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Feeding expressed breastmilk to a toddler?
Added: 90 days ago.
Added by: denee85
Section: General.
Status: This question is Closed. (Questions will be closed after 10 days.)


I`m planning on breatfeeding my baby who is due in June and I was wondering about peoples thoughts on giving my almost 4 year old son milk that I pump in his cup?? I breastfed him until he was about 11 months old,but I wished I could`ve longer..Does this sound weird? Are there any benefits in giving an older child breastmilk?? Thanks

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lady26 - 82 days ago Rating: 5 (1 votes) That sounds weird and sick. There is no benefits after you stop breastfeeding the child for 3 years to start again.

niki - 83 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I have a friend of a friend how breast feed there child until he was 2 and a half... at present im breast feeding but i hope to do that until emogene is a year old... it is entirely up to you but as your child has got used to the milk you are now giving him he might turn his nose up. Good luck in trying x

amandapmills - 88 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) you do what you want... i know someone that gave her son breastmilk till he was 6....

denee85 - 89 days ago I haven't attempted it yet and I'm not completely sure I will..I'm not sure why everyone thinks that Cows milk is the main source of calcium these days..It's a mistaught thing I suppose..My son still gets plenty of dark green veggies that contain calcium along with a childrens vitamin everyday..Also,I wouldn't be expressing milk and giving it to him more than once a day..Another thing is that The more milk you put out the more you produce (to a certain extent) and OBVIOUSLY my new baby would be my main concern....

michaela - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I have no opinion on you feeding your older son, i don't think that it is of any real benefit to him now. What does concern me is that your milk supply matures as your new baby grows, so what was great for him a few weeks ago may not be nutrious enough for him now, so i do worry that by feeding an older child aswell will change the supply there for your newborn.

windchime - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) A British friend of mine breastfed her sons until they were 3 or 4. Giving breastmilk to your 4-yr-old seems a little weird to me, but I honestly see no real problem with it. The only thing I would caution you on is making sure your children are getting enough calcium (since you're not giving cow's milk).

NumberFive - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) No thats gross, hes too old now, I breast fee dmy daughter till her 3rd B day then I cut her off cold turkley , now i am like eww that was way to gross! and now its been 3 months and i finally dried my ,milk up, only to do it all over again, lol real soon, ia m 31 wks now and being induced at 38 wks i f i by chance make it that far

JennSever - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) honey i think you would be just fine to give him some. if its fine for the baby, its fine for the 4yr old. breastmilk is for human consumption - cow's milk is NOT. so, if you want to give him some then go right ahead. wish i would have thought of that for all 3 of my babies/kids! good luck

denee85 - 89 days ago I do NOT plan on letting him nurse-like I said in my other add-on post that I wouldn't think that would be appropriate what so ever! I don't give My 4 year old cows milk as it is since I don't believe it's good for him..He does drink a cup of soy milk everyday and he really isn't a picky eater-in fact,we're vegetarians and he devours all his veggies and fruits...I ould obviously wait and make sure I have a good milk supply built up for my new baby before I would give any to my older child..I'm not too concerned about this though,as last time I breastfed I could've supplied 2-3 babies with my milk!! I produced a ton! I've just read a few online articles saying that the benefits of breastmilk never completely die off and even grown adults can have some sort of good outcome from drinking it-not that I'd want to drink my own milk neccesarily...lol Thanks everyone for your input:)

deborah86 - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) It sounds fine to me as it is much healthier than cows milk as that is for cows. I'd just make sure that you get up enough for the baby first before you start giving it to him.

gr8scottswife - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) That sounds fine. It certainly wouldn't hurt him. Your milk is made for humans. Cow's milk is made for cows.

