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Coco Austin has no qualms about breastfeeding her and Ice-T’s daughter, Chanel Nicole, until age 6. The “Sports Illustrated” model revealed the news in 2021 to much controversy. And during a Nov. 9 episode of "The Dumb Blonde" podcast, where the topic was revisited, Austin firmly defended her decision. “It wasn’t like I was feeding her because she needed a meal,” the "Ice Loves Coco" alum explained. “She was able to eat by a year, full solids. It was more of a bonding experience. More of like, ‘Okay, I’ll give you the milk,’ but it was more that she wanted to be around me.” Austin explained that she wasn’t forcing Chanel, now 9, to breastfeed, but rationalized the experience as “I’m going to let her stop when she wants to stop.” “She’s not going to be 16 on my boob,” Austin continued. “She’s eventually going to figure out that this is kind of strange or weird and stop. And that happened around [age] 6 — which was still an extremely long time.” Additionally, Austin slammed those who tried to “sexualize” the mother-daughter bonding moment. “It was mostly when she went to sleep she wanted me to be there,” she explained. “So it was more of a comfort thing. I got so many people who loved it.” The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding up to two years or beyond, but there’s flexibility based on individual family circumstances. A 2003 study from the National Library of Medicine noted that most children are completely weaned off between ages 2 and 4. Austin described it as a positive experience for her and Chanel. “To this day, she is obsessed with boobs,” she added. “She’s always sitting and laying on me. It’s just a really nice moment because it’s not going to be like this when they get into the teenage years.” She emphasized, “I’m loving every moment I can with Chanel.” Austin, who married the “Law & Order: SVU” in 2002, welcomed Chanel with him in November 2015. Ice-T also shares two adult children from previous relationships, LeTesha and Tracy Jr.
