Question: now that jude is "getting older" have you gotten any comments/questions from people about your "still" breastfeeding him?
positive or negative
Answer: I remember when I first made the decision to breastfeed, I said I'd try it and if I was successful, I'd BF until I went back to work. My family all seemed to have problems with it, so i thought if there was some genetic component, I'd surely have it. Well BFing fit me well, so then I decided I'd try pumping at work. I figured if anything I'd get to around 6 months before it would get weird and I'd consider quiting (that's when they start to crawl and really communicate - BFing at that age just HAD to be weird). Ryan on the other hand totally supported me BFing as long as I had to, to totally skip formula all together (this is because he's cheap, not because he's a male advocate for BFing - although he appreciates the health benefits).
I'll share a few stories:
1. A few days ago I was at my grandparents. I was laying on the floor and Jude was crawling around playing. He instantly got a little cranky and that meant he was hungry. Well, with my grandparents sitting there, he crawls over to me, puts his head in my chest and opens wide. It was quite obvious what he was after. My grandmother chuckled and said "well, we all know what he wants!". I politely left the room and fed him.
2. Today, I was getting out of the shower, Jude saw me and instantly starting reaching for me/whining a little. I picked him up (I was still bare chested as I had literally JUST gotten out of the shower) and he stops crying. Then he grabbed my nipple and tried to pull my big old saggy breasts into his mouth.
3. Quite regularly, I'll be holding Jude and he will shove his hand down the collar of my shirt and just hang out with my cleavage. He will try to "pet" me and nuzzle his little head into the most natural pillows he knows.
I wasn't quite sure I'd be down for all that. The thought of Jude actively going after his breakfast/lunch/dinner was just a bit much for me. However, as he is getting more and more mobile and he is in fact going after his food source, I'm not really that embarrassed? freak out? grossed out? by it as I thought I would be. Perhaps because it all happens so gradually? Perhaps because I just love his kid so much that he could murder someone and all I'd have to say is how adorable he looks with a kitchen knife? Perhaps because I know that even if I switched to formula, out of habit, he's still signal to me he wanted food by reaching for my breasts? Who knows.
Even with his angry man face on he's adorable...Occasionally I'll have someone tell me how great it is that I breastfed at all and how good it is for the baby or how if they knew the benefits when their kids were young they would have done it. In addition, I always hear about how HAPPY Jude is and that it must be because he's breastfed and how good it is for his belly. Then there are the times when old women feel the need to justify and say "my children thrived just fine on corn syrup and evaporated milk" - or whatever the combination was. But besides that, I never get any comments directly related to Jude's age.
I wonder if people were making comments that it'd make me feel uncomfortable or if I might try giving him more solids to avoid always going right to breast milk? I'm really not sure how I would respond... but either way, I'm glad they mind their own business :)
4 comments:
I'm a firm believer that mom's should nurse for as long as is best for their family/situation. Be it 6 months, 6 weeks, etc. I hate to hear about women doing it longer or shorter because of ignorance, or society, or husband pressure, or what have you. Everyone's situation is different.
with that being said, i dont think thats the answer you're after. I think the 1 year mark is such an easy time to transition just because they can then go straight to cows milk.
How do I feel about kids older than 1 year breastfeeding? i really can't say. a year ago I would have said its the grossest thing ever, but a year ago i also would have said nursing a 9 month old was gross BUT THEN I DID IT. so who knows.
for the record: i think 7 year is too old.
I BF Riley till she was one. I knew I wanted to BF for the first year but I never really considered going any furthur than that. However I stopped at one year because that was when Riley was ready..she had pretty much neglected the boobies by time she turned one and went straight to organic whole milk and other foods. If she still had shown interest in it I may have continued to BF..I think you just have to do whats comfortable for you. Riley never did the things Jude does with your ladies..maybe it is more of a boy thing?? j/k but then again Riley really was never the typical BFing baby. I am super proud of you for continuing to BF..and it really is soo much cheaper!! I would say continue to BF as long as your comfortable and Jude is willing and just slowly cut it out when the time is right.
oh and P.S
I dont know if this has to do with BFing or if its just a Riley thing..but she LOVES milk..to this day she will request milk over juice.
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