Lactnetters, I am working on a book about children who are picky eaters (thanks for all the emails, btw). It is not proving as easy as I'd hoped (no laughing please, from those of you who've trod this path before - I'm a literary virgin). My biggest problem is the total lack of research for all the advice that is doled out to parents by doctors, health visitors, child psychologists etc. But I am not defeated :-) Here are a couple more questions I'd like to throw at you: Q1. I have heard of several 18mo's who are still 95% breastfed and reluctant to move onto solids. Is it appropiate to cut out breastfeeds, in order to "encourage" more solids and is it likely to work? Q2. Should a mother continue to nurse "on demand" throughout the second and third years of life? Can a toddler nurse too much? Q3. Is iron the only nutrient which could become insufficient with extended, exclusive breastfeeding? Q4. Does the "quality" of the milk degrade as nursing continues, and if so, how long does it take? How long, theoretically, could a child continue to be exclusively breastfed (from the mother, without supplements)? As you can imagine, these questions are prompted by the advice I am hearing from various HCPs dealing with the "reluctant to eat solids" child, which is, generally, offer solid food frequently, limit nursing to after "meals" and at bedtime, don't offer the breast too often. I always believed totally in "child lead weaning", but some of the cases I am coming across in my research are causing me to doubt. -- Anna H. Breastfeeding advocate and writer. http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna/ *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html