Wow! I never thought that K would actually be a 3 year old. I also never thought that he would be a breastfeeding 3 year old. When he was born, my initial goal was 6 weeks. Then, I thought 3 months would be doable. After that, I decided to follow his cues.

K has always been a child who needed a lot of physical contact. He likes to be held. He likes to hold hands. He likes to climb into my lap and play. For him, I think that nursing has been more about physical contact and reconnecting than the milk. Of course, he likes the milk. When I recently went on a weekend trip, I left frozen milk primarily for A, but I think that K drank as much as A did. Some people crave Coca-Cola. Some people like milk or water or beer. K LOVES a glass of “mommy milk.” In fact, the first time I gave him a cup of pumped milk, he stood in the kitchen and chugged it. When he was done, there was milk running down his face. Jason and I were laughing so hard. Now, if I’m going to be gone at bedtime, he’s on the lookout for a glass of milk.

I have gotten some looks and some unsupportive comments about my choice to 1) nurse K for almost 3 years and 2) do that while tandem nursing A (15 months). If I’m honest, I think that it makes me sad more than anything else that people think that there’s something weird, wrong, or odd about our choices. I don’t think that everyone should or can nurse for 3+ years or tandem nurse. I just wish that people would realize that it’s an option and it’s not as crazy as it sounds.