Breastfeeding Beyond One Year – Why I Do It

It happened again. As I lifted up my blouse to nurse the nearly-2-year-old Anton, I got an incredulous response: “You’re still breastfeeding him?” I merely smiled and kept right on nursing.

On hindsight, I should have done better. It was a perfect opportunity to educate another woman about the benefits of breastfeeding beyond one year. In fact, the woman I was with is a registered nurse and yet she didn’t recognize the importance of breastfeeding my toddler.

So I’ve been thinking of what I wish I had said, or what I will say next time this happens. I think it’ll be something like, “Yes, of course. As far as breastfeeding is concerned, the longer a mother breastfeeds, the better it is for her baby and for herself.”

And if the person I’m talking to is still interested, then I will give the juicy details:

[ad#ad-2] I like being able to put my toddler to sleep easily, without having to carry him or rock him to sleep.

With my little boy’s weight, I can barely carry him, let alone rock him to sleep. But when he’s tired, I can just sit down or lie down and nurse him and he’ll be out like a light.

It’s great to be able to comfort him when he’s having a rough time or even after a tantrum.

Toddlers are prone to sudden emotional shifts, which they cannot control. Breastfeeding allows me to help my toddler calm down and regroup in a loving, nurturing way. Nobody can deny that breastfeeding beyond one year is great for emotional bonding.

My milk continues to give him plenty of immune system boosters.

When the little guy started having a runny nose last week, I made a mental note to nurse him more frequently. His cold disappeared after one day. My breastmilk still contains antibodies and there’s just no other better way to give them to my child than through breastfeeding.

Scientists say babies who were breastfed the longest have higher IQs even up to adulthood.

Many studies have been made and published showing that there are differences in IQ between children who were breastfed vs formula-fed. The greater differences were observed among children and adults who were breastfed the longest. Need I say more?

Next time somebody makes an innocent (I won’t say “ignorant”) remark about me breastfeeding beyond one year, I’ll be ready.

What do YOU say when other people comment about your breastfeeding?

Related Resources:

Articles on Breastfeeding – From getting started to overcoming common problems, to nursing in public, and many more!

Breastfeeding Videos – It’s easier to learn how to breastfeed with the help of high-quality video footages. Includes advice from world-renowned experts, too, such as Dr. William Sears and others.

Photo by Alexander Tundakov

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