Monday, October 4, 2010

The Great Breastfeeding Debate

I've breastfeed our son since birth. For his first year he was breastfed exclusively, and since he refused bottles or pacifiers, I was pretty much tied to him. Which is fine, he was a great baby and I could take him almost anywhere. He's now 15 months old and while he drinks regular 2% cows milk from a sippy cup or a straw with his meals, he still latches on to me at night, first thing in the morning and sometimes during the day when he's feeling snugly. This is all fine with me, I had planned on breastfeeding until 2 years old anyway. It's what the WHO (World Health Org.) suggests in other countries, Americans just haven't totally caught on to that train of thought yet. Now when my son wants to nurse, he comes up to me, does his little sign language for more and says "Mo Boo" which means "more boob". I usually whip it out and oblige him, because a) he's so cute and b) it's additional bonding time. His dad thinks that now that he can ask for it it makes it somehow very wrong and that I need to stop immediately. So today our son had his 15 month check up at the pediatrician's office. I asked her what her thought on the matter was after explaining our debate and his father's philosophy that "asking for it" somehow made it wrong. Her answer didn't help me out much. She said "The good news is, there is no definitive evidence that breastfeeding while he is aware of the act and able to ask for it by name has any long term consequences. Although, there also isn't any evidence it doesn't. You really just have to do what you feel is right.". Gee, thanks for being so neutral, Doc. You really helped me out of this pickle. NOT.