Natural healing

Although no one ever says it straight to my face, I know a lot of people think it's odd and even "unnatural" that I still breastfeed my 17-month old son. My mother is a perfect example. Every single time I speak to her on the phone she asks me if I'm still breastfeeding. When I say "yes" she never utters any words of encouragement. She simply says "uh-huh" and then proceeds to tell me stories that have a "pro-weening" slant.

I know that there is gossip behind my back. Jokes about how I'll probably keep breastfeeding him until he's nine. Ha Ha... Go ahead and gossip and laugh if you really think that it's funny that I'm so interested in my son's health and well-being. Breast milk is full of antibodies that help to strengthen his immune system. I know that there are lots of healthy babies and toddlers out there who aren't breastfed. That's great. But this isn't about them. It's about me and my son and what is best for us.

This weekend, my breast milk kept my son out of the hospital. He vomited all day on Saturday and was weak, listless and dehydrated. He refused to eat or drink anything but breast milk. In between nursing sessions, I had to drop feed him water and electrolyte fluids. He was so sick that I called telehealth and spoke to a nurse. When she found out that I was still nursing she said "Good, keeping doing it. Breast milk is easy for him to digest and will prevent him from getting seriously dehydrated."

On Sunday, he was still weak. The vomiting had stopped, but he had a fever, headache, mild diarrhea, and was still somewhat dehydrated. He wouldn't stand up, and was like a limp noodle. All he wanted to do was sleep. We managed to get him to eat a bit of food. But, again, the only thing I could get him to drink in any quantity was breast milk. I called telehealth a second time because I was worried about his excessive limpness and sleepiness. Again a nurse reinforced that I should continue to breastfeed.

Today, he is gaining his strength back. He is tired but cheerful, and not nearly as dehydrated.

At times like this, I'm really glad that he still chooses to breastfeed - "choose" being the operative word. It won't be long until he weens himself -- he's already starting to head in that direction. But I'm going to let him make the decision.