After 9 months of nursing Adeline, I am still amazed that my body actually produces a liquid that is the perfect balance of nutrition to sustain another human life. I guess that's not too different from my complete bewilderment the entire 9 months that I was pregnant that there was indeed a human being growing inside of me. Anyway, nursing was such a strange (natural, yes... but strange as well) activity right from the start. I have grown so accustom to it now that is is like second nature and quite enjoy the sweet, cuddly, quiet time that Adeline and I have together when she nurses. As she gets closer to her birthday, which is when I had intended to wean her, I've been thinking about our nursing sessions more often.
My view of breastfeeding, much like almost *all* of my views & plans regarding parenting has completely changed since becoming a parent. I plan to breastfeed Addie at least until she's two, which is something I would have never imagined doing before having her. I used to think that it was so weird when people breastfed their children beyond a year. It is a common view, I think... so I can sympathize with people who feel that way. All I can say is that things look a lot different when it is your child. Nursing is such a comforting thing for a child and I hate to just rip that away from Adeline before she's ready or at least old enough for me to talk to her about it. There are also a lot of medical benefits to nursing a toddler and after having a sick baby the past few days, I'd probably nurse her until she's 20 if it could guarantee that she'd remain healthy the whole time. The World Heath Organization recommends that mothers breastfeed their children at least until they are two, then beyond that as long as both the mother and child want to continue and that is what I'm planning on.
I never thought I would be one of "those moms" with a nursing toddler. Much like I never thought I had a problem with crying it out, never thought I would co-sleep with my child, and basically never really agreed with attachment parenting in general. Oh how our views change when we have children and start to explore our own as well as their personalities. Basically Adeline has thrown my whole parenting plan out the window! I was warned that this would happen by many people, especially my mom. But when has she ever been right in the past??
And so we continue our nursing "career". Luckily Adeline has not yet discovered (as many of her baby friends have) that her teeth can be used to inflict pain on Mommy and can evidently be quite funny and enjoyable for babies. She has, however become quite the talker lately. She is experimenting with lots of different sounds and can't be bothered to take a brake from her practicing to eat. Lately she's been blowing raspberries on my boob, which is interesting. I'm hoping that phase passes soon. Although it will be great to torture her with when she brings a boyfriend home for the first time. :)
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