Breastfeeding: Nursing in Public and Extended Breastfeeding

(Man oh man this posting once a day is hard! How (and when?!) do you regular bloggers do it? Sheesh. Almost done. I can do it! I'm almost all "breastfed" out, if you will, when it comes to discussing it. In the future if anyone asks me a question regarding breastfeeding I may just write down my blog and silently walk away)


This was going to be my last breastfeeding post but it was getting too long! So I'll wrap it up tomorrow.

I'm a "talker"- so naturally when I type I become a "typer" and get all wordy n stuff. My blog posts get way too long and I'm like "ahh- I have to shorten this! People do not have an extra 30 minutes to devote to reading my blog"

See? I'm even being wordy about being wordy! Ok onto my point...

Nursing In Public

I breastfed Nathan in public a few times in the beginning but started pumping/bottle feeding more. I have a nursing cover that I love and it has been helpful to be discreet. It's much better than using a regular blanket because it loops around my neck so it doesn't slide down/get pulled down and it bows out at the top so I can easily look down and see the baby (the brand is called "Hooter Hider"- not kidding.)

I think it's important for the public to see me nurse but not "see" me nurse. I want to be discreet and private yet help to "normalize" nursing again which will only happen when more women respectfully nurse in public.

Not too long ago it was the only way you could feed your baby. But now sometimes you hear/read comments such as "gross" and "unappropriate" when it comes to breastfeeding. I want the next generation to see women nursing to learn that there is a natural way to nourish your baby other than with a bottle.

Since Luke is getting older though it is getting more difficult to nurse him in public. He grabs the nursing cover and smiles at me because he knows I don't want him to move it. Stinker. He's starting to eat more and nurse little less so I have a feeling our nursing in public days are almost over.

My biggest advice for nursing discreetly in public is wear something that you can easily pull the bottom up or unbutton, a nursing cover, and don't wait until baby is really really hungry. It's a lot easier to prepare to feed a calm baby than one who is screaming and everyone is staring while you're trying get everything situated.

Extended Breastfeeding

My original goal to nurse Luke was 1 year. When I shared that goal with a friend she said "why stop at a year?" and I said something like "because...well....hmph...I don't know."

That got me thinking...Why stop at one? What are the benefits of breastfeeding longer? Are there any reasons not to? I wouldn't "scar him for life" would I? How many women are going beyond a year because I never see anyone breastfeeding an older baby?

So I researched and asked. I found out a lot that I didn't know. I read that at about 12 months your milk increases in immunity to protect that baby who is now toddling around and getting exposed to more germs. Ok makes sense.

I also read that about every study regarding the benefits of breast milk is dosage based- meaning the longer they nurse the more benefit they receive. Which is also true for moms- the longer you nurse the less chance of cancer and osteoporosis.

So the facts were starting to convince me but what about how I felt about nursing beyond a year? To have your kid come up and ask for it? I admit that sounds strange. It's more pleasant thinking about nursing a newborn than a kid running around, screaming, and big enough to "know what he is doing."

This recent conversation made me think back to another conversation I had with a college roomate in which, while discussing breastfeeding, we both agreed "if they can ask for it- they're too old."

I started to really ponder where these feelings came from. Why did I think that? Where did those thoughts originate?

I realized I thought these things because I had never seen a nursing relationship go beyond a year. It seemed so foreign and odd. But I came to realize that it's much more common than I thought. My judgement was stemmed from society's negative view of extended nursing which often has shock value because of the way the media portrays it.

One of the most interesting comments I read about extended nursing is that it never feels "weird" because it's not like your kid is a sweet helpless newborn and the next day they are a monster child with rows of shark teeth screaming "MOOOOMMM- give me some milk!!!!!!" It's gradual. It's the same as watching your child grow- you don't really notice a daily change. So there never is this "whoa now it's weird because you're too old" moment because each day they seem the same size as the day before.

After a lot of searching my feelings on the topic of extended nursing I decided that I will take it day by day and see what feels right for both myself and Luke.

We'll see. He may stop by 18 months or 24 months. I may want to stop sooner. Who knows? But I figure if it's working and benefitting both of us- why stop now?