Matthew is now 23 months and 6 days; I can barely believe he is going to be two years old in less than a month.  Before I got pregnant with him I knew that there were some things I wanted to do differently with him.  For one I wanted to try cloth diapering, and I wanted to try natural childbirth, and I wanted to wear him in a sling… but none of those were set in stone.  In fact I ended up being induced and 5 hours into the induction I was begging for an epidural.

However there was ONE issue that was non-negotiable for me; and that was breastfeeding.   I knew that  I would nurse Matthew until at least his first birthday, but I never dreamed I would be able to make it this close to his second birthday.  I am not sure we will make it much farther, I cannot even predict if we will actually make it to his 2nd birthday (he only nurses a few minutes every 1-3 days), but I do know I made the very best decision for my family and I.

Matthew now asks for more “moo” (cow’s milk) than “boo” (mama’s milk); but boo offers comfort and cuddling that moo cannot.  I regret not trying harder with Christopher, who nursed for 5 months.  I took the advice of others who told me to supplement with formula; and I feel that was the beginning of the end.  We also had other issues, thrush, low supply, inexperience and lack of a solid support team.

If you are breastfeeding, or planning on breastfeeding make sure you have a solid support team in place (friends, family, medical staff, La Leche League, etc), read up on it (the internet, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding book), and have a goal set in place… the AAP recommends exclusively breastfeeding until at least 6 months when you introduce solids, but still making breastfeeding the main source of nutrition until at least the first birthday; and this was my goal.  The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for as long as mutually desirable between mother and child.  If we have another child, my goal will be 18-24+ months.