I will never tell someone itโs best to breastfeed or how long to breastfeed for.
Thatโs something they get to decide.
For me, breastfeeding is one way to connect and slow down with my kid. There are many ways to do this.
Iโm not here to convert you or change your mind about breastfeeding or long-term breastfeeding. However, there's a lot of misinformation on what it means to breastfeed long-term. So let's clear the air.
1. Breast milk does not lose its nutritional value over time. Babies and toddlers get the same benefit and protection. The composition of breast milk stays the same even if the amount your child gets decreases as they age.
2. Breastfeeding is soothing. A toddler still needs comfort, connection, and a safe place to return to day and night. Breastfeeding, pacifiers, thumb-sucking, and lovies all serve the same purpose of giving your child a sense of security.
3. You can still breastfeed even if your baby has teeth. Teeth will not affect latch. And if your kid bites, you can offer them their first lesson in boundaries.
4. Breastfeeding will not impair your child's ability to self-soothe. Self-soothing is an executive function that takes time to develop. Self-soothing develops through interactive self-regulation & auto-regulation. In fact, with long-term breastfeeding, you teach your child both. Interactive regulation is when we go to other human beings to regulate our internal states--to share our feelings and to get comfort.
Your baby or toddler is learning through interactions with you on how to self-regulate. Auto-regulation is when weโre apart & we use our own resources to self-soothe. Whatโs important is that the child can shift back & forth between interactive regulation & auto-regulation. Itโs not that one is better than the other. The child needs the flexibility to shift back and forth. If you pay attention to a parent breastfeeding their baby or toddler, you see both at play.
