A Slight Rant on Breastfeeding

Our sweet little guy is almost one, and I'm proud to say that we are still going strong at breastfeeding. I've had some questions and comments about the fact that I'm still nursing Felix, but the more I read about it the more I learn that it is the best and most natural thing to keep doing for him.

Don't get me wrong, I completely believe in the mother's ability to choose what is right for their kid. I know people who have wanted so badly to breastfeed, but it just didn't work for them and they had to go with formula from the start. Or people a generation older than me who didn't have the support for breastfeeding. I know people who stopped after only a couple of months because it made the most sense for their family. At the one year mark I'm starting to understand how judged they must have felt at times, especially by the intense breastfeeding activist types...a group to whom I don't think I belong, but I can understand where their frustration comes from.

I do think that society and our culture has created some extremely weird views on how one should feed their babies, what we should feed our babies, and for how long. We have tried to follow Felix's cues as our strategy has been as simple as doing what seems the most natural.

The World Health Organization actually recommends breastfeeding for at least two years. I know people who have gone to two years and beyond, but keep it a secret. I don't think it is anything to be embarassed about.

Right now, Felix is drinking cow's milk during the day at daycare (and eating SO MUCH solid food) and breastfeeding in the morning and at night. He gets a bottle of formula most nights because Stephen likes to feed him a bottle and it was a tradition we started when he was very young (but with pumped breastmilk) in order to allow me to get a longer stretch of sleep at night. We are going to keep it up as long as Felix wants/needs to...and I hope you don't think any less of us.

I haven't breastfed him in public for quite a few months now, but I wish I was less shy/more hardcore that way. He gets too distracted unless we are in a quiet place and he is likely to try to crawl away at any moment. Those nursing covers just don't work after your baby is a certain age...how would you like to eat with a blanket over your head?

From an article on a natural parenting website about how to answer breastfeeding questions:

“Shouldn’t he be weaned by now?”

The natural weaning age for humans is physiologically estimated to be between 2.5 and 7 years.The World Health Organization officially recommends breastfeeding for at least 2 years.The antibodies and nutrients (particularly energy, protein and fat) abundant in human milk increase in concentration during the second year and during the weaning process. In the second year, 448 mL of breastmilk provides: o 29% of energy requirementso 43% of protein requirementso 36% of calcium requirementso 75% of vitamin A requirementso 76% of folate requirementso 94% of vitamin B12 requirementso 60% of vitamin C requirements

“It’s disrespectful to nurse in public”

No, it’s disrespectful to stare at and harass a breastfeeding mother. Breasts are for breastfeeding, not titillating men’s sexual appetites . If you can’t keep your sexual thoughts in check long enough for a mother to feed her child, take yourself to the nearest bathroom and sort your sexual frustrations out. Any mother breastfeeding in public, baring her breasts, is to be applauded and revered for standing up for her right to use, and declare her breasts as nourishment for her child. It takes strong , instinctive women like these to push back against the oppressive sexualization of breasts. And of course, the law is on our side, so we can always state our rights and offer to get a lawyer involved.