From: "Karen and Jim Urbec" <[log in to unmask]>

>  My point is this:  I am a big supporter of child-led weaning and would
> definitely wonder about a child "spontaneously" weaning before a year (I'd
> think of that as a strike or something else going on), but I do consider
> nursing to be a relationship, especially for the extended nursing couple,
> and I think it's entirely reasonable to expect that the relationship will
> grow and change over time, like any relationship does.  As the child gets
<<snip>>
> make a study of child-led weaning any easier, but I do think it's part of
> the process of a child's gradual growth toward independence.

    karen...while i wouldn't necessarily call such weaning "child-led", i
definitely agree with you that breastfeeding should be a relationship that
is beneficial to both mom and baby...a sort of symbiosis, if you will. i
don't see anything wrong with mom gently encouraging weaning after a
reasonable age (in *my* mind, after 2-3 years, but that's just my thought,
based mostly on kathy's research and my own observations), nor with mom
changing nursing to a private, quiet time with mom thing, etc. as the child
gets older. it isn't "child-led"...but *who* says "child-led" is always
best??

Maka Laughingwolf
breastfeeding peer counselor
studying toward eventual IBCLC
in Garden City, KS today but
soon to be in Yakima, WA
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