how long is ok to exclusively BF?

[meowee]

My 17 month old still exclusively breastfeeds most days. When I offer her food, bottles, or sippy cups she shakes her head and tosses it all on the floor. Every once in a while she will eat some solid food but it is not frequent.

It seems to me that a child could go an awful long time on breastmilk alone as long as they are able to maintain a healthy weight. So far I am comfortable nursing her constantly (she nurses as mush as a newborn... almost every hour when awake).

She is a really happy baby so I don't think it's because she's stressed and needs comfort. She seems to simply prefer breastmilk and has the awareness that she can get it from me. She even asks to nurse by pulling on my clothes and saying "nah" and "mih."

[Megan73]

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...s.html#howmuch

[AbbieB]

I think everything sounds fine Momma.

Keep offering solids and some day not too far in the future you will realize that your child is eating more than nursing.

[kkhan]

sounds like our guy. just today he ate more food in the AM than ever before - I was shocked. but he still nurses what i feel like is a ton for a 17 mo old. he's also getting molars which i didn't notice for a while. i just keep offerring him meals and snacks and cups and he knows when to ask for food and when to ask for nurses so i think he's fine. also has a good weight, is healthy, etc. i'm noticing more that he's starting to realize that milk isn't filling him up so he's choosing food after or before nursing. good to hear he's not the only one!

[JessicaS]

My dd was like that. She was about 18 months before she really started eating much. That was also when I got back my period.

Now she is very healthy and eats anything and everything.

Ds though, was grabbing food out of my hands at just under six months.

[lolablitz]

My DD wouldn't take bottles/sippy cups/etc. but I got a Camelbak water bottle for me and my DH and she showed interest and now drinks fluids out of my big adult water bottle. She's always been a small-decent eater, but I wonder if it will help your DD if she learns to drink other liquids (u could even try pumped milk) out of a new "container" I'm just concerned that your DD's nursing frequency has to do with staving off dehydration. I know some moms might argue that bmilk is all that a toddler needs, but I disagree.

[StoriesInTheSoil]

I don't know how long it can go on maximum but I know that there are days that my 15 month old eats nothing but breastmilk. His very very best solid food days (which are oh-so-rare) involve a bit of watery smoothie, half a banana, some crackers, and tastes of dinner. The other night he had a HUGE (for him) dinner of 3 sweet potato fries, 6 tiny bites of salmon, and he sucked on a pickle. This is not a small child either- he's 30 lbs and wears 2T clothes so I think that he'll just eat when he's ready. For now I'm comfortable with his 98% breastmilk diet.

[Bolli]

Follow your gut mama

I did as much reading about this in every book, website, blog, etc. that I could for a while and I kept running into contradictions (which were probably just somewhat educated opinions, now that I look back on it). So I developed my own educated opinion! My dd is 15 mos and still mostly survives on breastmilk. She does eat solid foods--well, she PLAYS with solid foods and puts them in her mouth and spits them back out again mostly--but the crux of her diet is definitely bm. She drinks a lot of water over the course of the day, so I know she isn't dehydrated--mama's just got the goods! She's in the 99% for weight and you can't argue with fat and happy. I say trust your gut. If the kid is growing and thriving and the two of you are happy with the arrangement, let her tell you what she needs. I watch out for signs of vitamin deficiencies and especially iron (cracking fingernails and listlessness is a big one), but I firmly believe, most of all, that every kid is different. Period.