I never expected to breastfeed my toddler—but I love it
As the mother of a nursing toddler, what I hear the most is, “You need to stop.” But, why?

I knew very early in my pregnancy that I wanted to breastfeed my daughter, Phoenix. The deciding factor wasn’t the research about the benefits of breastmilk, or the “Breast is Best” slogans I saw all over the place. It was largely because breastmilk was free.
I was really concerned about the effect our baby would have on the family finances, especially as I, the family breadwinner, was out of commission. Initially, I planned to stop around the one year mark. But as that milestone rolled around, I thought to myself, What am I going to do if we stop nursing? It makes things so much easier. She falls asleep faster, I don’t have bottles to deal with, and flu season is starting...I’ll just keep going. And we did, right up to the next milestone, when my husband and I left our daughter at home and traveled for two weeks. While we were away, I pumped and expressed in the shower, wondering if she’d even be interested in nursing when I came home. She was. When we came home just before midnight, suitcases in hand, she raised her chubby 19-month arms to me and sleepily asked, “Milk?” How could I say no to that? Well, Phoenix just turned two in September, and I can honestly say that I never intended to keep nursing this long. I never imagined myself to be the woman still nursing a 2-year-old, and honestly, some days—most days—I really, really want to quit. I’m truly thankful that in this time women who are nursing their new babies get a ton of love and support as they navigate those first few harrowing months.
I was really concerned about the effect our baby would have on the family finances, especially as I, the family breadwinner, was out of commission. Initially, I planned to stop around the one year mark. But as that milestone rolled around, I thought to myself, What am I going to do if we stop nursing? It makes things so much easier. She falls asleep faster, I don’t have bottles to deal with, and flu season is starting...I’ll just keep going. And we did, right up to the next milestone, when my husband and I left our daughter at home and traveled for two weeks. While we were away, I pumped and expressed in the shower, wondering if she’d even be interested in nursing when I came home. She was. When we came home just before midnight, suitcases in hand, she raised her chubby 19-month arms to me and sleepily asked, “Milk?” How could I say no to that? Well, Phoenix just turned two in September, and I can honestly say that I never intended to keep nursing this long. I never imagined myself to be the woman still nursing a 2-year-old, and honestly, some days—most days—I really, really want to quit. I’m truly thankful that in this time women who are nursing their new babies get a ton of love and support as they navigate those first few harrowing months.