Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Breastfeeding › Child-Led Weaning › Ok...So how old is the oldest nursling you know? Or have heard of??
New Posts  All Forums:
 

Ok...So how old is the oldest nursling you know? Or have heard of?? - Page 5

post #81 of 108
6/6/06 at 8:35am
I am still waking up, but I just wanted to say to Michelle...I never felt your posts were competitive. I felt that from other posters at times who were uncomfortable because their experience had been different. I was confident in my nursing relationship, but it is such a personal thing, that I worried how I would handle someone challenging me. Michelle, your posts and others have helped me immensely to do what is in my heart and not listen to our cultural taboos against extended nursing. The idea that breasts are for sexual pleasure (and men's at that!) and that children should grow up/ be independent so quickly, is very damaging to breastfeeding advocacy. People simply don't understand nursing into childhood.

Michelle, this forum and your support have been my haven.

Lily, of course pumping counts

You may also like:

There Is Not Always a "Fix" For the Difficult Child
Is it Ever OK to Invade Your Child’s Privacy?
10 Things You Don't Need For a New Baby
post #82 of 108
6/6/06 at 10:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dub-ya
Gee, 10 years old? I would think anything over 3 would be for the mothers benefit more than the childs. My son is 6 and he is a little man!!! I couldnt imagine!
Is this a liberal posting as a conservative to make us look bad???

post #83 of 108
6/6/06 at 3:42pm
Some mom's irl nursed their kids til they were 5 and my next door neighbor saw a kid at the pool still nursing and he was like 5 also.
post #84 of 108
6/6/06 at 6:19pm
Joan You and all the mamas of this forum (and the one before it) have been MY haven. Thanks for reassuring me, I was really starting to worry that I was misunderstood.
I understand what you mean now. You're right, I do remember some mamas being distraught (and some defensive) because their child weaned before 4 (or whatever arbitrary age) and may have seen this forum as a competition or threat of sorts. We can all reassure until we're blue in the face but some people will see it the way they want to see it, I guess, which makes me sad because the point is lost. Anyway, now I get it .
post #85 of 108
6/7/06 at 1:02pm
mother_sunshine & mom4tot, you are two of my heros
post #86 of 108
6/9/06 at 1:38am
Here's a couple of extended nursing stories from family and friends:
My husband has told me about a hockey friend of his when he was twelve that was still nursing. Another of the players said that he went to play at the boy's house and he started nursing and the mom asked the friend if he wanted to nurse too.
One of my younger sisters went to her friend's house and the little girl nursed after her younger brother did. My sister was looking at her friend nursing, and the friend unlatched and said "what are you jealous?" They were about 7 or 8 years old at the time.
The oldest nurslings in my immediate family that I've actually seen were my 2 youngest sisters, at ages 3 and 3.75.
post #87 of 108
6/9/06 at 11:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanPlanter
mother_sunshine & mom4tot, you are two of my heros

Adrienne, I admire your perseverance to nurse your son so long through all you have been through.
post #88 of 108
6/9/06 at 8:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennbee
Here's a couple of extended nursing stories from family and friends:
My husband has told me about a hockey friend of his when he was twelve that was still nursing. Another of the players said that he went to play at the boy's house and he started nursing and the mom asked the friend if he wanted to nurse too.
One of my younger sisters went to her friend's house and the little girl nursed after her younger brother did. My sister was looking at her friend nursing, and the friend unlatched and said "what are you jealous?" They were about 7 or 8 years old at the time.
The oldest nurslings in my immediate family that I've actually seen were my 2 youngest sisters, at ages 3 and 3.75.
Mom4tot

