Will the real milk please stand up…or run down
Oh, I have a blog?
Hello!
Everyone is over the stomach bug here. Quinn, Mia, Bill and I all got it. The 2 big boys escaped the wrath altogether. It manifested itself in me as intractable nausea for 2 solid weeks. I am so glad to be free of the constant desire, day and night, to hurl.
Quinn lost 5lbs. Mia weighed 19lb 12oz on February 2nd, and on April 2nd weighed 19lb 8oz. I, on the other hand, did not lose an ounce. Figures!
Now, I am still nursing Mia, and am so grateful for it, as she would have nothing to do with solids or any other type of fluid while she was sick. All she wanted was her beloved boobies. It was a boobie fest here. I am so proud that I was able to provide her with nourishing breast milk while she was sick. I feel that it really sustained her and cringe when I think what she would have lost without it.
So, when her fever would not abate, I took her in to see the doctor (not my usual one) and told him, with pride, that I was so glad she was able to nurse through her stomach bug, as she would have gotten so dehydrated if she hadn’t been. He asked me "Are you giving her milk or juice in a cup. She needs milk".
Well, yes, ahem, SHE IS GETTING MILK! WHAT THE SAM HELL DO YOU THINK BREAST MILK IS?????? ahem.
(insert image of me, shoulders sagging, head hanging in defeat, waving a war torn, battered, tattered little flag with "Breast is Best" emblazed on it, my face drawn into a frown)
Do you ever get the feeling that you are banging your head against wood with some people???
Me too.
On the same note, or not, this article proves that people will write about anything. In particular, this sentence intrigued me; "By definition, then, pain is a personal experience. Therefore, if patients say they are in pain – they are in pain." Hmm, pain is a personal experience. Imagine that. Not to mention that pain is, well, pain.
It reminds me of Cory’s motto, "If you do it, you will".
Oh, back to the boobies. I am sort of in uncharted territory in regards to nursing a toddler, as all my other kids weaned themselves or were weaned by 12 months of age. I have never had such a breast feeding purist before. Mia refuses anything other than her beloved boobies. Sippy cups are play things. She will drink from a straw, but rarely.
Honestly, I am fine with things the way they are. If it wasn’t for the pot shots I get from friends and well meaning strangers, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. I LOVE nursing her, and have no intention of weaning her until she is ready. I am just wondering if other nursing toddlers are still exclusively breast feeding for most or all of their liquids. All you veteran, toddler nursing mommies, please feel free to leave a comment and give me your 2 cents. If you are not a toddler nursing mommy, feel free to comment too!
My Easter bunny:
Lord–”She needs milk.”
Good grief! You done good, mom!
My son stopped accepting bottles at around 11 months (with three babies to nurse at once, and a whole heap of mistakes made at the outset, we supplemented like crazy during the first year) and he ONLY drank breastmilk until, hmmm, well past his second birthday. He flat-out refused cow’s milk, formula, soy milk–nothing but the boob for that kid.
I feel pretty confident that it was closer to his third birthday than his second that he started drinking chocolate milk, but he still has no taste for plain milk. I try to make up the difference with lots and lots of yogurt smoothies….
(One daughter weaned just before her first birthday, the other was nursing, too, but would drink milk from a sippy at meals.)
Thank you, thank you for your encouragement. I am such a novelty in our little town in regards to nursing. People breast feed here, but usually stop around 6 months or so.
I think I need to follow through with my plan to go to the next LLL meeting in the big town near us. I just need some positive feedback instead of all the judgement I get here. I even get eye rolls, can you believe it!!! Err. It makes me question myself!
Again thanks.
Yes I DO feel like I am banging my head against a wall, as a matter of fact LOL
My experiences have varied so much from child to child that I have no “norm” to speak of. And why would any doctor encourage juice drinking? It is garbage, imnsho.
Glad you are all feeling better, and I too wonder why I don’t lose weight like the kids when we have stomach bugs.
Like Rachel said, it has varied alot from kid to kid. F, my now 4yo, nursed until he was 3 and something. It just sort of tapered off. I was it for fluid for probably 2 years. On the other hand, L(now 6) would drink anything from any container. Once she found a juice box left by a sibling she was all for variety. Keep going girl….if babies and toddlers didn’t need to breastfeed then why do they like it so much??? Drs, geesh!
Good for you. Glad you are all feeling better. Yes all of my toddler nurslings, got most of their fluids, from mamma.LOL.
My 5 year old nursed until she was almost 2 and although she slowly began to use a sippy she still drank mostly from me. Same goes for my sweet Anna, who I sadly weaned at 20 months because I was pregnant again.
Anyways sounds just fine to me, and the heck with all those naysayers. I hear you on banging your head when it comes to many doctors and extended nursing. They are CLUELESS.
Keep on doing what your doin.
hmmm… my oldest would occasionally drink water, but really only nursed for years. My middle one will drink anything, and after about a year would take occasional sips of stuff. My 3rd has been begging for “joo! joo!” for months now.
so, it varies.
glad you guys are doing better and Mia is happily nursing!