So it's official... I'm an extended nurser! My little Mia is 14 months and is still nursing strong. If you would have asked me a year ago how long I would nurse, my answer would have been one year. Now I'll tell you 18 months, but honestly, I don't know. I can't imagine taking away from my little peanut something she loves so much. Sometimes she'll stop nursing and flash me this huge smile like "this is the greatest thing ever!" Really, how can I take that away from her?
I already get comments from friends and family and inquisitions about when I'm going to stop. I don't know why they're so concerned. We're down to about four nursing sessions a day, one when she wakes up and before each time she sleeps, and I rarely ever nurse in public any more because she doesn't request to. I know people think it's weird; trust me, I used to think so too. People ask me, don't you want your body back? But isn't that part of being a mom? Giving yourself wholeheartedly over to your children? I watched a fellow mom at MOPS the other day with her 3 year old in her lap. The mom had come to the meeting with her her up in a clip, but her little girl wanted it down to play with, comforting her as she "rested". How is that really any different than the way I comfort my daughter? The mom still needs to be around, still has to adjust something (her hair rather than her clothes), and her daughter feels loved and comforted by something soothing.
More than anything, the benefits surely outweigh any inconvenience. It's miraculous to think how our bodies are equipped to sustain our babies for so long with little to no outside help. For the first 9 months of life, babies thrive on just what our bodies provide them. After they are born, all they really need is momma's breast milk (with the possible exception of Vitamin D, depending on who you ask). While most babies start on solids before a year, the saying "under one is just for fun" isn't just a cute rhyme. Eating solids before the age of one is more for the sake of practice rather than to consume nutrients.
And isn't it comforting to mom to know that if your child is sick and refusing to eat, they will still get the nutrients they need from nursing? It's very rare that a sick child will refuse the breast, even when everything else is turned down.
For us, breast continues to be best.
I agree! And don't worry about people's comments...they'll go away once people realize that you're going to do what you're going to do, which is what's best for you and your child. I am an super-extended nurser; my son is 3 1/2! He only nurses at night to help him fall asleep and if he wakes up from a bad dream, but it is so wonderful to still have that connection with him, especially because I'm a working mom and don't see him during the day. It is a struggle, but even when I'm frustrated with it, I just have to see how happy and comforated it makes my son, and then that frustration is gone, and I know he'll stop when he's ready, and I'll miss it when he's done!
ReplyDelete