Dear Karleen,
Let me go ahead and say it for the record that I think breastfeeding is
extremely important to babies, toddlers and children of all ages. It has
tremendous nutritional and non-nutritional benefits. I think this toddler
should continue to breast feed as long as he and mom desire.
Unlike a younger child, a 2 1/2 yr old toddler that is well fed during the
daytime mostly needs the night times feeds for comfort. If that is the
only time the mom has to spend one on one with the toddler then she should
make the most of it.
Gradual weaning from night time feeds might be a gentler way to do it,
however, it also depends on how aggressive the child is about feeding at
night. If he wants his mouth full of mama everytime he stirs, it could be
hard to wean him at night. Toddlers can throw some mighty tantrums at
night.
If this mom is an over-supplier and the baby is 'gulping' 5 to 6 times
during an 8 to 10 hr period, I'm not so sure that he's not getting much
breastmilk at night.
Whenever I see a toddler that takes a bottle of milk or juice frequently
at night or is put to sleep with one in their mouth (also for comfort), I
recommend parents to go cold turkey and substitute other forms of comfort
such as cuddling, rocking, singing, back-rubs etc. There is no discussion
about gradual weaning because some things should not be left to the child.
I have seen my share of nursing bottle caries. And yes, I've seen them in
breastfed children as well. This is another multifactorial disease where
there is no one cause.
Every 3rd to 4th child in America is overweight. This is a health issue of
enormous proportions. Yes, I'm aware that breastfeeding protects against
future obesity. There is a good chance that this baby will slim down as he
grows up provided rest of his diet is also modified. However, we cannot
base our practice on anecdotes. Studies show that most overweight adults
start as overweight children. This story reminds me of a friend of mine
who started drinking slim-fast to lose weight. 1 month later she, she had
gained 10 lbs. Turns out, she was drinking the slim-fast after her meals,
which were unchanged.
I'd try to get the mom to nurse more during waking hours and less at night.
I apologise if I have offended anyone with my opinions.
Vaishali Kute, MD FAAP
Momma of 3 who still remember the taste of her milk.
I was practicing attachment parenting long before there was a name for it.
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