The Joys of Breastfeeding a Toddler #8
I am so happy to welcome Acacia, who has shared a story about one of her greatest joys in breastfeeding a toddler. Acacia is a part-time SAHM, a part-time yoga instructor at the Yoga Patch, and an intuitive artist. She fills her days with a lot of play with her 3 year old son Everett and her new arrival, Kellan, a little bit of responsible mommy stuff, and a little bit of blogging. You can normally find Acacia over at Be Present Mama. Here is her breastfeeding guest post:
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We stopped nursing in October 2009, shortly after Everett turned 2 1/2 years old. It seemed like he was becoming less interested in nursing and I was really ready for a break before the new baby, as my nipples felt like they were painfully being sucked off every time he nursed. While we did stop breastfeeding, I certainly didn’t take away his chance to be comforted by my breasts in other ways. It is still a morning routine to pull up my shirt, hold and love on my “na-nas” as we cuddle in bed. When he is really upset or gets badly hurt, his hand still slips down my shirt. When we undress for co-showering his eyes light up like someone just stuck a giant bowl of ice cream in front of him. Best yet, he even dreams about breasts.
Everett woke up one morning to crawl across from his side of the bed shaking his head and saying, “That was a good dream! A good dream.” I asked him, “What did you dream about?”
He pointed to a naked pregnant woman drawing we have on the wall and smiled. Then started moving his pointer fingers in circles saying, “Those na-nas were moving and moving and moving!”
I suppressed a giggle and asked, “Did you get to hold them or something?” And he said, “No, they were just moving!”
While I have harbored some unsure feelings about weaning when we did, I take solace in the fact that these lovely little milk-less “na-nas” still provide a lot of security, comfort and joy for Everett. I feel confident (especially after that dream) that both breastfeeding into his toddler years and continuing this post-nursing relationship is helping him develop into a secure, sensitive, and probably “booby-loving” man!
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Breastfeeding a toddler is full of laughter, joys, and heartbreaking tenderness. I am publishing a series of posts dedicated to the beauty of nursing toddlers in an effort to normalize this healthy and beneficial nursing relationship.
But this isn’t just about me – I want to hear YOUR joys. If you are nursing a toddler (or have in the past), please contact me and tell me about your favorite moments. I will include them in the series and credit you, your site, or post it anonymously if you so desire.
4 Responses to:
"The Joys of Breastfeeding a Toddler #8"
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Thank you for posting this. Our daughter is 3, although I don’t see an end to breastfeeding any time soon, I do see her asking to nurse less. I feel great loss when I think about a time where I will not be asked to nurse her. I know we will work it out, but when nursing has been your tool for so long what do you do?
This post means a lot to me because at least I know that she will still come to me for comfort and I wont be replaced by things. At least I know I will still have our cuddle time too.
That is the sweetest thing. I’m so glad he finds comfort, even without the milk. As we move ever closer toward weaning (whenever it is, I know we’re necessarily getting closer!), I have some fears about stopping. But, as Our Sentiments said, posts like this are very reassuring. It sounds like your son got what he needed out of his nursing relationship and doesn’t feel resentment, just happiness in memories. Beautiful!
awww sweet post. he also made me grin by his comments. lol.
funny. my son will often hold my bra strap or slip his hand inside my shirt right on top of my breast when he is unsure or nervous in outside situations. I don’t say anything and I don’t remove it (except when he pinches my skin on the bra strap) as I think its kinda sweet he gets comfort from that. the other night he was getting ready for bed and nursing and said “I want to do your sidahs (as he calls my breasts – I would ask if he wanted to switch sides so figures they are sides) and rub your skin” so sweet.