One of the issues we tackled on mommalogues this week was extended breastfeeding and how we feel about it. It really got me thinking about our choices as human beings. What if it was just normal to sell breast milk at the supermarket? I mean it was created for us to drink right? I’ve heard women talk about how animal milk for human consumption was never what it was intended for. So why NOT continue drinking breast milk forever. It’s the healthiest, most natural option we have!
And what if breast milk was flavored differently depending on your ethnicity. Right now the milk aisle has a large variety of flavors and percentages of fat, but I’d like to send Pat to the supermarket for a quart of Chinese milk to go with the general tsaos chicken I’ve got cooking. Perhaps Italian flavored breast milk for my pot of homemade spaghetti and french bread. We could get as particular about our palate for breast milk as we are for wine. Take our time with each sip, swirl it, swish it, judge it.
What?
It’s healthy!!
(video here)
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m a somewhat-extended breastfeeder, in that my kiddo is still breastfeeding at 15 months. I intend to keep going until one or the other of us isn’t happy with it anymore, and I expect that toward the end it’ll be pretty much just for comfort and bonding, not for nutrition. And yes, I would totally sell my breastmilk if people would pay me enough. It’s American flavor, goes well in coffee or with a turkey and cheese sandwich.
Perfect with a turkey and cheese sandwich!
I wonder when exactly breastfeeding is considered “extended breastfeeding”. Is it one? Three? Ten? The longest I went with mine was around the 8 month mark I think, but now I wish I had stuck it out for the whole year.
I’ve been wondering this too. I’m still breastfeeding #2 at 16 months. I can’t see myself breastfeeding at 2 or beyond so it’s probably time to start trying to wean. I think selling it is a great idea!
The baby books say that anything past one year is extended. I dunno, it seems fuzzy to me. I don’t feel like I’m doing anything particularly counterculture by still nursing. Maybe I should just go with it, stick some flowers in my hair and pitch a tent in my backyard. I think people should just nurse (if they can, I don’t have any problem with formula feeding) for as long as feels right for them and for their child. You nursed to 8 months, and that’s wonderful — it’s a real accomplishment. Don’t have any regrets, you’re doing what’s right for your family, and wherever you fall on the breastfeeding spectrum, you’re a loving mom. That’s what’s important. It’s also important that you order my breastmilk for your family — turkey-flavored goodness at only $10 per ounce (plus $3.95 S/H)!
Ahh breast feeding. What’s just long enough what is too long?? Historically a child was kept nursing until the age of at least 3. If the mother was unable to provide they employed wet nurses. Women who, much like dairy cows, would produce as long as needed, many women made good income for their households by doing this alone. The reasoning behind such a long time breastfeeding solely*meaning they were given NOTHING but breast milk until AT LEAST 2.* Because of the ability of the child’s natural digestive system to age at the pace it was designed to do. At the age of 2 the body becomes more prepared for other foods. The diet then was rich in fruits, vegetables and grains as well. The children then were less likely to be ill, have any food allergies or diseases. Simply because through the breast milk they were exposed from birth to every natural food through it. NO chemicals, pesticides, nothing. So if you go to 2 you are technically doing better for baby and yourself when it comes to eating issues and health issues.
Bottling it for sale to the general public, though weird sounding could be something to do. I know there are currently wet nurses popping up once more for women who want to breast feed but for whatever reason could not. Did you also know that your baby knows your breast milk from other types?? Each person’s milk has it’s own flavor and scent and texture.
what? you haven’t heard about the chef who served breast milk ice cream (or was it cheese) at a private dinner?
No! LOL…not sure how I’d feel about that!
This is fascinating. My youngest is 8.5 years old now & to be honest, i never consulted a nurse or friend or sibling for advice on when to stop breastfeeding, i found it so easy & natural & it put all of my 4 babies to sleep, they never had wind or woke up, i figured it was free & magic.
Basically i fed my first (& expressed as i worked full time) until she was 18 months & i wanted to get pregnant again, which i did the following month, with twins. Fed them to 18 months, stopped to get pregnant, again the following month. Fed my last baby for 2 years, by that stage, he was starting to unbutton my blouse so i thought that was getting a bit demanding & we stopped. No more babies. Extended?? I just did what suited us as a family. After all that time pregnant & breastfeeding, my husband was keen to have my boobs back!!
