Anyone else still nursing their eight-month-old?

Kris - posted on 03/06/2010

Eleisha...awesome job perservering!!! what a lucky little girl your dd is!

Cindy - posted on 03/06/2010

Becky - just curious, why do you need help to breastfeed? Isn't breastfeeding easier when you don't have help around? My hubby was a pro-golfer & on tour for months, both our families live 1000 of kilometres away & it would have been so much MORE work for me if I had to clean & make bottles & get up through the night to heat them. So I'm curious why it was necessary to wean rather than continue feeding?
And, Eleisha - EXCELLENT job!!! What a determined lady you are! Congratulations!

Eleisha - posted on 03/06/2010

I now (finally) nurse my now 9 month old. We had a very rough start to BF (she has a small mouth, high pallette, tongue tie and a receded chin) so odds were against us. After a few days we got a GREAT latch! One night feed, I had trouble and askd a midwife to help... fats forward 1.5 hours to me and my daughter crying with still no feed. Ever since then she has been terrified of BF. I went home expressing and feeding (she NEVER had formula) while still at EVERY feed trying to BF. We did all we could to get her to latch; skin to skin, warm baths etc etc. Finally at the 7 month mark she began to latch. Fast forward 2 months and I am 100% successfully BF. We love it. I am so glad we persevered! I have NO intention of giving up BF until my daughter self weans!

V - posted on 03/05/2010

I still breastfeed my 8 month old son (in 10 days he will be 9 months) twice a day. And give his baby food 3 times a day plus snacks. I would love to breast feed until he is 4 years old, but I am going back to work in June. I live in Ontario, Canada and we get a year of mat-leave.

Mary - posted on 02/24/2010

Elyse is more than 8.5 months old and we are still breastfeeding. She gets 3 meals a day; if I am home I will offer the breast either before or after the meal, in addition she BF's first thing in the morning, if I am home midmorning, if I am home midafternoon, and in the evening. She gets breastmilk in a bottle when she is at day care. She has shown less of an interest in daytime nursing, but is still vigorous in the morning, evening, and once at night. We will BF as long as she is interested and my supply holds up.

Kim - posted on 02/23/2010

My son is still getting breastmilk. I was unable to breastfeed due to him being born without his esophagus connected and having a surgical repair. I have pumped since he was born and was determined to be able to provide him with breastmilk. The medela symphony pump is phenomenal. I have also donated breastmilk to the Mothers Milk Bank in Denver Colorado as there is a severe shortage and need for breastmilk.

Becky - posted on 02/23/2010

I breastfed my daughter till she was 7 months old.only stopping because of my husbands new job and no family near me to help with my other kids. If it were up to me and my daughter, we would still be nursing, with help of course. All situations are different. You need to do what is Right for You and you Daughter.

Marion - posted on 02/23/2010

You can always still nurse but also do baby food.

Marion - posted on 02/23/2010

I forgot to mention that we have started baby food and she also loves this. What is your reasoning on not starting it yet?

Marion - posted on 02/23/2010

I nurse still but I also pump and do bottles with the xpressed milk. My daughter is 8 months. We haven't done much formula- only a couple times. No one has ever questioned me on nursing though. She is also a very happy healthy baby who has never been sick either. I say keep nursing til at least a year if it works for you and your baby!

April - posted on 02/23/2010

I recently weaned my 8 month old daughter off the breast, I have to admit I was sad about it but I just was tired of breastfeeding b/c its so time consuming but Im proud of myself i think iI did great by it being my 1st time...my daughter now drinks around 5 4oz bottles a day..and 3meals...cereal and 2 jars of baby food...and also my daughter hasnt been sick yet or anything

Meagan - posted on 02/22/2010

I nurse and do solids with my eight month old, cuz if I didn't, my son would try to eat my food! We started baby food at 6 months, no cereal though, per my doc. He loves to eat and eats 3-4 times a day solid food and nurses 4-5 times a day...maybe he just likes to eat! But he still loves the boob and no weaning in sight for at least 3 more months.

Lindsay - posted on 02/22/2010

I am still nursing my almost 8 month old. She will eat solids once or twice a day, but still gets a majority of her feeding as breastmilk. I plan on letting her nurse until she decides she is done.

