Greetings, I really liked Nikki's comments about memory being cellular as well as energetic (did I get that right?). When I used to muse aloud about whether my (then) infants would ever have cherished memories of their breastfeeding experiences, my husband (the sage) would respond that it didn't in effect matter: it would be internalized as part of their subconscious, or their spiritual core. For what it's worth, my older son, 8, nursed until the month before his fourth birthday. I think he was tired at that point of having to wait his turn to nurse after his 15-month-old brother. By Kindergarten, it appeared that he didn't remember the whole thing -- but then, a big brother is in a big hurry to prove how big he is, and nursing to him had become an act for babies. Which of course he is wont to remind his younger brother, who, at nearly 5 1/2, still adores his "serum" which comes from those wonderful "Vera sisters." (I did ask older son what he remembers about nursing, and he replied,"I really don't remember anything except the sweet taste.") As far as the dependence issue, which Jeanne wondered about in her only son, my feeling is that this is a moot point, whether in boys or girls. Temperament will always be particular to individuals: clingy kids are clingy whether bf or not, though to me ultimately a clingy or more dependent child can only be helped to gain confidence by the nurturing and respect inherent in bf until child-led weaning occurs. The need to worry about pressure to have an independent boy - or girl - at 2,3, or even 5 years is to me a sad commentary on modern society. Even the most intuitive amongst us, I guess, need to be reassured that intuitive mothering (and fathering) of our children is the foundation of the human condition. And breastfeeding our children until their need is outgrown is the essence of that foundation. Sorry this is so long! Warmly, Marjorie Vera LLLL, Brooklyn, NY *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html