I am amazed and impressed that these two families are so unabashed and forthcoming in their nursing relationship! I'm trying to imagine my ds being like this in the next few years, and I don't know if he will be. He is so sensitive and in tune to what his peers are doing, and if he doesn't see them doing something, he won't want to do it, either (or likewise, he always wants to do what they want to do) and he does not like to show off, so I can't see him just nursing in plain view in front of his friends even tho he wants to, let alone ask them to join in, bc he knows they don't nurse and he'd feel self conscious. I think this bc even now he is self conscious about many things.
post #89 of 108
6/10/06 at 3:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by numom499
Is this a liberal posting as a conservative to make us look bad???
: I think the user name is very appropriate.
post #90 of 108
6/10/06 at 6:38pm
The longest I've nursed a child (so far) has been my oldest son, who nursed at 7. And at that time I was also nursing a 5 year old, 3 year old, and newborn. I guess when I think about it, other than a 3 year break I've been nursing for 18 years!!!

I love it. It's so much a part of my mothering I cannot fathom life without it.
post #91 of 108
6/12/06 at 4:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mom4tot
Adrienne, I admire your perseverance to nurse your son so long through all you have been through.
post #92 of 108
6/12/06 at 10:40am
My great aunt was 6.
post #93 of 108
6/12/06 at 11:15am
My child will be 6 in September and still nursing and absolutely not interested in weaning any time soon.She may indeed be a record holder as she teases me that she will still nurse when she goes to college.She may well go to college early because she is extremely academicly advanced ( she taught herself to read at 2 despite my waldorfish leanings and was reading Harry Potter by 4) so it is actually possible.

She still nurses almost every day ( and would probably nurse more if I let her to have absolutly no limits) tho not much and mostly at bedtime ( or sometimes also in the morning if I remain in bed).

I find older child nursing is the easiest phase ( and she has been in this one for a while) and a sweet way to connect.My child has never been on the weight chart so it also gives me some comfort on the very rare occasions that she gets sick ( then I allow her to nurse as much as she wants).

She has always been so independent and never much of a baby ( she was walking and talking at 6m and running faster than me by 9m) so I think its been good for both of us to have this connection.Some kids are just not that interested,but she has ALWAYS been very attached to her mamas milk.

We also had some extreme problems in the beginning where most lactation experts ,OT and LLL leaders thought we would not be able to nurse ( mosly due to problems caused by birth trauma & her unusual "wiring") so after living thru the heartbreak of worrying about how it would affect her to have such trouble doing easy things like nursing,eating,sleeping,car seats etc ...its nice to have years of ease with it.She couldn't not nurse ( as bottles and ohter ways were even harder for her) so there was not a lot of choice.

I had no clue that when I said I would allow her to decide when she wanted to wean that we would have such a journey! I am glad that I made this choice and that we can enjoy it these past few years.

It has been funny watching all the other extended nursers stop..while we still keep at it.So its always nice to hear about others ( and also to live in a community where it is more common).I remember the first time I saw a 6yo nursing in public at a homeschool place , i was a bit aghast,but now it seems to natural ( tho we don't do it in public anymore).
post #94 of 108
6/12/06 at 11:36am
[HTML]I would think anything over 3 would be for the mothers benefit more than the childs. My son is 6 and he is a little man!!! I couldnt imagine[/HTML]

Every child is different.I couldn't imagine it either,but trust me , I would have stopped LONG ago if my dd would have not been traumatized by it.Not saying that other kids are traumatized as some really do lose interest in nursing much younger.Every child has thier own inner timing for weaning,walking,talking etc and parents just need to listen to that and not judge others as each soul is unique as is every famly.

You can not imagine what you do not know.I have a child who has fit that well and has her own unique track in many ways.I was also shocked when I first saw an older nursing child.Heck , I was shocked the first time I saw a women whip out her breast in public to nurse a baby.I am very large breasted ,so learning to breastfeed in public or even del with slings was certainly a big learning curve and adjustment for me.The only thing that was easy for us was family bed and we still all love that.

People and experienced Peds were shocked that my dd walked at 6m or read well at 2 ( self taught) ,so we have been used to doing things differently from the start.Just because you do not know it or because its not right for your child,don't make wrong assumptions for someone elses child.

