Ideally, a mom should exclusively breastfeed for 6 months. On the 7th month she should be breastfeeding and combining it with solid food intake. This combination of breastfeed and solid food should last for about 12 to 24 months or for as long as the mother and baby mutually want.
With the age specified above, you might probably ask: how about breastfeeding a baby with teeth?
Remember that correct latch on plays a significant part to this. The baby cannot bite if the lips are flanged perfectly. Anyhow, there are possible reasons why babies bite:
- Biting at the end of the feeding session means the baby might be bored or full already.
- The baby is distracted e.g. rolling, pushing, wriggling (you may want to cease the nursing session first and have the baby relax).
- The baby wants attention (for example, the mother is speaking with someone across the room) and gets it by biting.
You may also want to try these tips:
- Offer baby something to chew on like a wet washcloth or cold teething toy.
- Offer a frozen bagel or any hard, cold food to baby eating solid food already and discard the item (say the bagel) once it becomes soggy so as to avoid choking.
- Massage the baby’s gum with your clean finger.
- Bear in mind to consult the doctor first before purchasing over-the-counter gum numbing gels.
- Try to adopt a nursing position that is works best for you and the baby.
- Read cues. Baby might bite because of distraction, boredom or for attention.
- If the baby bites and does not want to let go, place your finger in between the gums so you can pull away your breast.
- If the baby starts to bite, stop the session. This will teach the baby that biting and nursing do not go together.
Paige, I know I’m probably the last person who should chime in on this discussion. But in the event any of your readers feel that they’re child is falling outside the recommended times, I can say that your recommendations are pretty accurate. Our first child nursed until 6 months, almost to the day, and then just refused (leaving my wife somewhat disheartened – she would have liked more!). Our second child nursed well beyond your recommended time, although I think my wife was ready for it to be over at about the recommended time. Still, she waited until the little one was finally tired of it.
So these are terrific recommendations, but there’s a lot of flexibility around them, right?
Good job.
Thanks…
Great post. I agree that it is important to breast feed as long as they can but some mums can’t do this. Those mums often feel inadequate and guilty and we should be supportive of them. I was never able to breast feed and always felt I had let my babies down and had missed out on that special relationship with my baby. If I had been able to breast feed I probably would have stoppedas soon as they got teeth.
Thanks…
I have two girls and tried breastfeeding with both. My first one could not latch well because she had excess skin beneath her tongue that had to be clipped. Even after that though, she had a hard time though her sucking increased.
I was only able to breastfeed her for a month because I dried up for whatever reason. Tried to produce more with oatmeal, vitamins. and gatorade but nothing helped.
My second child was more successful except I had too much nipple sensitivity and pumped instead. I pumped for three months then supplemented because I was due back to work.
I hope I can go for at least a full year the next time I have a child so I can use these helpful tips.
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What do you do when your child just does not want to stop breastfeeding. My son was going on 3 years old and I was like this has got to stop lol. He is a big kid so he was getting pretty big. I was really concerned .
Thankfully my wife started to break his addiction but it was tough.
Oh, for that question, you can refer to this Weaning post. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment here. Cheers~
Breastfeeding is not my department but my wife breastfed all our children except for my daughter who was fed with a bottle. As a dad, I can imagine how stressful it can be for the mother when the baby grows teeth. My wife said breastfeeding made her look slim and that lowers the risk of asthma and other allergies. I think breastfed babies look healthier. Nice post.
Thanks, Richard, for dropping by and leaving us an awesome comment for my post. =D Stay tuned for more…
Do you have any tips on weaning a baby from breastfeeding? My girl isn’t quite 2 (24 months) but she’s not accepting weaning at all. I’ve tried a lot of things too and even if she’s full she still wants to nurse but not all the time its for long.
I don’t even think I’m producing much milk anymore but she still wants the little that’s there and it apparently still satisfies her because she’ll be really cranky before hand then really happy afterwards.
I’ve tried giving her something to chew on, letting her feed herself, and just not giving it to her but none stop her want for nursing.
It keeps her happy but at the same time i don’t want her to be like 5 and still nursing? Idk, I could just be overreacting. She’s my first baby so I’m a total newb.
tfs,
Marlinda
Hi there, Marlinda… Yes, sure… Check this out: Weaning Breastfeeding Toddler – 5 Tips for An Easy Transition
I hope this post can help solving your problem and getting you out from the headache.
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Keep in touch…
I breastfed my fist for 22 months, my second for 18 months and my third for 4 years. Every child was different and I was a different mom for each of them. My first would have nursed longer, but I got pregnant and wanted to stop. My second was ok with not nursing, so we just stopped doing it. My third was my last child and I ended up nursing him the longest. In hindsight, I wish I only nursed him for 3 years at the most, but I am happy that we got to have a long nursing relationship. I love the hormones that get released when you breastfeed. I really think they can help keep away postpartum depression.
My babies often fell asleep on the breast, and I nursed them as long as they wanted.
Wow, what an amazing experience you had, Andrea… Thanks a lot for sharing it with us here. I’m sure this will be beneficial to our audience here – experience of breastfeeding 3 children is not the one every mother out there can enjoy. By the way, you mentioned that your babies often fell asleep on the breast and you nursed them as long as they wanted, I can assume that you always pass your Success Test of your babies’ latching on, right?
Good post, we are expecting our first child in December and are hoping we can breastfeed for at least 6 months. We have been reading about all the benefits of breastfeeding for the babies nourishment and growth and hope we are able to go that long but we she works a full time job and I do not think her work is going to allow her to lactate on the clock, we are waiting to hear back. thanks for the informative post
Awwww… that’s a bit stressful to hear that. We’ll definitely pray for her workplace to be merciful to allow her to lactate whenever she needs. That’s important to her wellbeing and health. But in short, a paid job should improve her life, not the other way round!