Some Things NOT to Say to a Nursing Mom

Our son is 11 months old and of course is still breastfeeding and will until June or so, when I will start giving him a sippy with the freezer "stash" of my milk and when that 128 oz is gone, then he will get whole milk. By then, he will be 14 months or so when he weans if all goes well. 

Keep reading to hear what you shouldn't say to a nursing mom.

What are some things that are really annoying to hear as a breastfeeding mom?

1. When will you wean him? 1 year is old enough to get whole milk like kids who are on formula do.

My response: Good for other people. I will let him nurse til he wants to stop. I will be starting to just nurse once in the morning and once before bed time, in June and let him get breastmilk I have in freezer to use up, by sippy cup until it's done. He will be 13 - 14 months, then. Once the milk stash is gone, we will put him on whole milk. Last time I checked, he's not your child so let me do the parenting here. WIC and other resources will tell you that some moms nurse their kids til age 2 - 4. I personally won't past 14 months, but more power to you if you choose to.

2. What's the big deal about nursing? Just give him a bottle.

My response: I have no need to give a bottle of milk to him. I got very tired of pumping just to give a night bottle, because until 5 months old I thought it might be "easier", but in reality it was a lot more work and wasn't needed. I quit pumping in like January, so he has a 128 oz stash in the freezer. 

He is 11 months old and is doing great with nursing, as he still nurses 5 - 6 times a day. If you want to bottle feed your milk to your baby, be my guest but I don't. He does get 2 - 3 bottles or sippy cups a day of juice, which he loves for extra flavor.

3. Oh, if I got bit I'd stop nursing right then and there. Why don't you?

My response: It's rare that he bites anymore and he has almost 9 teeth now. You gently tell baby to not bite and say ouch. It usually works fine.