In Celebration of World Breastfeeding Week

I would like to announce, yes, I am still nursing. My youngest son is 26 months old and he nurses pretty often, but mostly in the evening and throughout the night. He rarely bites. He does sometimes walk up to me and try to lift up my shirt. I do get a good amount of sleep at night. He will be completely weaned by Kindergarten(most likely).

I think I have answered many of the questions I hear about the extended nursing of my son. In the US we tend to think of nursing our children in terms of months, but our nursing sisters in other countries tend to think of nursing in terms of years. It is not uncommon for the nursing relationship to last from 3-5 years in some places.

Samuel truly does prefer "Nanita" to all other beverages. As he grows older, we do have some boundaries in our nursing relationship. At the table, we eat food. We nurse most often in the bed, for snuggle time when I get home from work, for naps and nite-nite. We may nurse, at nap or near bedtime, in the homes of family and friends, but almost never in public anymore.

Weaning begins the moment a child begins eating food. Samuel began eating food at about 6 months, and will continue to nurse until he lets me know he doesn't really need it anymore. He nurses significantly less now than he did as a baby. My oldest was completely weaned from the breast by 3. I have no doubt that Samuel will do about the same. He is a very active child and is getting too busy to nurse for too long during the day.

Extended nursing, and nursing in general, is a time consuming endeavor. I have to be more careful about what I eat, the medicines I take and my vitamin intake. I need to stay well hydrated. I am hungry often. I sacrifice "free time" to feed and hold my baby. I truly believe that I am laying down a strong foundation of healthy emotional, physical and neurological development for my son. I am blessed to be able to nourish my son with my milk and my arms.