Toddler Nursing
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A few weeks ago my husband saw a deer nursing her "toddler" in the middle of the street in our town. The "toddler" was trying to nurse, but after a minute or two walked away either because there were cars and she didn't feel safe or because the "toddler" had been nursing on and off all day and it was time to move onto something else.
I nursed all five of my children into toddlerhood. I understand how the mother deer felt. She probably thought, "You want to nurse again and in the middle of the street?" It is definitely a different experience nursing a child of 2, 3 or 4 years old versus a baby. In general, most of the breastfeeding issues of the baby period are past, but then other unique challenges are present. One challenge I experienced was at some point my toddlers modified their latch; it was uncomfortable. Also, some toddlers nurse very frequently throughout the day and night - almost like a newborn - which can be exhausting. I did not get as much sleep as I would have liked for almost 15 years!
However, there are so many blessings to nursing your toddler; I have no regrets. Has your toddler ever melted down and then you offered your breast and the the world became right again (for both of you)? I am not sure I could have survived toddlerhood five times without breastfeeding. Another blessing of toddler nursing is it provides that special time for both of you to reconnect after a busy day and it gives you, the mom, a chance to sit down for a few minutes and rest. When your child gets a stomach bug and will not eat solids or drink anything but water and breast milk, breastfeeding can help prevent dehydration. I experienced this with several of my toddlers. It was so scary when they weren’t eating and drinking like usual and also vomiting! Breastfeeding comforted us both! Did you know that your nursing toddler still gets all the nutritional benefits of your milk and as he or she weans over time, the immunological properties actually become more concentrated? By continuing to nurse, you get increased protection against breast cancer, too. Toddler nursing also extends lactational amenorrhea which means greater spacing between babies and a delayed return of menstruation.
There are also fun parts to toddler nursing. Some of the positions toddlers want to nurse in are hilarious! And it is so sweet when your toddler comes up to you and says "nursies" in his or her cute little voice!
When my children were toddlers, I really felt supported by the book, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler (the book was written 20 years ago when LLL was a different organization). I also felt supported by my local breastfeeding support group meetings. I am hoping that the Catholic Nursing Mothers League facebook group and the CNML Ecological Breastfeeding facebook group will provide support to you for nursing your toddler.
Here are a few webpages that might be helpful to you. They each have a few things on their websites contrary to Catholic Church teaching, but their breastfeeding information is scientifically accurate and well written:
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