possible, psychological " splitting" may occur, with the rare development of DID at this age. Memory repression and supression (which is not age-appropriate in a non-abused child) is an active defense mechanism against extreme trauma. It is believed that the development of the ability to feel shame and helplessness during extreme trauma plays the largest part in the devolpment of DID, even though misplaced.


Please tell me where breastfeeding fits into the stages of growth and development of a school age child's psyche !!
BTW, I haven't seen it mentioned here- but would our reactions be stronger if the children in question were BOYS?
Could this be the underlying subtle unspoken theme to the video???
They are apparently careful to show 2 female children nursing.

WOULD THE VIDEO EVEN BE ALLOWED TO STAY ON YOUTUBE IF THE SUCKLING CHILD WAS AN 8 YEAR OLD BOY?

I think the video is meant to shock, to stimulate conversation, and MAYBE to be provocative for pedophiles and NAMBLA type perverts through exploitation of the minor children. I don't think that what is being seen is what happens in this household when the video cam is off.

One other thing I have not seen mentioned but which is true for all mammals and which suports my theory that they video is a staged hoax:
We lose our normal and natural sucking reflex which causes milk letdown once we start eating solid foods more than breastfeeding or even bottle feeding ( sucking a nipple vs. drinking from a cup) Neither you nor I can suck from a bottle or anything else in the same way that an infant does. The normal babyhood sucking mechanism cannot be relearned once lost.

A child cannot be sustained and their hunger satiated indefinitely through breast milk alone or as the primary source of nutrients,certainly not at age 8. Therefore, the girls are eating solid food, which is age appropriate for growth and development, and have lost their sucking abilities.
It is my belief, then, for all the reasons stated above, that the video is a hoax. Most likely, the woman is nursing an infant which is NOT shown in the video.. the rest is most likely staged and scripted for the shock value. I do believe the girls were being exploited and hope the video is taken offline. I will stop short of saying that the home environment needs to be evaulated because I see a lack of discomfort in the girl's role-playing. IOW, the 8 year old was not uncomfortable to play her part in the oh so exciting internet hoax because she knows the difference between reality and play-acting, and more than likely has a safe home environment in general. Just not for this stunt... IMO.

Maria

ETA: I went back and watched the little girl supposedly latched on and nursing AGAIN. She does NOT have the correct breathing/ sucking. SHe is SIMULATING with her lips on the breast. There is NO visible swallowing. There is no change in the head position. Again, IMO, this is NOT a video showing a child who is actually nursing or who is used to nursing. I think she is simulating what she has seen a baby do. Period.
Watch that part closely if you have been a nursing mother.

 

[Rino]

SJ, you made some great points and I think you're onto something.

All those defending been taken for a ride if your right, and I think you are An infant can breath when drinking from a bottle, that ability is lost and can't be regained, so this being anything natural is silly.