I just read this article about breastfeeding that was semi-interesting. Something about how breastfeeding helps jaw + tooth development, all of which seemed to just be conjecture based on the jaws of humans back in the day when they were hunters and gatherers - perhaps it's true, I have my doubts, but that's not the point. What really caught my eye were all of the comments. There were women talking about how they breastfed their kids until they were five years old! Other parents talked about breastfeeding multiple children in tandem. They were all talking about how much they loved the entire thing, and how it was truly what was best for the children. And to be honest, the whole thing had me feeling uncomfortable. First, I feel strongly that a five year old is too old to be breastfed. I know there are women out there who agree with me, and there are women out there who are probably outraged by what I'm saying right now, but it's my opinion. I can't tell you exactly where I draw the line at 'too old to breastfeed', but it's probably somewhere around two. I've read places that say breastfeeding until 4 is something our ancestors did, and that it was great, and maybe it worked well ... but in todays over sexualized society, the impact is bound to be different. It should be noted that I haven't done any extensive research about the longterm impact of breastfeeding older children, but it's definitely on my to do list (and I will probably give an update when I have completed this task).
The other thing that bothered me though were these women talking about how they nurse more than one child at a time. As a nursing mother I know how much time it takes up to feed just one baby, but two? I personally would never be able to do that - I need time to be me, to take care of myself and just breathe, even if it is just for a little while. I wouldn't be doing that if I was constantly needing to feed kids from my breasts - when one was finished the other would probably be hungry again. The parents were saying it didn't leave them a lot of time to get things done, but that they did inevitably do whatever they needed to. But still, I can't imagine the stress.
The point I'm trying to make here is that it should be okay for me to not want to give up my life completely so that I can breastfeed my children. I feel like there is this sect of breastfeeding fanatics who want me to feel guilty about my not wanting to breastfeed for as long as possible and for not enjoying the breastfeeding lifestyle. I'm breastfeeding because I know it is what is best for my child, not because it is something that I love doing. There seem to be these two groups of vocal woman: those who think breastfeeding is the best thing they have ever done with their lives and that it should be done for as long as possible, and those who think that formula is the way to go. I want there to be a group of vocal women who stand for the middle ground, like me! To make women like me feel normal and not guilty and to acknowledge that sometimes, if not a lot of the time, breastfeeding kind of sucks. But you do it anyway because you love your kid and you want what's best for them.
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