Breastmilk Kegger

Ava has not been weaned yet. Quiet frankly I don't see it happening anytime real soon. She clearly does not want to stop nursing. Since she is most likely my last baby-I am not in a real big hurry either. Sometimes it can be a bit frustrating as she has gotten rather demanding about it. There is nothing subtle about a toddler poking you in the chest and shouting "eat". But for the most part I think we are both pretty happy in our co-dependence. Plus I feel happy to be in good company. The always memorable Marie has rented her uterus again and is expecting another sweetie...curious as to the gender? Follow the trail...go see CookieBitch for another teaser...

Considering only 20 % of American women breastfeed past 6 months I guess Ava and I are a freak show. Pretty much anyone who is aware of our situation feels the need to express their opinion-freely. In general these are not words of encouragement and support. Mostly criticism and disgust. Recently a co-worker commented "well you never see anyone nurse a baby that old". That would be because people like you make people like me closet nursers. I think you would be surprised how many women nurse in secret or have weaned all together because of condemnation. I myself am ashamed to admit that I no longer nurse Ava in public because I am so weary of the stares, whispers and sometimes down right rude comments.
Does it matter to anyone that The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages mothers to breastfeed exclusively for six months, and there after, breastfeed along with other foods for at least a year, and then, for as long as the baby and mother mutually choose? (The American Academy of Family Practitioners agrees.) Or that The American Dietetic Association recommends breastfeeding for at least one year? How about that The World Health Organization encourages breastfeeding for at least two years?

In Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, Katherine Dettwyler (an anthropologist) wrote about the natural age of weaning for humans, meaning the length of time humans would likely nurse if cultural expectations did not interfere:

From a biological perspective Dettwyler, has studied the
weaning patterns of other large primates and has theorized that an accurate rule of thumb for
weaning would be when baby quadruples its birth weight (7 X 4= 28 months) or has lived six times its gestation age (6 X 9= 54 months). Dettwyler "does advocate that medical professionals and paraprofessionals, family members, friends, acquaintances and even strangers recognize that human children, like their nonhuman primate relatives are designed to expect all the benefits of breast milk and breastfeeding for a minimum of two and a half years. The information that three or four years of breastfeeding, or even longer, is both normal and appropriate for human infants should be disseminated to heath care professionals and parents alike."

The fact is children will self wean. The actual age of self weaning in the US is between 2 and 1/2 to 3 years. Substantially less than biology would suggest and not so late that you have to worry about sending them to college on the boob. I mean really, do you know anyone who spent their college days nursing and beer bonging?