Anyone Have an Article Explaining

The boys' birthday party is coming up and I need to be armed and ready when I'm hit with all the questioning, judging, and outright rude comments. My mom has already told me that all the pediatricians in the world say no bottles after 1 year....hmm, last time I checked my breasts were not BOTTLES! I'm assumed she meant the formula and she agreed saying that if they don't need formula after a year, then they don't need breastmilk either. I just sold her yeah they do and left it at that because I'm just so over defending myself to her. But I would really like a clearly stated response because so far all I've got is 'screw you' and 'mind your own damned business' and something tells me those won't go over too well with my 70-year-old grandmother . Thanks in advance.

And on a totally unrelated note: Lately I've realized that my babies don't want to 'hang out' with me after nursing. They used to go crazy if I took them off the pillow or my lap before they'd had at least 10 minutes of post-nurse cuddling and stroking. Now they can't get away from me fast enough! They just roll over and start crawling away! What's up with that? Makes me sniffle.

 

Frankly I liked the "Screw you approach"....and everytime someone in my family ask me...."you still nursing??" (my guys are 4 1/2 months old!) I say yep...and the next question is...when are you going to stop.....I reply sometime before they Graduate College!


Go to KellyMom.com That has everything you can need. Some people will still not be satisfied...but it does explain that your milk changes as the babies/toddlers age. Your body knows exactally how old they are. It is amazing what BM can do for these children!

If you need any support please feel free to PM me!

 

Oh I would also like to add that it does help with childhood/adult obesity as well. So if any of these "rude individuals" are you know....not real thin....that is a great angle !!!

 

QUOTE(MissyEby @ May 14 2008, 02:55 PM) [snapback]772709[/snapback]
Oh I would also like to add that it does help with childhood/adult obesity as well. So if any of these "rude individuals" are you know....not real thin....that is a great angle !!!


LOVE IT! Every one of the ones I have in mind are overweight!

 

Here's a great big ol' mama whale cut & paste from Kellymom ...

QUOTE
Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY

Although there has been little research done on children who breastfeed beyond the age of two, the available information indicates that breastfeeding continues to be a valuable source of nutrition and disease protection for as long as breastfeeding continues.
"Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."
-- Mandel 2005

"Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins."
-- Dewey 2001

In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:

29% of energy requirements
43% of protein requirements
36% of calcium requirements
75% of vitamin A requirements
76% of folate requirements
94% of vitamin B12 requirements
60% of vitamin C requirements
-- Dewey 2001

Studies done in rural Bangladesh have shown that breastmilk continues to be an important source of vitamin A in the second and third year of life.
-- Persson 1998

It's not uncommon for weaning to be recommended for toddlers who are eating few solids. However, this recommendation is not supported by research. According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):
Some doctors may feel that nursing will interfere with a child's appetite for other foods. Yet there has been no documentation that nursing children are more likely than weaned children to refuse supplementary foods. In fact, most researchers in Third World countries, where a malnourished toddler's appetite may be of critical importance, recommend continued nursing for even the severely malnourished (Briend et al, 1988; Rhode, 1988; Shattock and Stephens, 1975; Whitehead, 1985). Most suggest helping the malnourished older nursing child not by weaning but by supplementing the mother's diet to improve the nutritional quality of her milk (Ahn and MacLean. 1980; Jelliffe and Jelliffe, 1978) and by offering the child more varied and more palatable foods to improve his or her appetite (Rohde, 1988; Tangermann, 1988; Underwood, 1985).

References

Nursing toddlers are SICK LESS OFTEN

The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness (AAFP 2001).
Nursing toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months have been found to have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers (Gulick 1986).

"Antibodies are abundant in human milk throughout lactation" (Nutrition During Lactation 1991; p. 134). In fact, some of the immune factors in breastmilk increase in concentration during the second year and also during the weaning process. (Goldman 1983, Goldman & Goldblum 1983, Institute of Medicine 1991).

Per the World Health Organization, "a modest increase in breastfeeding rates could prevent up to 10% of all deaths of children under five: Breastfeeding plays an essential and sometimes underestimated role in the treatment and prevention of childhood illness." [emphasis added]
References

Nursing toddlers have FEWER ALLERGIES

Many studies have shown that one of the best ways to prevent allergies and asthma is to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months and continue breastfeeding long-term after that point.

Breastfeeding can be helpful for preventing allergy by:
reducing exposure to potential allergens (the later baby is exposed, the less likely that there will be an allergic reaction),
speeding maturation of the protective intestinal barrier in baby's gut,
coating the gut and providing a barrier to potentially allergenic molecules,
providing anti-inflammatory properties that reduce the risk of infections (which can act as allergy triggers).
References

Nursing toddlers are SMART

Extensive research on the relationship between cognitive achievement (IQ scores, grades in school) and breastfeeding has shown the greatest gains for those children breastfed the longest.
References

Nursing toddlers are WELL ADJUSTED SOCIALLY

According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):

"Research reports on the psychological aspects of nursing are scarce. One study that dealt specifically with babies nursed longer than a year showed a significant link between the duration of nursing and mothers' and teachers' ratings of social adjustment in six- to eight-year-old children (Ferguson et al, 1987). In the words of the researchers, 'There are statistically significant tendencies for conduct disorder scores to decline with increasing duration of breastfeeding.'"