Melanie07 - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I have not heard of doing that. I am sure it wouldn't hurt. I know a lot of grown men like the taste of it. It is more nutricious than cows milk. It will be a lot of extra work for you. A 4 year old drinks a lot more than a baby. I thin in the cup would be fine. I don't think letting him nurse would be appropriate. In the end, it is your decision.

lmo - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) if you give him breastmilk you would have to give him alot as if you were giving him cows milk.

mellowyellow - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Its all good! B/M is full of nutrition. I heard of a wife giving it to her husband during his chemo treatment for cancer and they believed that was what made the difference in his outcome! My friend gave it to her 4 year old son in smoothies to help boost his nutrition as he was one of those kids who wouldnt eat anything. Goodluck!

Baby3OnWay - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I honestly don't think your son needs it at his age, your baby will need the suppply more then the new child and me, my opinion is I think its a little odd. He may not even like it or want to drink it, he has had experience with other drinks that he has favoured or likes to quench his thirst and has the ability to eat the things he needs in order to get what he needs to grow healthy!

kayla-love - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) You can try him with it, but he will need a lot of breastmilk to quench his thirst. With regular cows milk it has more calories and it will also have all the calcuim he needs from drinking it. You breastfed him for the first 11 months so he had a good start in life but now he needs his vitamins, calcuim etc to aid to his growing body. Sure it would be ok for him to have a glass of your milk but in the long run I think it will be more hassle than good as you will need to get your supply up for your baby first.

Mommyof2boys - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) The breastmilk is best during the first 6mos thats when it gives the baby all it needs during those first few months, after that is good too but 3yrs after breastfeeding I don't see why it would do any better than regular milk knowing you did it for 11 mos was great and he should be fine from that. Giving him breastmilk now might confuse him? I'm not sure, do what you feel is best for your child. good luck!

jessicadarling - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I think it is weird when people are still feeding on the breast at age 4 but I think there is no harm at all to feeding your son your milk. He may like it because it is sweet tasting. Humans are not meant to drink cows milk and human milk is much easier to digest. I say give it a try

klasnaya - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) It wouldnt hurt and actualy prolly give him some more nutrition! If he takes it then i would do it! My aunt tried giving her milk to my 2 1/2 year old but he almost barfed after taking a sip lol....it is sweet. maybe your son will like it!

mommauv4 - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) The nutrition in human milk is probably more easily absorbed by people than say the nutrition in cows milk- it just makes sense. That being said I think you would be hard pressed to express enough milk to fulfill the needs of a four year old and a newborn baby. Whatever you decide make sure the baby gets first dibs on the milk.

KarenVG - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) If he asked to try some...most little ones are curious, let him try from a cup...but I do not think there is any point... really I think you shouldn't but you have to decide that... how long would you do it for if you did???

RandiLee - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Yeah, I doubt it would have much effect, I don't really see any point in doing it.

MelissaJoanne - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) My initial reaction is that yes it does sound weird. But really, it seems almost more normal than humans drinking the breastmilk from cows, which is accepted as healthy and non-weird. I did a google search on breastmilk benefits for a 4 year old, just out of curiosity. There are evidently some women that are still breastfeeding at 4 years old. I guess if you're feeding and expressing for the new baby anyway, you could offer your four year old breastmilk instead of cow milk.

candace3 - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) You can offer it to him, but I wouldn't be suprised if he didn't like it, as breastmilk is extremely sweet. I don't think it would offer any nutritional benefits to him at his age.

mommy-of-3 - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I can't say I've heard of anyone doing this before, I don't think it's going to have the same effect on him at 4 that it had on him as a baby. I personally wouldn't (it does sound wierd sorry) but that is a personal choice for you to make.

captshelley - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Let him have some.

jodiie - 90 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) ermm to be honest i dont think breastmilk has the same effect on a 4 year old as it would a newborn because their much older and need stronger fluids but to me it does sound a little weird but hey i have no experiance with this matter lol

denee85 - 90 days ago Oh,and OBVIOUSLY I wouldn't let him nurse!!I don't think that would be appropriate...I just want to know if people might think it's weird....