There were three in the bed and the little one said...

TWO-TWO MILKS!!!!!

Likely bellowed from bed (his mood pre-milk is much like mine pre-coffee) or at the start of a long car ride once everyone is strapped in, most people who have met N soon learn his term for nursing. Some babies adopt adorable terms like "Mo-mo", "Nummies" or even the simple, Hooters-approved, "Booooobies!" N is more practical. "There are two of them, they make milk. It's not rocket science," I imagine him explaining, exasperated. 

I'm vaguely aware that a sizeable portion of the U.S. has some sort of opinion about nursing a nearly two year old. Some passionately support the health and psychological benefits for mother and child; others see it as socially unacceptable to provide nourishment to a child who's old enough to ask to be fed from a body part that society would rather resexualize. 

For me, it's simply a continuation of the mixture of feelings, challenges and benefits of feeding a newborn. It's often a pain in the boob. The physical discomfort has graduated from the cracked, raw nipples of learning to latch, to the exquisite pain of having soft, delicate flesh treated like the extendable rubber of a taught elastic band. The clawing scratches of infant fingernails made way for heel-to-the-boob kicks when suddenly, "toesies want two-two milks!" And now I am almost nostalgic for the awkward fumbling of public latch-ons with a squalling babe, when strangers and friends alike are often treated to N confidently locating and removing all coverings to his beloved Two-Two Milks at a moment's notice. 

I hear there are a few mothers out there who are able to marry modesty and breastfeeding for longer than a few months. That's wonderful. After 18 hrs of labor, birth, bleeding nipples and a screaming, hungry T, Modesty was simply reprioritized to somewhere between color-coordinating my linen closet and gnawing off my big toe.

But for a mama who spends 40-50+ hrs a week away from her two little ones, telling stories to a nursing N--bown eyes wide and attentive--when I get home from work; stroking his hair while he nurses to sleep at night; and when he wakes up, snuggling his body in a ball that I can tuck against my belly, are three of my favorite times of the day. Sure, he could get all his daily nutrition from food alone; but maybe not with breastmilk's antibodies and extra je-ne-sais-quoi. Sure, we would still cuddle if he weaned. But my arms would compete more often with the thrill of bed jumping, the curiosity of whatever his sister is up to, and the indefatigable draw of glowing screens. 

So I'll put up with my not-so-tiny bed-hog and the midnight roundhouse kicks to the face (see footnote on bed-sharing); the umpteenth assertion that I do NOT have Go-Go-Gadget nipples; and the occasional flash of boob to the unsuspecting public. We'll save pennies and patience for the excessive and expensive travel plans to keep him, and a familiar caregiver, with me on work trips. And if anyone is looking with eyes that judge me or him for being two and "still" nursing, let them look. I'm too busy feeding my son and trying to keep my clothes and sensitive parts in tact as I do so, to notice or care. 

Because he is my last baby, and once this particular connection is gone, it doesn't come back. Because I believe the clearest path to independence is the one children choose to pursue themselves. Because right now I can't give him everything, but this is a gift--of nutrition and connection--that I can. 

Photo on exhibit in the Nursing is Normal project, VT, by Studio Ten13

*We started co-sleeping in large part because as sleep-deprived new parents, the idea of getting up 5x a night to nurse a baby for 20-60 min, then finagle her into a crib, (start again if she wakes!) and then repeat it all 30 min later seemed ludicrous. We also had a newborn that refused to sleep for longer than 10 min unless she was nestled against another warm body. So out of desperation, and then choice, we co-sleep... but that story is for another post!

Hooray for Boobies!

Well they're lovely, aren't they?

T sure thinks so!

It's national Breastfeeding Week and I'd be seriously neglectful not to include a post about the art, science and follies of dispensing nature's perfect food. (For the squeamish: be warned, this post talks about B-R-E-A-S-T-S and nipples, though I'm sure you have them too in some form or other).

"Nummies" as they've been christened in our house have been loved from the start. Not that it was initially mutual...

New to the world, T latched on well... but as B & I settled down for a much-needed first night's rest, we learned (the hard way) that if T was sucking on something she would sleep. If she wasn't, she wouldn't. And neither would we. Still in the hospital, exhausted from an 18.5 hr labor, all principles about not giving a pacifier until 6+ weeks (if ever) went out the window. My nipples felt like pain incarnate (I later learned her mouth/palate was still too small and needed a few more weeks for her to get a deep enough latch). Still propped up in a chair beside the bed I so longed to be in at 3 a.m. B was ordered to get me three things: a pacifier, a nipple shield and X-strength Tylenol. I didn't care if his quest took him to the nurses' station, or the CVS 5 blocks away. I needed them STAT.

From that moment on our nursing relationship improved dramatically, and while it's had its ups and downs, T & I have been a dedicated team against the forces against us: the pain of letdown (which a new mom friend and I agreed felt like hot needles being inserted through your veins); the humiliation of the Milking Machine (I hate breastpumps. Necessary, yes. But the epitome of feeling like one has grown udders); the inconvenience of trying to pump at work; the daily torture of BFing while teething; the drama and controversy (and occasional inconvenience) of nursing in public; the acrobatics of newly mobile nursing toddlers; the prolonged sleeplessness of extended night nursing; to name a few!

But for those challenges what do we have? Nothing less than the most convenient, magical, nutritious way to feed and nurture our children imaginable.

There's lots more to say on the topic (including support to those mamas for whom formula is absolutely necessary to feed their little ones; and ranting for a bit on the whole nursing-in-public debate :) but my hour is long gone and I'm going to try to actually get some sleep tonight. What a novel concept.