Sunday, July 18, 2010

Why can't I look like the girl on Doctor Who?

I've been thinking a lot about breastfeeding lately. I've always felt like Owen got shafted a bit, seeing as how I was only able to squeak out 5 months of Mother's Milk. I hired the people, attempted to pump, did everything the baby books/parenting mags/people on the street said to do but my body just wasn't having it. And while Owen is clearly unaffected by his lack of lactation, I always wished that I'd been able to keep it up. But recently I've started noticing a bit of a backlash against the whole "Breast Is Best" thing by the moms I know. It's not that they regret breastfeeding - they just can't stop. Their children are 3, 4 years old and flat-out refuse to wean. For those who don't have kids, this arrangement makes no sense. (Just tell them no!) But when it's the only way you've gotten your child to fall asleep for his entire life, it becomes a whole lot more complicated. Not only do you have to take away something that brings a huge amount of comfort to your kid, but now you have to sleep train on top of it. Plus you're dealing with a human being who is very, very able to make their feelings known. That's one bitter little pill, kids. My son may never get into Stuvyesant (breastfeeding may help raise IQ) but in some ways I'm lucky. Replacing the boob with a bottle at 5 months was a hell of a lot easier than talking down a kid in Pre-K.

So what else is new? Potty training is hit or miss. I did not win a dream vacation. Wondering if I should go blond. The usuals. How about you? Anything exciting I should know about?

1 comment:

Carlien said...

Hi, I've been lurking around your blog and enjoy your writing. Thanks for sharing bits of your life.

We are world's apart but I can relate to your toddler-parenting experiences, and just that fact keeps me coming back for more - basically to see how you're coping with all the stuff I'm coping with too!

For instance, potty-training with us is more miss than hit right now.. I'm trying to relax about it as one should :)
Strength!