Coco Austin Reveals Why She Still Breastfeeds 5-Year-Old Daughter

Coco Austin Reveals Why She Still Breastfeeds 5-Year-Old Daughter

Watch : Coco Austin Defends Breastfeeding Her 5-Year-Old Daughter

When it comes to breastfeeding, Coco Austin isn’t pumping the brakes.

The TV personality has sparked debate over her decision to continue breastfeeding her 5-year-old daughter, Chanel, who she welcomed with longtime husband Ice-T in November 2015. While she’s continued to catch flack for the untraditional choice, the 42-year-old mom has made it clear she has no intentions of stopping until her daughter is done.

“Chanel still likes my boob. She’s 5 years old,” Coco confirmed to Us Weekly. “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, you’re not getting the nutrition after 2 years old. Why do it?’ And I’m like, My child’s eating steak and hamburgers. She just likes a little snack every now and then and more of the bonding between the mother. Why take that away from her?”

While Coco pointed out that she’d stop it if her daughter didn’t want to breastfeed anymore, she also acknowledged she wouldn’t put an end to that process because of societal expectations. As she put it, “I’m not going to just say, ‘No boob!'”

Coco Austin explains why she still breastfeeds her 5-year-old daughter: ‘I’m not just going to say no’

Coco Austin still breastfeeds her 5-year-old and says she’ll continue as long as her daughter wants.

Austin said Chanel eats solid foods like “steak and hamburger” and breastfeeds as a “snack.”

The model shares her daughter with rapper Ice-T, Austin’s husband of nearly 20 years.

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Coco Austin confirmed she has no plans to stop breastfeeding her 5-year-old daughter Chanel anytime soon, adding that it’s a “big bonding moment” for the two of them.

When asked about her extended breastfeeding in an interview with Us Weekly published on Saturday, Austin explained that Chanel “still likes my boob.” Austin shares Chanel with her husband of almost two decades, rapper Ice-T.

“Why take that away from her?” Austin said. “If she doesn’t want it, all right, that’s where you stop it. But I’m not just going to say no.”

The model said that while Chanel eats solid foods like “steak and hamburger,” she also breastfeeds as “a little snack every now and then.”

A post shared by Coco (@coco)

Austin previously addressed critics of her extended breastfeeding in the lengthy caption of a March 2020 Instagram post, explaining that then 4-year-old Chanel nurses “just for comfort.”

“Believe me the girl loves meat so its not like she isnt eating real food,” she wrote.

At the time, Austin received a mixed reaction on Instagram to the photo of her breastfeeding Chanel. Some of her three million followers said it’s “wonderful” that she still breastfeeds Chanel, while other social-media users claimed it “is not good” for the child to continue to nurse.

While some might not agree with Austin’s decision to still breastfeed Chanel, there’s no age limit on when mothers are supposed to stop nursing their children.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) currently recommends that mothers breastfeed their infants for at least six months and states they can continue nursing for several years paired with “complementary foods.”

A post shared by Coco (@coco)

Austin frequently gets candid on social media about parenting Chanel, often sharing photos of the two at Disneyland, at Chanel’s swimming lessons, and out shopping.

The model also told Us Weekly that she and Ice-T are “not typical” parents.

In addition to letting Chanel decide when she’s going to stop breastfeeding, Austin said she also lets her daughter pick her own bedtime and where she wants to sleep each night, explaining that it usually ends up being in her parents’ bedroom.

“We have certain days where we have a free bed for our alone time,” Austin told Us Weekly, adding that she and Ice-T can no longer be “spontaneous” about having sex.

Coco Austin defends breastfeeding her 5-year-old daughter

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Coco Austin has no qualms about still breastfeeding her 5-year-old daughter.

The model shared that she won’t stop nursing Chanel until her daughter decides she doesn’t want to anymore.

“Chanel still likes my boobs,” Austin told Us Weekly Saturday. “It’s a big bonding moment for a mother and your child.”

The former “Ice Loves Coco” star, 42, acknowledged that her and husband Ice-T’s little girl also eats “steak and hamburgers” but “likes a little snack every now and then.”

“Why take that away from her? … If she doesn’t want it, all right, that’s where you stop it,” she said. “But I’m not just going to say no.”

Ice-T defended Austin’s breastfeeding last year when their daughter was nearly 4 years old, saying it was a way for Chanel “to get close to her mom.”

The reality TV alum also revealed that she and the “Law & Order: SVU” star, 63, allow Chanel to dictate where she sleeps, which often means spending the night in her parents’ bed.

“We call it the family bed,” Austin told the magazine. “We have Chanel and all four dogs.”

Given the crowded space, Austin admitted it takes a toll on her and the rapper’s sex life, saying they “can’t be really spontaneous anymore.”

“We used to,” she said. “We have certain days where we have a free bed for our alone time.”

Ice-T and Austin wed in 2005.