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From the very first time I was at a La Leche League meeting and encountered a mother who was tandem nursing her toddler and infant, I knew it was something I wanted for my children someday. My oldest was only four months old at the time, but the adoration these two young siblings had for one another was so beautiful and sweet. I knew I wanted that for my children someday. I was thankful that my first daughter was still nursing when I became pregnant with her sister. She was two-and-a-half when our second was born. We tandem nursed for two more years and it was an amazing bonding experience for the girls. There were ...Read More

"There are no benefits to breastfeeding beyond one year." I cringe a little bit every time I hear this myth perpetuated among moms. My son and I have enjoyed so many benefits from breastfeeding the past 21 months, particularly since he turned a year old, that I just want other moms to know and experience the many potential benefits. The breastfeeding guidelines in the United States can be a little misleading. When the AAP recommends "the continuation of breastfeeding for one year..." the second part of the sentence is usually left off or ignored. ...Read More

Every single person’s breastfeeding story is different, so I would be remiss if I didn’t note that this is Gwen’s and my story alone. That said, I am very vocal about my love of breastfeeding, and I couldn’t pass up on the chance to talk about the evolution of the breastfeeding relationship. The Beginning of the Breastfeeding Relationship I find myself now in the “extending breastfeeding” stage (or, as the world outside the U.S. calls it…breastfeeding. Period). But like everyone we started out in the newborn stage. ...Read More

There are times when mathematics simply don’t make sense. For instance, I remember crying and crying over short division in school. It didn’t make sense. And I had similar experiences over the past two years with three babies and two breasts. Breastfeeding triplets didn’t compute. You see, I was told on April 26, 2011 that I was carrying triplets. Immediately I began seeing my dreams of a drug-free, home birth evaporating. I saw many, many dollar signs floating before my eyes. I saw a plan unfolding for my life that I wanted no part of. ...Read More

My son is fifteen months old. He is like unchained lightning, everywhere all at once, touching and finding and getting into things, asking me, “What is this,” with the vigor of someone new in the world. He can find jelly beans anywhere, regardless of whether there was a jelly bean in that place to begin with. He runs and toddles like a drunken penguin being chased by a polar bear. He sings and likes to show me where my eyes are by poking just hard enough to make my vision spotty. He’s my whole world. And he’s still nursing. I can’t ignore the looks of perplexity and occasional stink eye as I nurse my active 15 month ...Read More

When my husband and I decided to try and conceive our second child, I was still nursing our toddler daughter. I had a lot of questions about nursing through pregnancy. Tandem nursing was something I'd always wanted to do. In order to do that, I knew I would need to nurse through my pregnancy. Through La Leche League and online parenting forums, I found that it was safe to nurse through pregnancy, but there was much I didn't know before I experienced it. I didn't know what physical and emotional changes my body would undergo. I also wasn't aware of how the relationship with my toddler would change. Benefits of ...Read More

The Joy! When my husband and I married in 2004 we figured I would get pregnant fairly easily, and we would start a family sooner rather than later. We were both older but I was still young, all things considered. I didn’t drink excessively, didn’t smoke or do drugs, you know…we did things right. After about a year in a half I was assured there was nothing outright wrong with my female parts, and we were both referred to another set of doctors. We were told that we might not be able to have children. That was in the early fall of 2006. We had prayed and put our trust in God that if it was His will we would have a ...Read More