As Ricky says, "that's the equivalent of humans nursing till they're 12." I don't know about that.
Recently I read an article about a woman who "un-weaned" her 3 year old and then proceeded to breastfeed her till she was 4 and a half. As some of you know I am a big advocate for breastfeeding but that seems a little long. There have been times, however, when I have thought it would be nice if I could nurse Chase still but then other times when he seems too big. Sometimes it seems like it would make life easier though. Don't worry I'm not going to "un-wean" him. I breastfed Chase till he was 16 months old but kinda wish I had tried a little longer, he kinda weaned himself though. I've also heard (from a la leche league leader) that in Bible times they would breastfeed till 5 or 7! When I was in Bangladesh we went on a trip to the tribal villages and they breastfed till 3 or 4 and it was no big deal. I wonder why it is such a big deal in the states? I've heard people say its disgusting... really?, disgusting??? Mostly it seems like no one wants to talk about though. You think with how "forward-thinking, and liberated" everyone claims to be, it would be no big deal. I know I definitely want to nurse Joanna longer, I'm just not sure how much longer. I know this is a sensitive topic but I really want to hear your opinions on this, I promise not to pass judgments, I am just curious what everyone thinks.
P.s. Joanna Crawled last night for the first time!
7 comments:
Congrats on the crawling!
On facebook, I am a member of the group "I make milk, what's your superpower?". I think 5 or older is a bit extreme, I think that is mostly because of the source of nutrition is not always adequate for people (in Bible times or in third world countries) and they go longer just to make sure the kids will get everything they need. I always ask people I know that are pregnant if they are going to breastfeed- I think it's the most important thing (and try really hard not to judge them if they dont). I know a few people who thought it would be disgusting to feed their babies from their own bodies, it makes me sad that they never even tried. I think it's beautiful and I am jealous when I see other moms doing it. I got Danica to 16 months and really only stopped because I couldnt eat anything because of her allergies. I still feel guilty for stopping before I knew she was ready... I've already decided that food allergies or not, I'm doing the next one longer (especially since it'll probably be my last). Though I might have to draw the line at coming home from school and asking to nurse. :)
Do you think you could do 2 at once? Like- if you got pregnant in the near future, do you think you could handle Joanna and another baby at the same time? I know moms do it, but if she was 'old enough' do you think you'd wean her so you only have to do one at a time?
I don't know, I think I want to go to at least 2 this time but I'm not sure, I think I need to mull it over some more. I also kind of wanted a longer break in between babies so hopefully I wouldn't have to tandem nurse a baby and a toddler although I don't think a toddler would need to nurse as much. Chase is such a picky eater though and I sometimes think it would have been better for him to nurse longer. I think if people would try breastfeeding for a few months they would not say it is disgusting. I know I said I wouldn't judge but I think it's disgusting to give formula to babies, I always feel really bad for the women who can't breastfeed though. Also in that article I read the woman said that when children are aloud to initiate weening they nurse till 4 in the states.
Congrats to Joanna for crawling! If you want to nurse until 2 or 4, so what? That's your business. I'm so glad more people nurse their babies than what they did some years ago. It is so important for the baby and the mother.
I have talked to a lot of people (mostly when I worked in the daycare) that would nurse until 6 months or so and then would think the baby was too big. Or think it was weird to nurse a baby that could walk. What difference does it make? I totally nursed Alex all the time at work right in the middle of the nursery- and I didnt care who came in... we were discreet, but he wouldnt ever eat totally covered. Some people got uncomfortable, but it was always good to talk to the people who were fine with it....Oh! And my boss told me when he was 4 MONTHS OLD!! that I needed to started weaning. So I did... a whole entire year later!!
I hope this doesn't get back to my #4 son, but I've said to some folks the reason he's so different from our other guys is because I was in the hospital a week after he was born, I was in for a week and due to the meds and length of time in the hospital, I was not able to continue nursing him. He is the only one of our guys who was on formula. I say this laughingly but sometimes I wonder. I don't think there is anything wrong with nursing till 2, 3, or 4. I think it depends on the child and the mother. Good for you.
I am nursing Faith and love it! I'm hoping to nurse her until at least 18 months. She nurses whenever she wants but isn't a "plump" baby at all. She just seems to be growing in length mainly. But I was that size as a baby, too, so I think she's good. She sure is happy!
I guess I'm the breastfeeding freak, but I mean that in a good way. ;) I nursed Noah till he was 3, Selah till she was 4, Jonas till 2.5, and Ezra is still my baby at 17 months. I don't have any opinion on how long is *too* long. When you haven't nursed your own child to a certain age, it's just going to seem weird to you, no matter what. Even now I see 3-4 year olds and think, I could never nurse a kid that old, but of course, I totally did myself. When you are breastfeeding a child that age, it just happens so gradually, that it's not like having a kid come home and plop on your lap and say "hey, give me some boob." I know when Noah turned one, we were going to wean him as was deemed appropriate by society, and Eric and I agreed he just seemed so little. I was pregnant with Selah, and my midwife said as long as Eric and I were happy with the way things were going, and I was healthy, that there was no reason for me to stop. I hate when people say "oh, you didn't wean because YOU wanted them to nurse, they didn't really want to" but I assure you, they did! Selah and I's nursing relationship was awesome. It needed limits eventually, strict ones, but once those were established, it was wonderful. I weaned Jonas when I was pregnant with Ezra-I had a miscarriage previous to him, and was having too many contractions, and Jonas was pretty easy to wean. We just told him the milk was all gone. But I would have kept it up if my pregnancy was easier. I encourage everyone to breastfeed as long as they can and as long as the want too. It's not a contest, and it's no one but you and your child's business [and you husband, if he has a strong opinion]. Do what works best for all of you! I cherish nursing my kids for so long, because believe me, it's such a small part of their lives, especially now that they are older. But, I love that they see breastfeeding as a very normal thing. Jonas, at preschool the other day, told his teacher, when asked how Mary would comfort Jesus, he said "Nurse Him!" I was very proud!
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