Breastfeeding is good for todlers too

And it is such a joy. At least most of the time. Sometimes I feel so touched out I want to scream at the next person who tries to touch me. I feel grumpy and irritated at being needed as a food source all day long. But most of the time I very much enjoy the chance to sit and snuggle my babies. It is so rare for Heber to sit still. I love when he climbs into my lab and we get the chance to sit a be together without other distractions. I love that he says silly funny things about nursing. He calls my milk "nee nees". I love that it is such an easy accessibly fix-all for any bumps, bruises, or hurt feelings. A few months ago he would always say "I want nee nees to feel better" (for him to feel better). Sometimes Heber wakes up during the night and will say funny things. Last night he woke up and said "I don't want any nee nees, I just want a drink of water. No I don't want water, I want nee nees so I can sleep." The other day I asked him what nee nees taste like and he said "It tastes yummy like milk" Like cow milk? "No, tastes like nee nee milk."

Thinking that nursing should stop at a certain age is ridiculous. Just because a baby reaches 1 or 2 or 3 doesn't mean that the benefits they previously received are suddenly gone. They are all still there. Nutrition, immune system boosts, skin to skin benefits, ect. They don't disappear when the child reaches a certain age. While I cannot fathom nursing a 4 or 5 year old (dumb cultural expectations), a few years ago I would have never ever imagined I would be nursing a 2 1/2 year old, Yet children grow older one day at a time. It's not like all of the sudden I am nursing a 2 1/2 year old. He just grows older day by day, month by month. I'm not sure where this journey will take me but I am trying to follow and do what feels right to me. I have long ago given up on doing what is culturally acceptable. Really it is only in the United States that nursing an older toddler is so strange and even gross. I think a huge contributing factor to this is that in our culture/media breasts = sex. Ugh!!

Today I read this article at Peaceful Parenting that talks about natural weaning and how weaning happens. It was a good reminder. For now I am happy to let weaning happen when and how it does, or at least continue on as long as we are both happy nursing.

I came across this video today and I thought it was so funny. I think this is the exact same reaction that I would get from Heber if I tried to put a blanket over him while nursing. It made me laugh out loud.You should go an watch it!