Miranda - posted on 02/22/2010

I still nurse my [almost] 8 month old, and he also eats baby food. He will not take a baby bottle. he will drink out of a cup though. I don't think its wrong to keep nursing. It makes them smarter and stronger. My son is proof of that..he's doing things he's not suppose to already! Like standing on his own and crawling all over the place. And has been saying Momma and Dada since he was 3 or 4 months old. I think there is nothing wrong with nursing him, unless he or you are ready to stop..I would keep doing it til he's a little over 12 months.

Kris - posted on 02/22/2010

oh agreed, nursing should continue as long as babe still needs it. i'm hoping ds will go till at least 2yrs like dd!

Cindy - posted on 02/22/2010

Hi Kris,

re the no solids for the first year - my first 3 kids, once they tasted solids, only took a week or 2 & they loved them, breakfast, lunch & dinner. My latest baby is totally different. He'll eat for a day or 2 (lots of food) then want only breastmilk for days, there's no rhyme nor reason to it. But, like you, it doesn't bother me, I know that the bulk of their diet should be breastmilk for the first year of life with solids just for experimenting & "getting used to eating". Of course breastmilk should be part of their diet for much longer than the first year.

Kris - posted on 02/22/2010

we try to give ds as much unprocessed food as possible. i agree, not hard to pop stuff in the blender for them. plus, we use the mesh feeders alot. not sure why some posters here think that breastmilk isn't "good enough" or that jarred food will help with immunities. it isn't that uncommon for a baby to be almost completely breastfed till a year with little to no other food. my dd was one such baby. we tried to offer her foods to try, but she wanted no part in them. breastmilk is the perfect food for a baby and it changes as they grow to provide what they need.

Melissa - posted on 02/22/2010

Cindy, it is very common here in the U.S. to feed our children baby food from a jar and rice/oatmeal cereal from a box. I feed my daughter organic food from the jar and they come in different Stages depending on the thickness our children are able to eat. Also, most of our baby food in the jar only contains ingredients of the fruit/veggie plus water. I do know a couple people who make their own baby food. But, I can say that the foods that I have tasted taste just like the real thing in my opinion. She also doesn't eat but a total of one jar a day (if that) because I mix it with her cereal and she prefers breastmilk most of the time. I do mash up peas and things at dinner time for her if we are eating things she can eat.

Cindy - posted on 02/22/2010

Yes, I'm breastfeeding my 8th month old. I'm just curious - a lot of posters have said that they feed their babies "2 jars" or "3 jars" a day, or even Cheerios. Is it common in the US to feed your babies processed foods or do most people feed their children fresh food? I've never used the canned or jarred 'baby' foods with my first 3 but we are going away next week & I decided to buy a few jars as i thought they would be convenient. I've opened a couple to check that bub would like them &, not only didn't he like them, I couldn't believe how bad they tasted - not at all like fresh veggies. It couldn't be healthy could it? Imagine if we ate food from a can or jar for every meal, there's no life force in them at all. I try to give my kids as much raw food as possible & it's really easy - instead of cooked apple sauce (destroying all the heat sensitive vitamins) I just peel & chop a fresh apple and put it in the blender. You can do the same with pear, melon, berries. My kids have also enjoyed slices of tomato, avocado & cucumber at this age. For breakfast I just cook a little oats with soymilk & a prune or date for sweetness & mash it all together, or mash banana with avocado, it just takes a minute & is so much healthier than processes cereals. What are most people doing?

Tonya - posted on 02/21/2010

OK HERE IS MY OPINION' IM ALL ABOUT NURSING I'VE NURSED AND STILL NURSING ONE BOTH MY KIDS/ MY YOUNGEST SON IS 8MNTHS OLD HE MADE THAT ON THE 15TH/ HE STIL LNURSES AND I LOVE IT BUUUUTTTT/ HES ALSO ON BABY FOOD /I HAVE TO SAY AROUND THIS AGE BREASTMILK IS NO LONGER GIVING THEM WHAT THEY NEED I MEAN IT DOES BUT BABYFOOD HAS A LOT IN IT TO HELP THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS AS WELL/ IDT HE SHOULD BE JUST NURSING HE DEF NEEDS BABY FOOD IN HIS LIFE/

Mandy - posted on 02/21/2010

Luke is still an almost EBF baby boy! He does occasionally have applesauce, banana, or sweet potato, but 97% of his food is breastmilk!

