So, when I hear or read of people wanting to know how to wean their eighteen month old, six month old, two year old, I wince, my stomach knots, and I think of that child.
It is almost a taboo in these times to suggest that weaning may not be the best option...these times of support and mommy wars, and breastfeeding zealots and bottle/breast arguments raging, because any breastfeeding is good breastfeeding, and that is right enough.
But - why should I encourage or assist someone in their quest to wean their child?? Why should I, in the name of support, offer them a hand up and suggest the milk of another species as a viable alternative to the best thing that a mother can offer? Why should I nod and smile and agree that a stroke on the back is fine when there is a child begging for the breast?
Should I not tell them of the engorgement and mastitis that can ensue from sudden weaning, not to mention the hormonal dip that can occur? Ought I not to enquire what they plan to muster when their child goes into meltdown, and there is no soothing booby to offer that will quell the storm in moments..?
Should I not pass on the idea that if their child asks, then there is a need??
So, don't expect me to burst into momentous applause, say "Well Done!! You have done your bit as you perceive it, thus you deserve to wean your child."
Because I won't.
I make no apologies - I advocate for the child.
And, if you didn't want this response, then go and find someone who will nod and pat you on the back.
A child is not born culture-specific, aware of fashion or fads, or knowing where is public or private, and neither do they know about modesty or appropriateness; they know about milk and love, and that is all mothers need to consider.
(Along with reading Kathy Dettwyler's "A Natural Age of Weaning")