As for purchasing breast milk, i’m sure there are huge believers & non believers. If you’ve ever bottle fed a friend’s baby, breast milk really has a strong smell & i used to babysit my best friend (Jamaician) baby, her milk smelt very different to mine (anglo Australian) love Posie
Once I was at a playgroup where the lady served the kids some homemade ice cream. All were digging in and enjoying it until she announced she made it with her breast milk. Um… somethings are better kept to yourself. LOL
Oh deaaar…pretty sure that might be something parents could have a problem with…
Doesn’t it have something to do with the blood/brain barrier? A child develops that between 2 and 3 and once in place, it prevents toxins from going up to the brain. Or something. So according to nature you’re supposed to breastfeed until the kid has that?
As for buying it in the grocery store, how would production even work? Women go into a factory and line up and stand in front of pumps mounted on a metal beam?
The blood/brain barrier sounds like something smart that I’ve never heard of before. We’ll go with that!
As far as production goes, I like to picture the women lined up on comfortable couches, pumping milk while reading the latest USweekly. Just like at home.
I breast fed my son for two weeks. I was just not producing enough for him. The thought of using a “wet nurse” never crossed my mind because (1) frankly I had never heard of one and (2) the idea of my son drinking from another woman’s breast grosses me out. In addition, my busy lifestyle didn’t afford me the luxury of enjoying the so called bonding that most mothers seem to have while breastfeeding. I switched him to formula and he sleep the whole night (12 hours) from then on. I never felt bad for not being able to breast feed. I was raised on formula so I figured if it was good enough for me than it is good enough for him.
I agree that breastfeeding should be a private moment. I think past one year is extended and by that age, children should be on solid foods and only using breastmilk for nutritional purposes at a minimum and consumed by bottle or cup (rocking to sleep, etc). I am okay with covered breast feeding in public for babies, NOT TODDLERS.
I would not use breastmilk even if it were FREE.
A mom’s breast milk is always ideal in fat, protein, and carbs for her baby right where s/he is at the time, and will change as s/he grows. So the supermarket question is ridiculous to me.
Have you read about that ice cream shop in the U.K. that sells breast milk ice cream?
All my children are adopted. They were all too old to introduce the breast when they came home. I know a handful of kids whose mom nursed until they were big. They are all good natured, good students, and give their hearts to all they do. I think it has more to do with the parenting overall than extended nursing.
Or better yet, milk is a free-flowing resource, and readily available, thus is the philosophy of HM4HB (Human Milk For Human Babies). I have donated twice and it was so great that someone else (2 someone elses with babies) was able to take my milk off my hands.
In response to above comment by Blunt Brunette, clearly you have no idea how amazing breastfeeding is. Cow’s milk is not intended for babies/toddlers, and never has been. It’s designed to make baby cows grow big but is not tailored to a human’s needs at all. It is not normal to drink the milk of another species. Breast milk provides cancer-fighting cells found nowhere else and I want to do everything I can to prevent any sort of cancer my child might get. It literally kills the cells right away — amazing stuff. Also, the immunities found in breast milk are unique and found nowhere else (definitely not in cow’s milk and definitely not in formula). There is no substitution for breast milk anywhere.
I am proud to have nursed my first to 25 months, and proud to be presently nursing my 30 month old daughter and almost 1-year old son. Two years is a MINIMUM goal for me, one that the World Health Organization recommends and one I am happy to surpass.
I would much rather raise healthy and nourished children off my milk and “deal with” the upheaval of the public than NOT nourish them and fit into society’s box. Society does not get to decide how I raise my children, not when it comes down to something that is essential to their health, more important than anything else.
Also, I have never understood this arbitrary age of “age 1″. A 13 month old still seems pretty “baby” to me, and even an 18 month old. Why are we in such a hurry to grow them up? Should we just harshly take away the only comfort they know and exchange it for a cup? As if breastfeeding is somehow ONLY nutrition? Might as well give them a cell phone and an iPad while we’re at it too . . . They’re only little once. And toddler or baby, breastfeeding is the biological norm. Societal norms be damned.
The privacy aspect struck me as odd even before I had children. It doesn’t need to be private if I feed my child any other way (bottle, sippy cup, turkey sandwich, et al.) but because I use my breasts (which are designed more for baby feeding than baby making to begin with) it needs to be kept from the public eye.
I haven’t done the extended breastfeeding, yet. But our littlest is only 4 months old, so we have time to decide.