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Breastfeeding an infant is one thing, but a toddler is quite another. Having been on both sides of this issue I can safely comment that no set age needs to be set for weaning a child.

Each and every child is different. I have breastfed 5 children. My sons both weaned themselves at around 6 and 7 months of age. They were far more interested in eating what ever happened to be on my plate at the supper table.

My daughters were a different story. I had one daughter that I nursed until she was about a year old. She also weaned herself but did it much differently than the boys had done. She was much more gradual and would just drop off a few feedings until she was weaned.

Then I had a daughter that was seriously ill. The doctors told me to breastfeed her exclusively and not to stop until they agreed with me it was time to stop. This daughter was breastfed exclusively until she was around a year old. We introduced solid foods into her diet at that time but the doctors brought in a lactation consultant and we discussed the benefits of continuing to breastfeed my daughter.

The health benefits were tremendous for my daughter. She would continue to get antibodies into her little body. Since we were unable to immunize due to her other health issues this was a crucial step according to the doctors and the lactation consultant. My milk had everything she needed in it to help prevent virus's and other diseases that she was unable to be immunized against. I would ultimately breastfeed this child until her death at age 22 months.

15 years later I would give birth to another little girl that sadly had the same disease. Again the doctors encouraged me to breastfeed as long as possible. It certainly made our lives simpler breastfeeding. My daughter and I did not have to keep formula handy when we had emergency trips to the hospital (as long as I was the one going with her we were set). The hospital even supplied me with a commercial breast pump to keep the milk going through my daughters surgeries.

When my daughter turned 2, I started asking the doctors and lactation consultant about weaning. "Not yet" I was told. I patiently waited. The lactation consultant reminded me of the necessary antibodies I was supplying my daughter with as well as the extra nutrients I was giving her. My daughter subsequently weaned herself by day but at night, and during any treatments at the hospital or clinic, she wanted to be nursed.

The lactation consultant explained that this was encouraging and that our daughter was developing her own ideas and that was a major step. "Let her wean herself" I was told.

As the weeks slowly passed, my daughter continued to drop feedings until we were finally down to one at night before bed. One night, when she was 4 years old, I got her jammies on and she simply crawled into bed and gave me a kiss and told me goodnight.

I held back a tear as I knew that she had completely forgotten her nightly ritual. I knew that we had turned a corner and she was a big girl now. A few days later she mentioned it offhandedly. She told me, "my dolly doesn't need mommo (her word for breastfeeding) anymore, she is a big girl now". I was so proud of my daughter and so glad I had listened to the doctors and the lactation consultant.

Thanks to the doctors and the lactation consultant this daughter had a great recovery. We will of course always be cautious and wary with her health but I am so glad I was able to make the sacrifice for the time and attitudes of some people that thought I was really being weird by breastfeeding my older child.

After all, in some foreign countries, it is normal to breastfeed until they are five or even 6 years of age.

Learn more about this author, Linda L Kinyon.
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