The Joys of Breastfeeding Past Infancy #29

December 10th, 2010 by Dionna | 9 Comments
Posted in Breastfeeding/Lactivism, Carnival and Special Series, Compassionate Advocacy, Feed with Love and Respect, Guest Posts, Joys of Breastfeeding Past Infancy, Just for Fun/Miscellaneous, natural parenting

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Today I am happy to host a guest post by Michelle Carchrae. Michelle is a freelance writer and homeschooling mama to two little girls. Michelle blogs about parenting resources, attachment parenting, gentle discipline and life with kids at The Parent Vortex. Here is her breastfeeding guest post:
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Michelle and her nursling

When Beatrice was a toddler, I weaned her at 15 months. I thought I would have more freedom once I stopped breastfeeding her, but the reality was that we didn’t get out on weekends away or even nights out as often as I had expected to. I had my body back, but I was missing this amazing time to be together and soothe my daughter in the way that only nursing does.

Now that Claire is a toddler, I’m in far less of a hurry to wean her. This time I know that weaning is not going to magically bring about a drastic change in lifestyle, and I’m ok with that. I’m just beginning to see how nursing changes when a toddler is old enough to talk and play, and I’m witnessing more magical moments that demonstrate just how important and special nursing is to her.

A few days ago Claire woke up from her nap and came downstairs, cuddling her stuffed bunny. We sat down in the armchair to nurse and when she finished she looked at me and said, “nam,” her word for nursing. Then she held her stuffed bunny up to my breast, looked at me and said, “nam?” I smiled. She smiled back, and let her bunny pretend to nurse for a while longer. “nam nam nam!” she exclaimed. Then she lifted my shirt and let bunny nurse on the other side. “nam nam.” Satisfied, Claire and her bunny climbed down from my lap and went off to play.

I love that Claire wanted to share her special treat with her bunny, and I love that our nursing relationship is still going strong. Instead of setting a goal to breastfeed for one year or even two years, this time I hope to nurse until Claire outgrows the need for it, both physically and emotionally.

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Breastfeeding past infancy 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 child who is older than one year, 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. (This series was formerly called “The Joys of Breastfeeding a Toddler.” I changed the name to reflect the fact that we are celebrating women who breastfeed past infancy, regardless of the age of the nursling.)

9 Responses to:
"The Joys of Breastfeeding Past Infancy #29"

  1. Rachael   
    Dec-10-10 at 12:49 pm

    I knew that I couldn’t be the only one occasionally nursing a stuffed critter in addition to a toddler! I’ve nursed Brown Bear and Fuzzy Ducky. One day maybe I’ll explain that Fuzzy Ducky is not a mammal, but I’m glad that my 2-yo is willing to share.

  2. Cynthia
    Dec-10-10 at 1:02 pm

    While I’ve done my fair share of nursing stuffed animals over the past three years, my favourite was having to nurse a firetruck. Ah, boys.

    I’m glad you’re discovering these joys with your second child!

  3. Dani
    Dec-10-10 at 1:36 pm

    Hattie is 17 months old and she has brought me her babydolls and stuffed animals many times but my favorite was during bathtime.. While we were in the tub she needed each and every toy to nurse, from her bath time pony to her little rubber ducky, she insisted they each had to have some milk, lol

  4. MomAgain@40   
    Dec-10-10 at 2:21 pm

    Glad to hear I am not the only one nursing toys. Nowadays I have to tandem nurse with one of my two year old’s dolls. :D

  5. Betsy
    Dec-10-10 at 4:56 pm

    This is sweet and touching.

    I’ve nursed three children and countless toys.

    Once I refused to nurse a T-rex and the T-rex cried and cried and cried and finally convinced a big pink bunny to nurse him.

  6. Emily @ Crunchyish mama
    Dec-14-10 at 10:31 pm

    I love this. My son is almost 11 months. He’s my first, and I had no idea how quickly his babyhood would fly by. I use to be so anxious for every new milestone but now I want to slow everything down. Nursing was so difficult in the beginning I thought I would be more than ready to wean at a year. Now I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. I hope we’ll be nursing well into toddlerhood!

http://www.nest.ca/


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