Did You Ever Think You Would Have
A Breastfeeding Toddler?
I never thought I would nurse my son for this long but it just happened NATURALLY. It is hard to believe my little baby is already two. Not only is he in his terrible two's but he is a Breastfeeding Toddler!!
When he was born all I knew was that I would breastfeed him until he could eat enough
solid food to not need breast milk anymore. I didn't know it would take 20 months for Leo to reach this step. And now we are very gradually reducing his
nursing time. For me this transition step has been my biggest challenge. Having sore nipples or breast infections was nothing! This has been the hardest stage so far.
"There must be reasons why we men are so hipped on breasts
as if we'd all been weaned too soon."
Gunter Grass
Discover all my challenges and concerns I'm encountering with my toddler and the ones from some of my friends that have shared their Toddler stories at the Bottom of
this Page:
- Why Breastfeed a Toddler?
- Breastfeeding Positions for Toddler
- How To Introduce Solid Food
- The Night Snackers
- Toddler Nutrition
- We Don't Play With Mom Boobs!
- Breastfeeding Toddler In Public
- Breastfeeding Toddler During Pregnancy
- Tandem Breastfeeding
- The Weaning Process
Why do we need support to Breastfeed our Toddlers?
I remember while Leo was a newborn everybody was very supportive of me breastfeeding him. Though, I still would hear people make jokes or comments about breastfeeding
toddlers or children when they are considered "too old". It is a fact that today in western culture breastfeeding toddlers is often not well accepted. It is hard
for many people to see the benefits, and adults have a tendancy to see breastfeeding an older child as a sexuel act. You hear things like little boys that breastfeed
for too long will be obsessed by boobs or overly dependent on us, or homosexual...
It is hard to hear these comments and always have enough patience to explain our choice to breastfeed. This is only one challenge that we have to deal with.
For me my biggest challenges have not come from other people, they've come from my own toddler. And I've had so many questions like: How should I introduce
solid food? Is he getting enough solid food?
How much protein does he need? How can I stop him from nursing at night because I need rest and my boobs hurt? Is he really hungry
at 4 in the morning after eating three full meals with snacks or is he just looking for comfort? How can I explain to him that my boobs are not a toy? How should I
gradually reduce nursing timesand eventually wean him?...
These are the questions I've had and continue to have about my toddler. This stage is full of testing limits and boundaries so it is important to remember
that a 2 year old still has some baby in him! All I know is that it has been very beneficial to breastfeed my toddler through this important developmental stage
in his childhood. And support from my husband and friends helps me get through the "terrible two's".
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New! Comments
Let me know what you think. I'd love to get your feedback and hear your own breastfeeding stories.
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