a weight lifted from my sholders

[Korena_O]

I just joined the site and came to it for ways on how to wean my 15 month old son because I felt like I should be embarassed for still nursing him at this age.
I was the first of all my g/fs to have a child and for me I knew I wanted nothing more then to breast feed formula was not an option for me. All of my other g/fs have since had children ( like a mini baby boom ) and none stuck with the breast feeding longer then 2 months and they all seem to give me odd reactions when they hear I'm still nursing but knowing that there are a lot of woman who breast feed this long and that my son isn't the only little one who doesn't sleep through the night has made me a lot less anxious about weaning and I don't feel like I HAVE to do it more like it will happen when it's meant to.

[SingingMom]

Oh, goodness, you haven't even gotten close to weird yet. 15 months? Piffle!

There are, of course, lots of us who breastfeed this long. In fact, some of us prefer to think of the other people as practicing "Early Weaning" rather than calling what WE do "Extended Breastfeeding".

Your little one will sleep through the night when he's ready. Really. And it doesn't have to be a struggle. My four year old sleeps like a log now; he rarely ever slept through an entire night before he was two.

Many, many women all through the world breastfeed, and they breastfeed long past one year. For some wacky reason, in the US folks seem to be kind of weird about breastfeeding.

[whitnessforhim]

What SinginMom said!

You are in good company here. No need to feel weird or hide at all. I'm sorry your friends were not able to give the same benefits of long term breastfeeding to their children as you are to yours.

[crystal555rose]

...there are a lot of woman who breast feed this long and that my son isn't the only little one who doesn't sleep through the night has made me a lot less anxious about weaning and I don't feel like I HAVE to do it more like it will happen when it's meant to.

I am lucky to have a good sleeper, however, many moms deal with sleepless nights for a LONG TIME. I certainly hope none of your friends have implied that your child would sleep better if you weaned and gave formula. Better sleep because of less-efficiently digested incomplete food does not sound like an acceptable alternative to me!

Congrats on nursing, it is a wonderful thing. It is also something you cannot understand or truly appreciate until you have done it yourself. Welcome to the site!

[hershey1226]

I still nurse my 3-year-old son so you've got a ways to go before being "weird." It's all about the bond you have with your baby that matters, not what others think.