Question about breastfeeding

Not sure where to put this, hopefully this is the right place.

I'm trying to figure out what nature intended for humans in regards to breast feeding. When is the proper time they should be weened, when are their digestive systems fully matured and when their immune systems are fully matured. The information I've managed to glean through google is rather lacking in scientific reports and seems all over the board as to proper time frames on every aspect.

Does anyone know of any factual medically proven information they can point me to?

reply to post by sirnex


Hello Sirnex !

Perhaps this site can be of some assistance to you . Science Daily Its a treasure trove of up to date research in several fields .
Definitely one to bookmark !
At a glance , an article of interest....
Mothers Milk : What determines Breastfeeding Rates in the U.K ?
There may be the names of some other studies which you can follow up .

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Now for a little humour ....... perhaps .


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Well that answers one age old question ...

Question:
When should you stop breastfeeding a child ?

Answer:
When they are old enough to ask .

Bittttttty

[edit on 27-4-2010 by UmbraSumus]

^^ LMAO!!!! wow thanks i needed that today

Its different for everyone, i would let the children breast feed till they decide when to stop personally. Some cultures breast feed till the age of 10 and most western cultures breast feed for 1-2 years if at all.

reply to post by UmbraSumus


thanks for the link! IDK if I could handle seeing my wife still eating her bitty, well unless her mom was a bit cuter looking. lol

Originally posted by Sourdough4life
Its different for everyone, i would let the children breast feed till they decide when to stop personally. Some cultures breast feed till the age of 10 and most western cultures breast feed for 1-2 years if at all.

From everything I've managed to read now, I think we're going to breastfeed till two and wait to introduce food around nine months to twelve months and let the kid wean himself naturally. Seems to be the best solution from everything out there. So if he has bitty once in awhile at 8, then so be it.

Anything you want ot know about breastfeeding can be found here
La Leche league

Personally I think it will difficult to avoid solid foods until 9 months. by four months their bodies are ready for light weight food such as rice cereal,and you'll know when they are ready because they will open their mouths when they see you eat. By 6 months they have quite the appetite, and will have have the natural desire to mouth and chew foods. Plus their dietary needs change and they need solid foods to help supplement breast milk, Otherwise you'll be nursing all day long and your baby still won't be satisfied.
Best thing to do is follow your babies physical cues. Don't attempt to feed your baby solids before he/she shows that they are ready (Like my grandmother who insisted I should be feeding my children mashed bananas at 2 weeks.) But don't wait to long either after your child has shown its readiness.
Your child really does know whats best for them.
I commend you on trying to breast feed for two years. I think all babies should be breastfed for at least the first year.

reply to post by calstorm


My son actually can't tolerate rice cereal. This prompted me to learn a little more about the natural human diet, and grains are not part of that diet, which entered the diet with the advent of agriculture 10,000 years ago. Grains actually cause cancer, so me and my wife have stopped feeding him rice cereal considering the health issues related to it as well as him being unable to properly digest the grain which causes him a great deal of pain and gas.

From everything I've managed to learn, the human digestive system is not fully mature until nine months of age, which is when it can properly digest all nutrients passing through the intestines. That being so, it's only fitting that solids should be introduced only to a mature digestive system that is capable of actually digesting solids. This closely follows what occurs in nature with every single animal species, which we are a species of animal as well.

We nursed our last son up till two years of age and noticed a remarkably less instances of illnesses compared to our daughter who was initially breastfed until 6 months and then formula fed. She ended up with more sickness than he did. So there are benefits even immunologically the extended breastfeeding, which further suggests a longer breastfeeding time than what is normally suggested by the medical and pediatric community.

It may also depend on how long a mother can produce milk. My milk dried up by five months and my baby was hungry all the time. I ate like a pig but just could not produce anymore. It happened the same way for the second baby. Otherwise, I would have nursed them until they got their teeth. If your child is not gaining weight you may have to add something to the diet.

Good luck!