Mother Breastfeeds Four-Year-Old Daughter While Admitting She'd Find It 'Weird' in Others
Kay Smith, a 43-year-old mother from Portsmouth, Hampshire, has been breastfeeding her youngest daughter, Bleubelle, for four years and four months. She openly acknowledges that she would consider it "weird" if she saw another parent doing the same, yet she continues the practice with her own child.
Extended Nursing for Final Baby
Smith, who works as a personal trainer, breastfed her three older children for between one and two years each. However, with Bleubelle, her fourth and final child, she decided to extend breastfeeding significantly. "I just didn't want to let go of the feeling of having a baby," she explained. "I see her as such a baby still."
The mother-of-four insists that Bleubelle is the "healthiest child" she has ever encountered, attributing this robust health directly to the prolonged breastfeeding. "If the Facebook mums send a message saying there's a cold going around, she never gets it," Smith noted. "If she does get anything, it's always gone after 24 hours."
Family Dynamics and Social Perceptions
Smith's husband, a recruiter, is supportive of her breastfeeding choices, though he finds it embarrassing when done in public. Her other children, aged 16, 14, and 11, view Bleubelle as a baby and do not find the situation strange. However, Smith avoids discussing the matter with friends and family, particularly her parents, whom she describes as "old-fashioned" and likely to frown upon it.
"I do feel a bit weird because if someone else told me they still breastfed their four-year-old, I'd think that was too old," Smith confessed. "But to me, she's just so little still." She currently breastfeeds Bleubelle only twice a day—once in the morning and once at bedtime—as the child spends her days at nursery.
Planned Cessation and Mixed Feelings
Smith has set a firm deadline to stop breastfeeding in September 2026, when Bleubelle begins reception at school. "I've told myself I'll stop when she's at school, because it would feel weird to continue then," she stated. Yet, she occasionally questions this decision, wondering, "why do I even care? Why do I need an age to stop at?"
Interestingly, Bleubelle has no awareness that her breastfeeding routine is unusual. "She has no idea it's not the norm," Smith revealed. "When I breastfeed her before bed, she calls it booby and book, and she thinks all of her friends have the same ritual."
Observations and Public Comfort
Smith has observed that Bleubelle has developed a slight lisp, which she suspects might be linked to breastfeeding. Despite this, she remains committed to the practice until the planned cessation. She also expressed that she would not hesitate to breastfeed in public if Bleubelle requested it, though such requests never occur.
"I'd happily do it in public, but she never asks for it," Smith said. "I think if I saw another woman doing it in public, I wouldn't think negatively of it, but it would stick in my head that the kid was a bit old."
Smith has previously set cut-off points for stopping but has never adhered to them, reflecting the emotional complexity of her decision. "She does just feel like such a baby to me though," she admitted, highlighting the deep maternal bond that drives her extended breastfeeding journey.
