I never determined to wean, my children all three weaned themselves.  I figured it was better for them to tell me when they were done rather than me deciding it for them.  That is one choice that they can make on their own and one less choice for me as a mother to have to struggle over. 

That being said, my first weaned herself at about 8 months, my second shortly before his first birthday and my third at about 13 months.

Obviously, as a mother, you HAVE to do what is right for you and your
children. If you are ready to wean, by all means you should. But I
don't believe it is fair to state that it's unhealthy or selfish to
continue nursing into toddlerhood.


The health benefits of nursing continue WAY past the first year. The WHO (World Health Organization), and La Leche League ALL recommend nursing well into toddler hood. In fact, the world wide average age for a child to wean is 4 years and 8 months. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends that "nursing continue through at least the first year of life and longer, and mutually desired by mother and child."

It is NOT a selfish thing to continue nursing a child past the first year, or well into toddlerhood. It is just not seen as the "norm" here in America.

"Our past has produced an organism
that relies on breastfeeding to provide the context for physical,
cognitive, and emotional development. The human primate data suggest
that human children are designed to receive all of the benefits of
breast milk and breastfeeding for an absolute minimum of two and a half
years, and an apparent upper limit of around 7 years. Natural selection
has favored those infants with a strong, genetically coded blueprint
that programs them to expect nursing to continue for a number of years
after birth and results in the urge to suckle remaining strong for this
entire period. Many societies today are able to meet a child's
nutritional needs with modified adult foods after the age of three or
four years. Western, industrialized societies can compensate for some
(but not all) of the immunological benefits of breastfeeding with
antibiotics, vaccines and improved sanitation. But
the physical, cognitive, and emotional needs of the young child
persist. Health care professionals, parents, and the general public
should be made aware that somewhere between three and seven years may
be a reasonable and appropriate age of weaning for humans, however
uncommon it may be in the United States to nurse an infant through
toddlerhood and beyond." (A Time To Wean)

Research has shown that second-year
milk is very similar to the first-year milk nutritionally (Victora,
1984). Even after two years or more it continues to be a valuable
source of protein, fat, calcium, and vitamins (Jelliffe and Jelliffe,
1978).

The
immunities in breast milk have been shown to increase in concentration
as the baby gets older and nurses less, so older babies still receive
lots of immune factors (Goldman et al, 1983). A study from Bangladesh
provides a dramatic demonstration of the effect these immunities can
have. In this deprived environment, it was found that weaning children
eighteen to thirty-six months old doubled their risk of death (Briend
et al, 1988). This effect was attributed mostly to breast milk's immune
factors, although nutrition was probably important as well. Of course
in developed countries weaning is not a matter or life and death, but
continued breastfeeding may mean fewer trips to the doctor's office."(Nursing Beyond One Year)

If you want more information, I wrote an article about the benefits and reasons for nursing beyond one year. It has a lot of links and information and research about extended breastfeeding.

@XxFireXboltxX@xanga - gag.  Please tell me that you don't know anyone who nurses their child to age 7.  There's a reason we have molars, and that is to chew our food!

While I don't doubt that all of the above facts are true (with some bias towards breastfeeding since it is written by pro breast feeding organizations), there are also studies out there that say that there aren't much nutritional facts beyond one year.  In fact, breast milk is lacking in Vitamin D, something that I can give my child as he transitions to cow's milk (barring any allergy, which I don't think he will have).

I'm not against nursing longer than one year.  I have friends who nursed for 2 years.  I just don't think it's right for me or my child.  Plus, I am going away for a weekend camp right as he turns one so it's a great time to transition.  It's not worth it to me to pump just to keep my supply up to one feeding a day (which is what we will be at when he turns one).

@mamagiraffe - He's down to two nursings a day already and doesn't seem too interested in those last few nursings, which is part of the reason we are giving it up.  It's easier for him to give it up as he loses interest rather than gaining a new attachment later.

@averyswife@xanga - agreed with health benefits.  I just can't imagine actually NURSING a 7 year old.  You know...

My friend actually saw one of her daughter's preschool classmates nursing after school.  A four year old nursing in public.  That makes me shudder.  It's different if she's drinking it out of a glass, but to be physically nursing at the age of 4 in the middle of the day...eesh!

@careegroup@xanga - I know several mothers who's children weaned shortly after their sixth birthday....and amazingly enough, were also using their molars to chew food! By that age, nursing is done for mostly comfort and mostly only a few times a week. It's not the right choice for everyone, but most moms who strongly believe in child-led weaning are going to let their child nurse till they want to stop. (Like I mentioned before --- worldwide AVERAGE age to wean is 4 years and 8 months, according to the WHO.)

Yes breastmilk is lacking in Vitamin D. But that's why we have the sun.