Just one more week and Kahlan will be 1. How did this year fly by so fast? It started out so slow, and then here we are. So it’s gotten me thinking a lot about our breastfeeding journey, and the people asking when are we going to stop has helped too. When I started this whole journey, I was just hoping to be able to breastfeed. Then I hoped for 6 months. After that I felt very confident, but still worried and hoped for 1 year. And now we are at that point. But back in those early days, I just thought 1 year was good enough! I had no idea how attached and passionate I would become about breastfeeding. I had no idea that I would reach this point and start questioning if self-weaning or mother-led-weaning is what I want. I didn’t even know I would have that option until now. Frankly I’m lucky that I do. I know quite a few moms that haven’t, or won’t, get this opportunity, I’m blessed in this aspect. So I do not take it lightly.
It is recommended that a mom breastfeeds at a minimum of 1 year and until the age of 2 or until the mother and baby deemed finished. I interpret that as: breastfeed till 1, and the rest is a big bonus. I mean there is a lot of health benefits for her and for me when you breastfeed past a year. So actually it is a BIG bonus.
On top of that it helps her nutrition. I know they can turn into picky eaters sometimes. Right now Kahlan is pretty good with food, but some days she just doesn’t eat a lot. By breastfeeding I can give her the extra nutrition that she may be lacking from every day foods. Which to me means that her eating habits will be less stressful on me, and frankly I could use less stress.
Breastfeeding makes me stop. I am a go-go-go kind of person, and even in the smallest sense of just being gone in my head. But when she comes to me for milk, that’s all there is in the world right then. It makes me stop what I’m doing, pull all my focus on her, and revel in the joy of my baby. I can take a few seconds to just look at her and be with her, and everything else is behind me.
There’s the benefit of comfort and a bond. When she falls and gets hurt, I can offer her milk and she calms down. It’s like an instant “off” button. If she’s having trouble sleeping, or going down for a nap, I can nurse her to help her drift off. And the closeness just cannot be beaten. Sitting there on the couch, in the rocking chair, in the car even….holding her….staring at her….watching her play with my necklace. She’s so small right now, and in the not too distant future she won’t be able to curl into me the same way. Why would I give that up if I don’t have to? I mean I do have my limits, and I know there will come a time where our journey will end. But why rush it if we aren’t there yet?
So to those that care, to those that question, to those that judge, to myself even…..here is my answer: when we’re ready.
