At two and a half years old, Abby is still a nursling. I often get raised eyebrows and questions when people find out. Here are ten reasons my active toddler still nurses:
- She likes it!
- Breast milk is a healthy snack, available anywhere when I am with her
- Breastfeeding 2 years or more lowers your risk of breast cancer by 25%
- I do not need to worry about her nutritional intake
- It is comforting to her
- Breastfeeding gives us some Mommy and daughter snuggle time
- She never misses a meal
- It keeps her healthy by providing antibodies
- There are benefits science has yet to find out about
- She likes it!
My mother thinks I breastfeed still because I want more “baby time” (which is true) but it can be a pain more often than it is fun. Yes, she nurses while I write a post, talk on the phone, watch tv, try to go to sleep, grade papers, think, sleep, relax. Anytime I sit down, there is a fairly good chance Abby will run over and want to nurse. Mostly, I do it because I love her and want to provide her with the best. Right now, breastfeeding is best!
Natural weaning and “extended nursing” is way more than just breastfeeding. It is a part of parenting.
My oldest weaned just after he turned 5, and my current 5 year old is stating to wean now. My nearly 3 year old still nurses more times than I can count and will without a doubt be nursing when the now baby comes in a few months.
We all love it 🙂
Thank you for this post! All of your points also apply to me/my son, who is almost 3 now. I love the fact that I don’t have to freak out about him not eating enough vegetables: I know he gets plenty of nutrition from my breast milk 🙂 It is so convenient, if he still wants it, I’d be an idiot to forcefully stop it. We both love it too much.
Great post!!! Yay for you two! Nursing has such wonderful benefits to child and mother that it needs to be promoted more. In many parts of the world (I am sure you already know) four years of nursing is the norm, which means nursing for even longer is common. I wish my youngest son, not yet two years old, was still nursing. I miss it, even if I let him lead when he chose the foods on my plate rather than my milk.
My 3rd child nursed for 2 3/4 years. It is a shame that some people think that was way too long – some of my close friends, even. It didn’t make me stop though, and I would do it all over again. What did make me stop and think about it was what the doctor said. Emily is almost 4 yrs old and still 26 pounds. She fell off the weight chart at 9 mos. The doc thought that nursing was the reason – that she was snacking off of me and wasn’t getting a nice big meal in. I’m glad I didn’t listen and stop nursing because she still doesn’t have much of an appetite and I have resolved myself to the fact that she is just going to be petite!