My child is extremely independent and always has been ( she would crawl far from me at 4m and ran football fields away from me at 9m faster than me).Nursing and indepence are not exclusive terms ,infact attached kids tend to be more mature ,confident and independent.

If you do not have a nursing baby,toddler or older child ,it may seem odd because its outside of your experience.To me babies with bottles or older children sucking thier thumbs or using pacifiers or bottles seems very odd as we never used them and never had a "blankie" or "lovie" that dd was attached to.

My child has just always really loved breasts and breast milk from the moment she was born.Slowly she weans herself from it and I really trust that this is the perfect path for her and am grateful I followed her lead on this and everything that she has done ( even tho most of it has been unconventional).

We have learned not to share our nursing ( and many things) with the public because of people wth prejudices and lack of understanding.I have told my child that she can nurse as long as she wants to and I will keep my word and SHE will make that choice.
post #95 of 108
6/13/06 at 12:02am
I read some where that Geronamo nursed til 8 ,but I am not sure that its true,but thought it a nice image for boys maybe.
post #96 of 108
6/15/06 at 2:55am
IRL my twins who nursed until they were 5.5.

Online, Mom4, YOU ARE MY SHERO!!
post #97 of 108
6/15/06 at 3:01am
I already posted to this thread (the oldest nursling I have met IRL was 4.5 yo), but I thought of a family story that my great-aunt told me at our last family reunion and wanted to share.

My great-grandfather (who I never met; he died before I was born) was a twin, and apparently he and his brother nursed up to school-age...the story my great-aunt told was that he and his brother used to come home from school and fight over which side to nurse from! I have no idea what their actual ages are but that story cracked me up!
post #98 of 108
6/15/06 at 4:39am
IRL I nursed 3-5 times after I turned 6 (though my mom says she stoped having milk when I was 4-4.5). I also had a pen-pal (well she and I would dictate notes to our moms who were pen-pals) who was 7.5 and still nursing. I don't know when she weaned. Online 10 is the oldest I've heard of.

~Kelsie
post #99 of 108
6/18/06 at 4:19am
My dd was a completely child-led weaning and she was done when she was seven and I forget how many months.

My son stopped at five. I made him wait and put him off and probably hastened the process a bit. It was not intentional, but life happened.

I didn't have the internet until 2001 and it was several years later before I started posting on parenting forums. I would say my kids nursed "past toddlerhood and I'm not going to say how far past."

Other than my own, the oldest IRL nursling I know is five. I've reassured the mother that he will wean on his own time without her forcing the issue. She knows how old my kids were and now you do too.
post #100 of 108
6/18/06 at 10:52am
My great-grandmother had what they used to call a change-of-life-baby. She thought she was going through menopause when her periods stopped. She didn't go to the doctor for a while - nothing a doctor could do for menopause in the 1910's -1920's. When she finally did, he told her she was pregnant, not menopausal!

There are stories that she nursed that baby, a boy, until after school age, at least 7 or 8. There was one absolutely hillarious story about calling him in from play or the field, and getting ready to offer him the breast, and realizing that the hired hand (just hired that morning) had heard her ask "Do you want some ti-ti's", thought she was talking to HIM, and could SEE her getting her breast out (no nursing shirts in those days). I don't recall the details, except that we were rolling on the floor while the eldest members of the family (the baby's oldest sisters, then grandmothers themselves) recounted the events during a family reunion decades ago.

I hadn't thought until just now, that she nursed her last baby until well after the average weaning age, even for that time period. Yeah, Grandmother Morrow!
New Posts  All Forums:
 
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Child-Led Weaning

You may also like:

There Is Not Always a "Fix" For the Difficult Child
Is it Ever OK to Invade Your Child’s Privacy?
10 Things You Don't Need For a New Baby
Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Breastfeeding › Child-Led Weaning › Ok...So how old is the oldest nursling you know? Or have heard of??