As our society has changed over the last 100 hundred years, we have moved into an era where we get to make a choice on whether or not we breastfeed. I believe that our wonderful formula’s we have available today are a huge blessing, when they are necessary. I also believe that if women knew what a wonderful experience, the ease of convenience, and the increased quiet alone time we get with our children while breastfeeding, more would make that choice. With my own personal experience of breastfeeding my son for more than 2 years I received a huge life lesson. My lesson is that human nature is designed so more profoundly that I could have ever imagined.

When I started out in this breastfeeding experiment, my first thought was that I would try to go 6 months, IF I COULD MAKE IT (I thought). My milk came in so fast and hard, the first few weeks were quite a disaster. Sleepless, crying nights with milk squirting all over his face and none making actually into his month. The first six months were plagued with some ups and downs and there were times I wondered when the day would come when he would wait more than 30 minutes between feedings. I kept making it work, not because it was hard work, but because it felt absolutely perfect to do so. Once we got to 6 months, I realized there was no way I could stop this beautiful union of mother and child. So, I aimed my sights at one year and then I would reevaluate our situation. I soon realized after 6 or 7 months of breastfeeding, this relationship became easier and easier. Then it was no longer so much of an effort to breastfeed, but a process that I realized he needed and I needed. It calmed him and me, when he fell and hurt himself, when he was frustrated, when he was hungry, and when he was sleepy, lonely, bored, etc. It was then I realized that it was going to be a lot longer than just 1 year of his life. Once it became apparent that breastfeeding was so much more than just a food source, I knew we were in it for the long haul. We spent the next year enjoying the quietness that nursing brought in our household and how wonderful Cameron’s immune system held up during the winter months.

Our wonderful breastfeeding relationship was abruptly ended when I was pregnant and a threatened miscarriage scared me. I decided that at 2 years 2 months old, I had to make a choice for the next little one coming along. I was scared (although debatable, see article link below) that my breastfeeding might cause a miscarriage. Although, a miscarriage was inevitable with this pregnancy, at the time I did not know that and decided to stop the last nightly nursing with Cameron. I was very sad and felt wrenched at having to make the decision to take it away from him. Now it has been 2 months since we weaned and Cameron still asks to nurse almost every day. There is not a single time that I do not feel regret and sadness that we had to end our quiet one-on-one breastfeeding moments at a time when he obviously still needed them. Cameron and I are learning how to communicate to one another on a different level. It is taking us some time to work through this, but I am sure we will come out in the end still very close by learning new ways. I am using skin-to-skin contact a lot, as he loves to touch my my skin when he is upset, it somehow slows his tears.

My hope is that breastfeeding women continue to support one another with the concept that our children will lead the way. Children are as different about breastfeeding as they are about sleeping patterns, eating habits, and personalities. What works for one child may not work for another. By continuing to provide that closeness to our children, we give them the confidence that we will always be there when they need us, no matter how old they are. I hope we can continue to encourage women to trust their instincts, their bodies, and most of all their children.

For more information on breastfeeding, visit La Leche League’s website at www.lalecheleague.org, read the book “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding”, or attend your local La Leche League meetings (free to breastfeeding/pregnant mothers).

For more information on the safety of breastfeeding while pregnant, read this article.
http://www.attachmentparenting.org/artnewlook.shtml