Karyn - posted on 02/20/2010

@Brandi Whitehouse - My son eats Cheerios (just the regular cereal). I think they are small enough that they can't really choke on them. He just chews them up with his gums. He has never liked baby cereal or pureed food and refuses to eat from a spoon, he only wants to feed himself. Besides Cheerios, he also loves Gerber puffs, small pieces of cooked vegetables, and other stuff like that. Oh and I am still nursing about every 3-4 hours during the day.

Neide - posted on 02/20/2010

well yes, i´m still nursing my baby too, and she eats 3 times solid foods aswell... she´s growing very fast and breastmilk ins+t good enough at this age...

Candy - posted on 02/19/2010

hi, my daughter is 7 1/2 mths old and i breastfeed and feed her baby food 2times a day. shes healthy, just one cold so far and she is close to 20 pounds. i started to feed her baby cereal at 5mths but she did not like it. So i gave it a couple of weeks and still refuses to eat it. Shes on stage 2 baby food now.

Brandi - posted on 02/19/2010

A lot of moms say they give their babies Cheerios. Is that safe? They are quite small and I would be afraid of choking. I would love to start giving him some cheerios, but am afraid. Do you give them the "Cheerios" brand ceral or is their a baby brand that you give them?

Maria - posted on 02/19/2010

Yes I still breastfeed my 8 month old son and eats solids as well. Many times he doesn't want to eat anything but still he sits with us every time we eat...breakfast, lunch and dinner. Basically it's just so he gets used to it and learns that it is also a time to socialize with the family. Plus he loves it!

Amanda - posted on 02/19/2010

We are still nursing and I plan to nurse as long as my son is still interested. We started solids at 6 months.

Michal - posted on 02/19/2010

I am still breastfeeding my 8 months old as well. He also eats solids 3 times a day. Until recently I was still breastfeeding 5-6 times a day on demand but he has cut that down on his own recently to 3-4 times. He gets boob in the morning and before bed and usually in the afternoon as well. He will absolutely refuse breastmilk or formula in a bottle and will only drink water from a sippy cup.

Britani - posted on 02/19/2010

I'm still nursing my 8 mon old daughter, she mainly eats solid food ( around 4 jars a day) but first thing in the morning and right before bed she gets boob. and occasionally she'll get it in the middle of the day. at this point i'm not planning on stopping anytime soon and i dont think she would let me either, she has figured out how to get to it when she wants it no matter where we are...including ripping into my shirt in line at walmart...

Amelia - posted on 02/18/2010

hey i live in new zealand and my son is exactly the same! except i bottle feed (didnt really like the breast)

Christina - posted on 02/18/2010

I'm still breastfeeding Rachel. She eats some jared food but only like one jar a day. Do whatever you are comfortable with. I am planning on continuing until she's a year so I can switch her to cows milk.

Amanda - posted on 02/18/2010

I am still nursing my 8 month old son, he also eats solids 3 times a day, I also just found out i'm pregnant again. And am debating on wether or not to wean. no problems other wise sleeps 3-4 times a day and is very satisfied. Oh yah he weighs around 24 pounds I would say now.

Emma - posted on 02/18/2010

I am breastfeeding my 8 month old as well about 6 times a day. He sometimes eats 3 meals a day, but for the most part he nibbles at 2 meals a day maybe equalling 1 jar of food a day. Just started him with some cheerios in the morning the other morning and he seems to like the independance from that. But quite a few of our friends are surprised I am still breastfeeding as they believe that once a baby gets ready to crawl they should be off the breast, I have no intentions on weaning him yet.



But now when people ask me in a concerned way why I am breastfeeding still, I will remind them of when we all came down with a bad stomach bug for a couple of days and all that happened for him was a few really messy diapers while the rest of us suffered with throwing up and diarrehea. He acted as if he wasn't sick, still giggling away, playing and all in all a very happy baby.

Dianne - posted on 02/18/2010

My son will be 8 months next week i breast feed him 6-8 times a day plus 3 solid meals sometimes a snack also.He also has 6oz of enfamil restful after his bath, but will still nurse after that then fall asleep. If i am going somewhere i can't breast feed he will give a bottle of formula, this is rare and most times he won't take it. Though I had a very difficult time in the begining i was determined to breastfeed my child, since I am at home I felt there was no excuse. My intention is to feed my son till he is 12 months, I would do it beyond that, but my period hasn't come and I want to start trying for a baby when he is 1 (biological clock ticking will be 39 in may, lol). I say breast feed as long as you want and as exclusively as you want, though it is a good idea to introduce solids for practice, but you are the mother so please politely tell those people that they should mind their own business. Our breasts were made to breast feed and not for sexual gratification and if I have to roll my breast up into a bra in the future so be it, lol. Good luck

