Things I Would Never Do

I am constantly amazed at the things I swear I would never do…that I now do.  Thankfully, those things do not include breastfeeding an eight year old, like this woman.  Be warned – this one can cause some uneasy feelings, no matter how vigorous a breastfeeding defender you are.

That said, I can almost, almost understand.  And in case you missed it, I said almost.  The problem is one of perspective. You have this little baby, and he grows, but he is still your baby, right? He is still your littlest one, your wee munchkin. So it is hard to see it for what it is, until, as my friend said, he comes in from playing outside and lays across your lap with big dirty sneakers on, or the next babe comes along. Then suddenly, that two or three year old’s head is huge – definitively huge, and it suddenly seems as if it might be time for something different.

Yes, it’s a sad moment, but whew! Thank goodness for perspective, right? Otherwise, some women might breastfeed until their kid is like, eight. Or something disturbing like that. I know I might catch some flack here.  I am about as pro-bf’ing as any LLL-ing, homebirthing, attachment parenting mama. But there are limits.

I’m just realizing that those limits can sometimes be a forest obscured by trees.