I really don’t think so! However, I am learning the lingo of tweeting and it’s all quite amusing. So here’s my pseudo-tweet for today from one mother to another (I just learned that ‘OH’ means overheard!):
OH: You know the milk (breast milk) goes when you introduce solid food.
Oh give me a break! I told everyone who heard that comment: “The milk doesn’t go when you start solid foodâ€! The ignorance in caregiving, from parents or carers, just continues to blow me away.
Just exactly what’s happening to the babies of long time nursing mothers? Some children won’t go onto solid foods until they are a year old so as to steer well clear of allergies. The majority of all children will show an interest in solid food once they can sit up and it’s entirely up to a parent as to how much solid food they introduce, what they introduce and when.
If a mother stops offering the breast for nursing because either she’s too busy, gone back to work or wants to wean the child, then obviously the milk supply will dwindle accordingly.
I have seen perfectly healthy breastfed 2 year olds, on solid food, who are able to find enough breast milk morning and evening to satisfy their needs.
I should say that the person who said ‘the milk stops’ was, at the time her milk apparently ‘stopped’, a stressed, harassed and hurried lawyer, mother of a 4 month old, going back to work and then, impulsively, opening her own daycare to provide for her child (who was then cared for by a multitude of ever-changing carers!) – all within the first six months of his life!
The mother who is still breastfeeding her 4‑month-old pumps plenty of milk to keep him supplied during the day so she has no reason to stop now! Furthermore she has a pediatrician who has advised “no solids before 6 months†— how cool is that for a change?
I should also mention that her oldest child is doing amazingly well, in every regard, at 20 months or so. If she is an example of how these parents do their job then I would encourage them all the way!
See why I can’t tweet? They’d track me down!