Vanessa - posted on 02/18/2010

like most moms here, I still nurse my 8 month old, and she has three small solid food meals a day

Kris - posted on 02/18/2010

absolutely!!! he does get a little bit of solids at this point. he still nurses roughly every 2-3 hours around the clock, though his daytime feedings are usually more like a snack becaus ehe's in that easily distracted stage. thankfully he's all business at night and gets a good feeding in about 10-15 min. his sister weaned at 2yrs and i'm hoping to go that long this time. it's all about how long he needs his milkies :)

Erin - posted on 02/18/2010

I still breastfeed my son but I also give him solids.

Anna - posted on 02/17/2010

i sitll nurse my daughter and, like yours, she is one happy child. I love nursing my daughter. Its a special bond that no one can break or take away. I do give my daughter baby food though. But I won't stop nursing just because someone else thinks shes too old. I have alot of nieces and nephews, so Ali is exposed to children who go to public school. Because of that, she has gotten sick, but it was not really anything bad. She got over it quickly and wasn't too affected by it. I believe that breastfed children are happoer kids, but thats just my personal opinion. I commend women who breastfeed until 2 years or so. I dont know who got the idea that its a sick or unacceptable thing to breastfeed for that long. But they are wrong. I wouldnt make my daughter stop until she was ready. I think its importatnt for breastfeeding moms to stick together bc so many people have issues with it. God made us with the equiptment needed to care for our children, whats the big deal about using it lol! Congrats on your happy baby!!!

Kristen - posted on 02/17/2010

Absolutely! I feed solids 1-2 times as well, but sometimes she doesn't want them, especially if she's teething. She just started cheerios now and LOVES them. I think she just loves the independence of it but she still loves the comfort of breastfeeding.

Michelle - posted on 02/17/2010

i am still nursing my daughter at 8.5 months. i only started feeding her solids cause she wanted them. she was seeing me eat and wanted some and will get mad if i don't give her some. but i only feed her solids 1-2 times aday. in the morning and afternoon. she doesn't sleep as well if i feed her too close to bed time.

Jennifer - posted on 02/17/2010

yes, still nursing my 8 mo. old 6-8 times a day :) He also eats solids three times a day. I plan to nurse until he decides he's done...I love the comfort it gives them :)

Kate - posted on 02/17/2010

Yes, I am still nursing my 8 month old, with no plans to wean in the near future. I am following his lead and giving him solids, also. At this age my daughter wasn't really interested in solids and wanted breastmilk only, for the most part (I think she was eating a bit of rice cereal for practice if I remember right).

It's true that many moms in the US wean early compared to the global community. If you are looking for support in your local community you might want to find a local La Leche League group and check it out... In the meantime, I'm sure you are doing what's best and what feels right for you and your baby!

Penny - posted on 02/17/2010

I am still feeding my 8 ½ month old daughter and I will continue to breastfeed her until I decide to quit. A mother knows her children and how to take care of them. Most so called experts say to start feeding your baby cereal and baby food at four months. I decided to feed me daughter baby food when she started trying to eat off of my plate, which was at six months. My daughter eats two jars of food a day. I feed her one jar in the morning and one at night with one little Gerber Graduate snack during the day, plus her breast milk feedings. She is 20 lbs very healthy and happy. I haven’t had any problems with being colic or sick either. Just keep doing what you’re doing…….

Tiffany - posted on 02/16/2010

I'm still nursing my almost 8 month old only, He was born at 29 week weighing only 3lbs 10 ozs.He currently is 21 lbs which is in the 52% and the Dr said no need to start solids if he is gaining weight and not always nursing to stay full. He sleeps about 10 hours a night and about 4, 1 hour naps a day. Why rush them and have a higher chance of food allergies when they get older.

Brandi - posted on 02/16/2010

I still nurse my 8mo son. But I do also feed him baby food (solids) 3 times a day as per recomendation from the doctor. He gets no nutrutional value from the solids at all till they are about a year old. Their digestive systems dont break down the nurtients and stuff normally yet. Feeding them solids at this point is for learning behaviors. Opening and closing mouth, pulling the food off the spoon with their top lip. Swollowing, stuff like that. All his nutritonal value is still from the breastmilk. But you should be atleast experimenting with baby food at this point. (in my opionion)