Hi Janell,
I waited to respond until the article I wanted to mention was available
on-line. You asked about feelings and reactions to nursing an older child. I
have an essay in this month's Parents Magazine called "I Still Nurse My
5-Year-Old." It is an interesting piece because they came to me to ask me to write
it. It was quite a struggle because they had very different notions of what
I would write, but after months and months of back and forth, we finished
the piece. You can read it at:
_http://platypusmedia.com/documents/stillnurse.htm_ (http://platypusmedia.com/documents/stillnurse.htm)
Also, Jeannette Crenshaw, Katy Lebbing, Martin Drell, William Carey and Ruth
Lawrence all provided comments for the sidebar -- thanks everyone!
Also good place for information on the topic is Pamela Morrison's chapter,
"Breastfeeding After 6 Months," in my anthology, Breastfeeding Annual
International. I'd be happy to send you a copy of the article.
Statistically very few women breastfeed a child for years, but anyone
involved in League knows lots and lots of women who do. For most of us, it feels
right and the fact that it means so much to our children is all the evidence
we need to continue.
AJ sounds like a lucky child to have a mother willing to respond to his
needs!
- Dia
_____________________________________________
Dia L. Michels
Platypus Media -- Books for Families, Teachers and Parenting Professionals
627 A Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-1674
Toll-free: 1-877-PLATYPS (1-877-872-8977)
Fax: 202-546-2356
[log in to unmask]
_www.PlatypusMedia.com_ (http://www.PlatypusMedia.com)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 07:42:53 -0400
From: Janell Robisch <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Nursing to age 3 and beyond
Hi, all. I am new to this list. In addition to being a nursing mother and a
strong supporter of breastfeeding, I am also a copyeditor and a writer.
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article for New Beginnings on
medications and the nursing mother
(http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBNovDec03p204.html). I have been
stewing on writing an article (for perhaps Mothering or New Beginnings)
or possible longer treatise on nursing the "older child" (a.k.a. nursing
a child who is 3 or older). I think there are some very unique issues in
the decision to allow your children to nurse this long or to allow them
to wean in their own time that don't necessarily arise in nursing babies
or toddlers. And, as far as I can tell, there isn't a lot out there that
addresses these concerns (correct me if I am wrong, please :)).
Anyhow, what I am looking for is input from other moms who have done it.
My son A.J. is 4 1/2 and is not interested in weaning, although I've
spoken with him about it. I realized that lately I've felt like weaning
him, although most of what bothers me about him nursing is the
"invisible outside pressure." You know, that nagging little voice that
tells me he's too old to nurse. What would people say? Although when
he's nursing, it often seems like the most natural thing in the world.
This is the kind of thing I would like to discuss in a article/book like
this, personal stories from moms who have done it and how they have
dealt with the unique issues that come from nursing a child past age 2.
I would like to hear from you about your own personal experiences if you
would like to share. Also, I would like your ideas about what kind of
questions I could ask that could help bring out the most important
issues in this topic. If you are interested, please contact me off-list,
and I will send you the questions I have thus far (I don't want to clog
up this list with too many questions and answers).
Also, if you know of a mom not on this list who has nursed an older
child who might like to participate in this "survey" and who I have not
included, please let me know or pass my info to them.
Thanks so much!
Janell
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