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| Name: 3 time nursing mom | Date: Mar 18th, 2006 1:10 AM |
| As a person with a strong risk for type 2 diabetes and 8 years (and still counting) of breastfeeding under my belt, I sure do appreciate those numbers! Thanks Melissa! ↑ |
| Name: melissa | Date: Mar 18th, 2006 1:17 AM |
| everytime i look anything up about breastfeeding i only find new and interesting GOOD things!!!!!! ↑ |
| Name: p.c. | Date: Mar 21st, 2006 1:05 PM |
| Hello 3 time breastfeeding mom, If you are interested, there is a thread in the 'due date' forum that I think could benefit from the numbers you seem to have on breastfeeding. It's called "Not Breastfeeding". And it relates to how Americans view breasts differently (or not differently) then other parts of the world. Just looking for a bit support, lol ↑ |
| Name: sonia | Date: Mar 21st, 2006 3:35 PM |
| Yea!! I want to breastfeed for a very long time. my son is seven months old now. I really don't want diabetes. One more reason to continue but I do have to admit that I will feel akward nursing a baby over two here in the USA .so many people will have there input on me weening. I know I have three other children all of whom were weened before one year. I don't want this to happen again. What do you say to people when they say ween them they are almost one? What if the person putting pressure to ween is my own mother? ↑ |
| Name: melissa | Date: Mar 21st, 2006 8:59 PM |
| this is your child not theirs. it is none of there business when u wean YOUR child. tell them that the longer u breastfeed the healthier u and your child will be. when children get older they don't breastfeed as often so if they don't ask then don't tell. if your child is only breastfeeding at night how will they know? ↑ |
| Name: 3 time nursing mom | Date: Mar 22nd, 2006 3:42 AM |
| Sonia, It appears I have written a long post. I am sorry, lol. But I do appreciate your problem having dealt with it myself, and I consider it worth some attention. First off I want to recommend a book “Mothering Your Nursing Toddler” by Norma Jane Bumgarner. It is recommended again further down my posting here, but I want to post it at the top just in case I lose your interest and you don’t read all of this, lol. It is an excellent book chocked full of facts that are just what you are needing. After reading it you will not worry so much about what others are saying to you, for you know what you are doing is in your child’s best interest. O.K. then, on to my long posting: I am in the U.S. and my 3 yr old and I still have a nursing relationship. I find it easier today then it was with her sister, 20 yrs ago. She was into her 3rd year of age when she no longer had a desire to come to the breast. This younger one though is a stronger nurser at the age of 3 and conceivably may continue into her 4th yr, though that remains to be seen. Melissa is correct. As time goes on, the nursing sort of peters off to a certain routine, a couple of times a day to eventually only once a day, then just a few times a week, then only when they get an 'owie' or a 'boo boo', or just need to reconnect with Momma. Finally the day will come when you realize it has been more then a week or two and you, with a sad heart will ask "Little One, do you want some 'num nums'? " And your Little One will say confidently "Nope.", never stopping their play. And it is at that moment that you get your first taste of empty nest syndrome. lol. Dear Sonia, It is a sad fact of our lifestyle here in the U.S. that nursing mothers do not have the support that they should have. Our mothers, aunts and grandmothers, the very people that should be teaching us the “womanly art of breastfeeding”(which by the way is the title of an excellent book) and supporting us, are instead causing us stress. Without such traditional support, we need to turn to others. Breastfeeding mothers need support! So I recommend highly, if you feeling stress (for stress can affect the nursing relationship), to contact your local La Leche League group. You can locate the closest group by going to their website. www.lalecheleague.org and clicking on the “groups/affiliates” option at the top of the page, towards the right. Attend a meeting or two to see if you like it, then join if you find it helpful. I think you will (for the amount of promotion I give them, you’d think I was a member, but ironically I never have been, lol). As for dealing with critics, it is all in your attitude. I know it is difficult dealing with some people. My former mother-in-law was living with us for a time and in our life daily, and she strongly disapproved of my nursing past 6 months. With her even 6 months was pushing it! But I dealt with her by calling in the skills I honed as a 13 yr old with my own mom. I just watched her talk and talk, and none of the words entered my brain, lol. It didn't bother me to do this, she never cared for me anyways, lol. Seriously, though, that is what you have to do sometimes. Looking back at those times, I don’t know how I managed to continue some days. It was the support of my cousin and knowing that I was doing the best for my child that kept me at it. You know nursing for as long as the child wants is what is best for your child, as well as for you. Not only does it decrease your risks concerning diabetes, it also decreases your risk for breast cancer, uterine and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, etc. The hormones that aid us in producing breastmilk are good for our overall health and have a positive effect on our body that we benefit from well into our old age. Read Anne-Marie’s post titled “101 reasons to breastfeed”. What I have done and what I recommend to you is to read a ton of books on breastfeeding (I strongly recommend “Mothering your Nursing Toddler” by Norma Jane Bumgarner), gather a few facts from reputable sites, especially www.lalecheleague.org (anyone sick of me recommending that site yet? Lol) and arm some of these facts to memory. Then when faced with critics you can tell them… “Gee, I’m glad you brought this up. Did you know that the average age of weaning according to UNICEF and the World Health Organization is 4 years of age? Isn’t that something? You wouldn’t think we would have such a backward attitude here in the U.S. as to wean our children so unnaturally early. I’m so glad that’s starting to change.” Or “Isn’t it nice that the longer I breastfeed my child, the greater reduction I have in breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and diabetes risks? I know Mom, that because you love me such news will make you happy.” Or “Did you know that children that nurse into toddlerhood are more self-confident and do better in school? And according to the American Academy of Pediatrics nursing toddlers are 5 times less likely to get sick then weaned toddlers? ” But when dealing with closed minded people sometimes the best response is: “Thank you, I will take your advice under consideration” and then IMMEDIATELY change the subject. Personally, I like the more sarcastic “Thank you, I will give your advice the consideration it is worth”, lol, but I don’t recommend using it. No need to piss people off. I have found nursing my toddler ahead of close friends and relatives a wonderful way of spreading the good news of breastfeeding. I have turned more then a few heads at first but after hearing the facts I shared with them, they no longer give it a second thought except to talk positively about it. I learned the art of breastfeeding when I lived with my cousin when she was nursing back in the early 1980’s. This is how mothers are supposed to learn about breastfeeding, from their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. Unfortunately it is an art that seems to have been lost the last few decades. So Sonia, anytime you find yourself faced with a critic, change the color of the situation a bit, and you will see that actually you are faced with an opportunity to share knowledge! The key is to first acquire that knowledge yourself. I myself, after all these years, am still buying books on the topic. I have no doubt that my daughters will be borrowing them from me in the future. Please read more advice at these following sites: http://www.lalecheleagu e.org/FAQ/criticism.html Goo d luck and tell us how you’re doing. ↑ |
| Name: 3 time nursing mom | Date: Mar 22nd, 2006 3:42 AM |
| Hello p.c. I will check out that thread as you suggested. ↑ |
