I Am Not Crazy

I have a little 5 month month old baby that I am nursing. I also have a little 2 year & 8 month old baby that I am nursing. Yes....Elijah is still nursing.

This is called "tandem nursing", and no, I am not crazy. Elijah is not too old to be nursing. He likes to nurse. It is comforting to him. And it is good for him, both emotionally and nutritionally. And when he is sick it is a lifesaver! I don't have to worry as much about him getting dehydrated.
I am not crazy, and neither is my son. And here is why...

FACT 1: Elijah benefits nutritionally.
If cows milk is so good for humans, wouldn't you think that human milk would be that much more better? Cows milk for cows, human milk for human. Human milk was designed specifically for humans, full of antibodies and all those omega 3 things that you hear about that are so important for the brain.

FACT 2: Elijah is sick less often than if he weren't extended breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also says that children weaned from the breast before age 2 are at an increased risk for illness.

FACT 3: Elijah has a risk of having fewer allergies, especially asthma.

FACT 4: Nursing Elijah makes him smarter.
Children breastfed for a long time have higher IQ's than their less fortunate peers. We had a friend tell us he thought Elijah was 4 because he was so articulate.

FACT 5: Meeting a childs need for dependence helps them become more independent, and they will do so in their own time. I do not need to help this happen. This is just like a developmental milestone, just like learning to walk or talk. It happens naturally when a child's needs are met. And that is the best way for it to happen. Babies who are not rushed through any attachment phase (which includes nursing) and not weaned before their time actually become more independant.

Both the AAP and the World Heath Organization (WHO)say there is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding, but the AAP says that children should be breastfed until at least 2 years of age. So does the WHO.

This information is all confirmed here on the Kellymom website

Dr. Sears (a well known pediatrician and father of 8) says it is a lucky toddler who can breastfeed until age 2. He states in " The Discipline Book":

"We have noticed that children who have been weaned too early show what we call diseases of premature weaning: aggression, anger, more tantrum-like behavior, anxious clinging to caregivers, and less ability to form deep and intimate relationships. Breastfeeding seems to mellow out the aggressive tendencies of toddlers and restores balance into their behavior." (p.22)"

And:

"...infants who are not prematurely weaned, are positive kids, not at all the negative persons or the terrible twos commonly portrayed in baby books and child magazines. In my twenty-two years in pediatric practice I have noticed that the most well-behaved children are those that were not weaned before their time....
...With early weaning you lose a valuable discipline tool. Attachment mellows toddler behavior. We believe that much of the toddler misbehavior such as anger and aggression, and behaviors that are passed off as "normal twos" are really behaviors of premature detachment...
...[We should] allow the child to separate from the parent instead of the parent prematurely separating from the child." (p.55)

Do I find the toddler years challenging? Most certainly yes! Elijah still has a few tantrums here and there. But his favorite word is not "no" and it is so easy to get him to do clean up his toys and even help me prepare supper and wash the dishes. He is not the defiant stubborn two year old that I see in most other two year olds. He is fairly compliant, even though I feel like a total screw-up in parenting. And I chalk that up to him having his attachment needs met and being respected by his parents - two easy things that are easy for me to do.

I was going to wean Elijah when he turned 2, but upon contemplation, I realized that was giving him the bare minimum recommendation of 2 years. And he wasn't ready. He was definately not ready. Even though I'd like him to be ready.

If God intended breastfeeding to last only the first 6 months of a baby's life, then He would have created a "Formula Tree" that gave us formula for babies, and babies would be hard-wired to wean before their first birthday.

So don't raise your brow when you see Elijah nurse or hear him talk about it. Don't mind him when he nurses his firetruck or his stuffed bear. He will wean when he is ready. And dear God, please make him wean before he's five.