As some of you may know, my 3rd child I breastfed until he was 4. My milk dried up several months ago but he was still finding comfort in latching for a few minutes every couple of days even though he was getting no milk. I know about the benefits of just having child to breast so I was totally fine with it. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago my husband and I decided to talk to him and start telling him no when he went for the boob. Honestly, it made me want to cry, but my son reacted so calmly and really had no problem with it other than the first few times of me telling him gently "no" he would kind of pout and ask why. Though I wcould have allowed him to comfort nurse for years to come with no problem, I really felt he was ready and I had to encourage him and let him "spread his wings" if you will. SOmetimes, we need to let them grow up-and I knew it was time, despite what my heart felt. Well, it's been probably 3-4 weeks since no more latching and he is totally fine, well adjusted, we had no drama, no tantrums etc. etc. He has told me a couple of times that he really misses my "sweet yummy milk" but we are able to talk about his nursing in a mature, memorable way. With his 5th birthday just months away, I leave behind one of the sweetest parts of my motherhood thus far, nursing into toddler hood and bonding forever. I love that he is old enough to always remember nursing. I miss it every day and often times think about a 4th baby, but for now this is it. And for all the people that just don't understand "extended breastfeeding" ( i dislike the use of that term because it is not "extended" it is how it is supposed to be, it's just breastfeeding) and thinks it makes the kid have dependency issues and makes them shy or weird, lol, if you could meet my son, you would see just how independent and brave he is despite his disability and the fact that I nursed him for almost 5 years. Anyway, I could talk for hours about the benefits and sweetness of nursing a toddler, but I wanted to remind you that if you are nursing a boob obsessed 2 year old (trust me, we were there, he wanted to nurse every minute at age two and wanted both boobs and wanted to touch both boobs and play with boobs-gah!) and you have a lot of critics and think there will never be an end to your craziness of nursing a big kid, that it does end sweetly and softly when the child is ready. Lastly, I still co-sleep with him (for many reasons other than just to co-sleep-he has epilepsy and is paralyzed from the waist down) and any time he tosses and turns in his sleep naturally, his hand goes right for my breast and once he feels my skin, he is back to sleep. I guess it's like his "blankie". I love being his mommy. Sometimes, we have to follow our instincts and not the popular choice, and when we trust ourselves enough to do that, I truly think motherhood is a powerful, blissful thing.
