I can pull my own rolly luggage
1. It’s the only time she lets me scratch off her cradle cap.
2. It gives me a moment to look deeply into her gray blue eyes.
3. When I overeat (which I fear I’ve been doing a lot lately), I know she will help me by nursing off most of the calories.
4. I never have to worry that I’ll be somewhere with the baby and she won’t have anything to eat.
5. I never have to worry that I’ll be somewhere with the baby and she won’t have anything to drink.
6. She nurses to sleep, which makes bedtime go smoothly.
7. I’m trendsetting!
8. She is learning and changing so fast, making five-word sentences, climbing ladders, telling Mommy to “go ‘way,” that it’s especially nice to have this quiet, loving, skin-to-skin time together, like we had in her infancy.
9. I eat more fresh, colorful, plant-based foods knowing I’m eating for two.
10. I get to tell my neighbor, “through college,” when Anna asks me how long I plan to nurse.
11. It lessens my risk of getting breast cancer.
12. I get some quiet uninterrupted time to read Middlemarch on my iPod while I’m nursing her to sleep lying on my side at bedtime.
Wait for the Oslo ferry all by myself.
13. Portable food for the museum visit, airplane ride, and playground.
14. Portable drink for the museum visit, airplane ride, and playground.
15. A chance to flash good-looking strangers.
16. A handy way to overcome jetlag since nursing is soporific for both of us.
17. She lets me nibble her toes (or shoves a foot in my face) while we’re nursing.
18. Sometimes even just the promise of “Sides” (which is what Leone calls nummies) is enough to quell a tantrum or fix a frustration.
19. This is my last baby. Chances are I’ll not lactate again after she stops nursing. Knowing that makes me appreciate it even more.
20. Nursing a toddler is a good conversation starter.
21. I get to smooth her flaxen hair back from her forehead, inhale her sweet scent, and cuddle her when we’re nursing.
22. My older kids and their friends see breastfeeding every day, which reinforces for them that it’s normal, healthy, enjoyable, and something moms do.
But I still love to nurse.
Are you nursing a baby or a toddler? What are some of the things you love about nursing?
More about breastfeeding from my old column at mothering.com:
He’s Not Still Nursing, Is He? The Joys of Breastfeeding Past Three
What Can We Do To Help American Women Nurse?
Grapefruit Seed Extract to Treat Thrush
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I remember really missing nursing the first time I flew after she weaned. I’d always used my boob to keep her happy on airplanes before then. Once I weaned I felt really befuddled. Now what? I managed, but the boob was SO MUCH EASIER.
Alisa Bowman recently posted..For the Love of Patience
This took me back years! I remember with my third child, being so conscious of the fact that I would never be nursing again and the very thought made me sad. It is such a special experience for both the mom and the child.
My youngest was a good nurser but it was so hard with the first two that I never made it over a year. Your little girl sure is a cutie.
Oh! You made me miss it so much. It is such intense bonding and such a warm wonderful feeling.
My 20 month old is just three days weaned. It is bittersweet! I felt so ready to move on with our relationship, but then I think, what about when she gets an ear infection or has to fly on a plane?? etc….
I think that number 22 is so important. I babysat for a work at home mom in high school, and her modeling was so important in shaping who I became as a nursing mother. My younger daughter won’t take a bottle. (She’s 10 months old, and only in the last two weeks has she taken any interest in solids, so not taking a bottle when I’m at work has been a huge stress.) Her first caregiver when I went back to work (at 4 months old) asked us to please practice with the bottle on weekends, since our daughter wasn’t drinking well when she was with her. So we did, and she cried and fought it. Our older girl said, “What’s wrong with baby?” “Daddy’s trying to give her a bottle, and she doesn’t want it.” Her response? “Nurse her.” That was a proud moment for me, because my daughter sees nursing as something very normal. (I wasn’t proud about trying to force a bottle on the baby on weekends – we never did that again.) I have to admit that I’ve never loved nursing the way that other mothers do. It is, however, very important to me. I nursed my older daughter until she was two and plan to do the same this time. I want my girls to see it as normal and important.
I miss the D-cups I had when nursing my 22-month-old!
“Through college.” I love it.
#17 is true for us, too. She giggles when I nibble her toes, while keeping the suction going. That’s talent.
My little girl is 17 months old and still nurses often. She has 5 “meals” and eats solids 3-4 times a day, but snacks throughout, especially when soothing from a cry.
The one about scratching off the cradle cap made me lol!
Cuddle time is my absolute favorite part about nursing a toddler. The are on the go so much and busy, busy, busy, I never get hugs and kisses any other time!
Ashley
Ashley recently posted..Oct 7, Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump Reviews
A bit late here, but had to reply when I saw the reference to Middlemarch – too funny! Am reading it now on my ipod and leaving my two year old on for a little longer after he falls asleep just to finish the chapter! LOL
Thanks for reading DeeDee. This week I’m reading The Help, and before that I read two very different novels set in Nice, France. But I want to go back to the 19th century. Maybe The Mill on the Floss will be next!