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No. It is a lot of responsibility feeding a baby. You have to eat well, stay off alcohol and over the counter medicines. You have to keep an eye out for any reactions to food. My first baby did not like tomatoes. His little face would get a rash.
I was willing to do that for my sons. I would not want the responsibility to do that for someone else's baby. Nor would I give that responsibility to someone feeding my children.
Unless the woman is the carrier of a communicable disease - then I am not sure what basis such a concern would have. What form of infections or illnesses are you predicting exactly - as I would hate to comment further without being clear what it is you actually mean. It is hard to allay concerns without a clear picture of what those concerns are.
I am not getting that from it at all. Maybe projecting?
But of course "can" is not synonymous with "should". There is nothing wrong with breast feeding at those ages - and there are many groups including WHO that recommend breast milk some distance past these ages.
WHO recommends it at later ages because they oversea a tremendous number of people who would let their children starve to death when regular food is scarce. In many parts of the world, young children are the first to be allowed to die, while their parents save themselves. If you can get them to breastfeed later, some of those children will live.
I would certainly nurse a friend or relative's child if asked to. No need for an emergency. I have offered on two occasions. In the first, my niece was having trouble latching and my SIL suspected that it was because of her nipples. I offered to see if the baby would latch to me, to see if the issue was with the nipples or with the baby, but my SIL refused and thought that was weird. In the second, my sister was supplementing her new baby with formula until her milk came in and I offered to pump some for her to use instead. She also refused because she thought it was weird and gross. Honestly, I was kind of hurt and offended that they both felt that way about it. I am not talking about strangers here, but my closest family members.
Obviously I wasn't there, (or was I? ), but perhaps the reason they refused was that you seemed a little too, I don't know, into the whole experience of providing your milk for them. That could really creep out a person. A lot of first time mothers consider the baby to be an extension of themselves, so in effect you were offering your milk to the mothers.
Obviously I wasn't there, (or was I? ), but perhaps the reason they refused was that you seemed a little too, I don't know, into the whole experience of providing your milk for them. That could really creep out a person. A lot of first time mothers consider the baby to be an extension of themselves, so in effect you were offering your milk to the mothers.
This would be one of those mothers who think their boobs are magic.
I would have no problem nursing an infant (or expressing for bottle feeding) who needed breastmilk if the mother requested (provided I was producing milk- it's been almost 10 years since I stopped nursing my youngest so it's not happening now). I would be much less comfortable with someone else nursing my child (I'd be more likely to accept expressed breastmilk to feed my own child), mainly because of the bonding aspect.
If the infant in question needed me to follow a very specific diet, it might be more difficult. I'm not sure I'd want to feed an older baby/toddler. I nursed all my kids over a year, but nursing someone else's 18mo would make me feel uncomfortable, I think.
I think there would actually be a window after your supply is set at three months and before they start on solids at six where nursing another child as well could cause problems. But they weren't going to ask her to take over permanently.
oh, my, no, there is no such thing as your supply being 'set'. Babies appetites vary greatly from day to day. Your body makes what milk is needed based on how much the baby wants!
Babies bodies and mom's bodies do not have built in clocks that say solids must be introduced at 6 months.
oh, my, no, there is no such thing as your supply being 'set'. Babies appetites vary greatly from day to day. Your body makes what milk is needed based on how much the baby wants!
Babies bodies and mom's bodies do not have built in clocks that say solids must be introduced at 6 months.
That's simply not true. Take the most common situation, a mother who's been supplementing with formula. If she stops before three months she can usually get full supply back. If she tries to stop after three months it is very difficult to have a full supply.
I'd say that 18 months is a little old for breastfeeding.
It's also kind of awkward to have someone else breastfeed a child other than their own, and it must be that the person in question is healthy and free of any major diseases or infections that can be passed to the baby.
I would, depending on the child's age and circumstances. If the child was young and NEEDED the milk, then yes. If it was comfort nursing (which is what toddler nursing is), then no. I would also have to know the baby's parents really well.
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), but perhaps the reason they refused was that you seemed a little too, I don't know, into the whole experience of providing your milk for them. That could really creep out a person. A lot of first time mothers consider the baby to be an extension of themselves, so in effect you were offering your milk to the mothers.
