I have been lactating for 12 years straight, including through 2 pregnancies and briefly tandem nursing.
Grace and I
Now, at age 48, I'm pretty sure that my baby-making days are over. Although I do have a good friend who had her last baby at age 48, so it's not impossible.
Isaiah is now 12 years old, Grace is 9 and Olive has just turned 6.
(1 year ago)
My youngest child, Olive, weaned just a few months ago at the age of 5¾.
Each of my children were breastfed for over 3 years.
When I do the calculations, the average age of weaning for all 3 of my children, was 4.25 years -- exactly the world average age of weaning.
So, according to world standards, I am average -- but according to North American standards, I am "EXTREME."
The smaller print says ...
"Why attachment parenting drives some mothers to extremes ---"
In the photo, the mother is breastfeeding a child who is not quite 4 years old yet. Somehow in the strange world of America, this is considered extreme. Yet in the rest of the world this is what most children do!!! Sometimes the way that the press covers things, makes me feel like I'm living in the Twilight Zone. Such discrimination on the front page of "Time" is abhorrent.
I was an older mom of 36 when my first child, Isaiah, was born over 12 years ago. It was my second marriage and my husband already had one child from his first marriage.
I met Raphael at age 32, married at 34, and had our first child 2 years later.
Linda & Raphael
I breastfed for so long, because it felt like the right thing to do. My young children needed it. It was our decision, and not society's decision.
My youngest child, Olive, especially needed to breastfeed for longer. I don't know why she needed that extra attachment to mama, but I just trust that there was a good reason. I encouraged her many times after the age of 3 to consider weaning, but she was simply not ready. She LOVED, loved, loved breastfeeding.
Here I am breastfeeding my 3-year-old son, while hugely pregnant with my second child.
Here is Isaiah before I got pregnant again.
Here is newborn Grace and I.
Read more articles like this one at my Blog:
Please Comment Below and Let's Have a Productive Conversation!