According to Elizabeth N. Baldwin, Esq. in "Extended Breastfeeding and the Law":
"Breastfeeding is a warm and loving way to meet the needs of toddlers and young children. It not only perks them up and energizes them; it also soothes the frustrations, bumps and bruises, and daily stresses of early childhood. In addition, nursing past infancy helps little ones make a gradual transition to childhood."

Baldwin continues: "Meeting a child's dependency needs is the key to helping that child achieve independence. And children outgrow these needs according to their own unique timetable." Children who achieve independence at their own pace are more secure in that independence then children forced into independence prematurely.
References

Nursing a toddler is NORMAL

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)

The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that breastfeeding continue throughout the first year of life and that "Breastfeeding beyond the first year offers considerable benefits to both mother and child, and should continue as long as mutually desired." They also note that "If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned." (AAFP 2001)

A US Surgeon General has stated that it is a lucky baby who continues to nurse until age two. (Novello 1990)

The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1992, WHO 2002).

Scientific research by Katherine A. Dettwyler, PhD shows that 2.5 to 7.0 years of nursing is what our children have been designed to expect (Dettwyler 1995).
References [see also position statements supporting breastfeeding]

MOTHERS also benefit from nursing past infancy

Extended nursing delays the return of fertility in some women by suppressing ovulation (References).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer (References). Studies have found a significant inverse association between duration of lactation and breast cancer risk.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of ovarian cancer (References).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of uterine cancer (References).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of endometrial cancer (References).
Breastfeeding protects against osteoporosis. During lactation a mother may experience decreases of bone mineral. A nursing mom's bone mineral density may be reduced in the whole body by 1 to 2 percent while she is still nursing. This is gained back, and bone mineral density may actually increase, when the baby is weaned from the breast. This is not dependent on additional calcium supplementation in the mother's diet. (References).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. (References).
Breastfeeding has been shown to decrease insulin requirements in diabetic women (References).
Breastfeeding moms tend to lose weight easier (References).


I don't know if that will convince your annoying relatives - but if it doesn't, you can certainly rest easy that you're doing the right thing!

And about the other thing, I'd definitely have the sniffles about that! But it will probably get better. A few months back, my babies were so busy busy busy, nursing was a wham bam thank you ma'am affair only. Now they have a lot more patience, and really take their time nursing. As they've gotten just that little bit older, you can tell it means so much more to them, and they've settled down enough to enjoy it.

 

Another possible angle - they make formula for toddlers (We just got the similac ad and coupons today! Gag.) I'm pretty sure they wouldn't make formula for toddlers if they got all the nutrition they needed from plain old cow's milk. So if you can give them what they need for FREE, why not?

 

Not sure how much detail you want to give them, but they just found stem cells in human breast milk . It's very exciting - although it doesn't specifically address the nursing toddler question. There's a quote from a former US Surgeon General stating that it's a lucky child who is breastfed until 2 years of age - I'm sure kellymom must have it somewhere.

Here's a quote from the article:
QUOTE
But what Dr Mark Cregan is excited about right now is the promise that his discovery could be the start of many more exciting revelations about the potency of breast milk.

He believes that it not only meets all the nutritional needs of a growing infant but contains key markers that guide his or her development into adulthood.

“We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions,” says Dr Cregan, a molecular biologist at The University of Western Australia.

He says that, in essence, a new mother’s mammary glands take over from the placenta to provide the development guidance to ensure a baby’s genetic destiny is fulfilled.

“It is setting the baby up for the perfect development,” he says. “We already know that babies who are breast fed have an IQ advantage and that there’s a raft of other health benefits. Researchers also believe that the protective effects of being breast fed continue well into adult life.

“The point is that many mothers see milks as identical – formula milk and breast milk look the same so they must be the same. But we know now that they are quite different and a lot of the effects of breast milk versus formula don’t become apparent for decades. Formula companies have focussed on matching breast milk’s nutritional qualities but formula can never provide the developmental guidance.”

 

Oh thats great!!! My girls are almost 7mo and if I even mention that I might continue to bf after they are a year I get all sorts of annoying comments and all I have been able to come up with is the 'screw you' and 'nursing them into their teens' comments!!

Why is it that we are doing the best thing in the world for our babies and it seems everyone wants to take it away!?!?! MAKES ME :crazy: !

They are your babies and your boobies! You do what you want with them!!!!!

 

You got great articles and info on the benefits of nursing past 12 months. One thing I always said is that my breastmilk didn't suddenly become bad for them, it is still exactly the nutrition they need. Can it be met with cows milk, well sort of...but breastmilk is still better (calorie, fat and antibody wise). I normally left out all the touch feely parts (attachment, cuddling, etc) because I knew anyone who hasn't done it would not get it.

As far as them not wanted to sit around on the pillow after, ummmm....yup, it was that way until they were about 16/17 months then they wanted to cuddle again!