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Denise Sumpter is a 44-year-old mother-of-two. Her children, Belle and Beau, are, respectively, six years old and 18 months old. They are both, however, still breastfeeding.
For years, Sumpter has received strange looks and negative comments for her abnormal approach to breastfeeding. But she has no intention of changing her ways any time soon.
“People argue that after a certain age breast milk has no nutritional benefits but that’s nonsense - there is not a single food source that suddenly stops being nutritious,” Sumpter defended herself. “My children have hardly been ill. Beau came down with something the other day and because I nursed him through it he was better in 24 hours.
“I’ve had similar with Belle. If they’re upset it calms them. It helps them sleep,” she added.
While no one can be certain that Sumpter’s breast milk is to thank for these health benefits, no one can doubt that six-year-old Belle does stand a head taller than most of her other classmates and performs at the top of her class – on top of being a talented violinist, singer, and dancer for her age.
“I used to get the odd comment from relatives who’d say, ‘Here we go with the milk thing again.’ But I think people know I’m confident in my decision they let me go on with it [sic],” Sumpter said.
Sumpter has no intentions on stopping her children from breastfeeding herself. Instead, she has decided to let her children decide when they want to stop.
She explained, “It’s a natural progression. [Belle’s] milk teeth are going and I get the impression she won’t be feeding for much longer. But she can take her time.”
Sumpter hopes to benefit her children for as long as possible by providing them with fresh breast milk – one of Belle’s teachers even mentioned that Belle was “mature for her age,” a compliment that Sumpter associated with her daughter’s continued breastfeeding.
“If you’d asked me five years ago I never would have thought I’d still be breastfeeding Belle,” Sumpter admitted. “However, it turned out to be one of the best things I could have done for my family.”
