Janice:

Thanks so much for your post.  I am the mother of five children, and in spite
of an intensive track record of nursing experiences, I still grieve the fact
that I was only able to nurse my first child for 5 months and one week.  I
simply got some bad advice regarding what to do about some postpartum anxiety
and medication issues.  Since then, starting with my second child, I nursed
for six straight years, through two more pregnancies, tandem nursed for 3 1/2
straight years, and at one point was nursing three and pumping and donating
milk for a newborn nephew whose mom's milk supply was low.  A year ago this
past summer my milk dried up during my fifth pregnancy so my two nursing sons
weaned at ages 3 1/2 and 24 months respectively.  Four months later my
daughter was born; she is now 14 months old and nursing by herself.  I tried
to get my 2 year old to nurse again when my milk returned but he would not.

All of this detail is to try and make the point that even with all this
nursing, I still grieve the fact that my oldest "only" got 5+ months of
nursing.  I teared up when I read your post because it still hits a nerve
with me.  My oldest son has asthma and allergies more than any of my other
kids; he also (at age 10) has been diagnosed with a perceptual motor delay.
I realize that some of this would probably be there anyway but I wonder
whether some of it could have been mitigated if I could have nursed him
longer.  It is always good to hear that any length of breastfeeding is truly
beneficial; I have repeated that wisdom to many new moms myself.  I am
currently having discussions with a nursing friend who wants to wean her 13
month old son.  It is hard for me to understand why anyone would want to
wean.  But each person must make their own decisions.  The experiences of
people like ourselves only serve to remind us all of the necessity of getting
accurate information about nursing through many types of problems out into
the medical community.  How many people can tell stories similar to ours,
especially with their first child, before many of us were as well-connected
as we are now?

Thanks for being another voice, along with Kathy D., in helping moms realize
that every day they breastfeed is a gift to their child.

Betsy Koval, LLL Grand Ledge, MI

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