three and a half

When I had my first baby my goal was to nurse for six months, then 9 months, then 12 months. Then I met a mom who told me I could let my baby continue to breastfeed after age one, that was new information to me because I thought breastfeeding was like bottle feeding and only went to one year. I worked in a lot of daycare centers before I became a mom and at one year they got a cup instead of a bottle. At the time, being just 22 years old, I didn't know breastfeeding past one year was an option. I was young and inexperienced. My first child went on to nurse for four years. I weaned her when she turned four because I heard a story on the radio of a mother who had her child taken away when he was six because he was still breastfeeding. It scared me. That was 2001. My second child I weaned when she was two years and one month old because I found out I was pregnant with her sister. I know some women do nurse through pregnancy, but I miscarried while breastfeeding my first child so I wasn't willing to risk it. My third child is my only self-weaner. She started sucking her fingers when she was one month old, so she was not much of a comfort nurser. She weaned herself when she was 2 years and 7 months old. My fourth child, my last child, my open-heart surgery survivor, is still nursing. He will be three and seven months tomorrow. Some days he will only nurse before bed, most days he nurses in the morning and before bed, some days he will nurse a few times during the day. His norm is that he can breastfeed if he wants to and it seems to me, logically, that is the norm for mammals. For me it's nice because I get to cuddle him and I get some quiet time. It also makes bedtime a piece of cake, nursing a preschooler is like a magic fix for sickness, hurts, falls, sadness, anything, any trouble he has will be fixed easily with just a few minutes of nursing. He will be my second self-weaner.