Strange to still be BFing an 8mo old?!!!!

[jessekc]

Yesterday my MIL was making comments about how I'm STILL breastfeeding my 8mo old dd. This has been a continuation for awhile now. I tell her all the benefits and that babies are suppose to be breastfeed (or on formula) until a least a year and I just get empty glares back, not another word until the next time we see her, then it's another comment. Two girls at work saw me with my pump this morning and asked if I was STILL doing "that" and I said yes and smiled. WHY is it socially acceptable to breastfeed a newborn but past that it's not?! Almost everyone I knew was happy and excited to hear that I was breastfeeding her when she was a newborn, including my MIL and the girls at work. Thought it was a great thing, now I get those kind of reactions?! What is the deal?!! Any suggestions on how I can get my MIL to drop it?!

[rmzbm]

MIL's...ain't they grand? And it probably IS strange to be nursing an 8 month old, by mainstream standards. *sigh*

[NotTheOnlyOne]

I must be strange too! I bet everyone around here is strange. I am getting the same comments, but not from my MIL, from my own mother!

[LavenderMae]

I would just be straight with her abd tell her you do not want to hear it anymore. I think it's sad so many people have hang ups w/ a mama feeding her baby.

[kaspar]

i'm quitting mdc because mdc is unkind and discriminates against mamas with special needs babies.

[SPOpa]

It's annoying and frustrating. Know that you have many like-minded mamas here who understand why you have no desire to stop!

[Momma2SoSweet]

Originally Posted by momtosimon

I must be strange too! I bet everyone around here is strange. I am getting the same comments, but not from my MIL, from my own mother!

Me too- from my mom, grandmother, my sisters, my brother-in-law, etc. I also get the "You'll stop as soon as she gets a tooth!" comments regardless of how many times I tell them otherwise.

[SageR]

She would think I am really weird then, still nursing my 18 month old! And I don't plan to wean him anytime soon either!
BTW, WHO actually recommends bf to 2 years now

[Patrice#1]

Originally Posted by Sheacoby

I would just be straight with her abd tell her you do not want to hear it anymore.

I like that! Short and sweet and too the point! There is no room for her to come back and say anything else to you.

But I guess I am totally strange too! My ds is 28 months and I still nurse him, LOL.

[Mama Poot]

Ask her what she thinks your breasts are better suited for, nourishing a life or advertising beer and cars

[WNB]

My MIL (and mother) may both think I'm a little extreme, but they have the good sense not to make snarky comments. From what they have said, though, it's been clear to me that they were curious and did not really know the facts about infant nutrition and development. I have an 8 month old as well, and my in-laws arrive today for a week visit -- so I'm right here with ya.

Your MIL may be coming from a similarly uneducated perspective, and it may be tough for her to admit she is uneducated about such an important aspect of being a mother. So maybe you can emphasize how much research has been done RECENTLY (i.e., after she was done raising her infants) that confirms the benefits of long-tern BFing, and the risks involved in early introduction of solids or other non_BM foods.

[Phoenix_Rising]

Originally Posted by Mama Poot

Ask her what she thinks your breasts are better suited for, nourishing a life or advertising beer and cars

heee hee
i EBF my DS until 1 year - plan on CLW. i haven't really had many people give me issue with this, but i am pretty upfront with it when they ask and i don't pull any punches when people try to make suggestions that DS doesn't need it anymore (he is 16 months).

[pfamilygal]

My coworkers ask the same thing ("You're STILL pumping?"). I told them to get used to it. (Actually, I said, "I'll probably pump for at least another 2yrs. So shut up and get used to it.")

[jessekc]

Originally Posted by Mama Poot

Ask her what she thinks your breasts are better suited for, nourishing a life or advertising beer and cars

HA! That's a good one. It would be hurtful if it was my own mom making the comments, so I can be thankful that my own mom is my biggest supporter. I will just be straigt with her the next time it comes up and I'm sure it will.

[molarmama]

I actually had my physician ask me "how old IS he?" when I told him I was still nursing. He was 11 months and with me. I switched doctors after that. That seemed completely absurd to me.

[granolalight]

Originally Posted by Mama Poot

Ask her what she thinks your breasts are better suited for, nourishing a life or advertising beer and cars

[granolalight]

Originally Posted by Sheacoby

I would just be straight with her abd tell her you do not want to hear it anymore. I think it's sad so many people have hang ups w/ a mama feeding her baby.

:

[captivatedlife]

I've gotten questions, but from generally good hearted people who just wanted to be educated.

What really hurt was my sister telling me I was going to be one of THOSE women who bf after the kids can talk. It's disgusting you know.





....



WHAT!!! So I hear you. People think that by BF you are saying that you are better than they are. They just don't get that while I wouldn't mind everyone bfing - I really don't care what they do with their children. I'm not putting your choices down - and I've done MY research - so leave me be!

[_betsy_]

That's what I just can't understand - the idea that MY BFing is somehow a eflection on THEIR choices. Uhm, nope! Sorry! I do my thing, you do/did yours. Own your own choices and decisions. I do!

Still EBF at 6 months. FIL, when baby was 23 hours old, told me she had had enough of *that* and we could switch to formula now. I stopped him quite firmly and rather diplomatically, considering the state I was in. Hello? I had just given birth, and you know how stubburn and outspoken I am! So, you know, I can't wait to hear the barrage of comments I'm in for in the future.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by Sheacoby

I would just be straight with her abd tell her you do not want to hear it anymore. I think it's sad so many people have hang ups w/ a mama feeding her baby.

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