Alex, the Breastmilk Addict

by Beth McDowell, Mom, RN, IBCLC

Alexandra is my firstborn. I intended to breastfeed her for one year, as that was the right "thing to do" (from the information I had received). Well, as a nursing baby, she fit no patterns I had heard of, nursing every two to three hours well beyond the first few months of life. As she approached her 10th month, and we were still nursing at least eight times a day, it became apparent that this was not about to stop. And that was good.

We nursed through my second pregnancy, and for about a year after that. We made one attempt to stop several months after Kathryn was born. That lasted for three months with many of the days being filled with "I want to nurse, can I nurse, I want to nurse." Alex ended up weaned for good at age four. We were both ready then. She still infrequently asks to "touch" (place her hand on my breast) when she's ready to sleep or needs some special snuggle time.

Earlier this year I was away from the kids for a week. I pumped milk for Kathryn while I was away, but when I offered a cup of it to her, she said no way! Alex, on the other hand, decided she would like some. She ended up drinking every bit that I brought home! It was incredible to me to see that she enjoyed the taste as much as the act. It had been a year since she nursed last.

Alex is now 5 1/2. Several weeks ago we had a terrible sore throat virus in the house. I credit Kathryn's continued nursing (at age 2 1/2) to keeping her well, and maybe she and I shared some antibodies back and forth, because I remained well also. Alex, however, missed a full week of school due to the incredible pain she was in. Her pediatrician confirmed that it was viral, not strep, which I was sure it must have been. No antibiotics to help us through this one. On the forth day of her illness, she had such severe laryngitis that she stopped talking. That, in and of itself, is quite a story!

However, as she lay down to sleep that night, with the unrelenting cough that so often accompanies these illnesses, I was in tears. She couldn't stay asleep more than a minute before the coughs would come again and awaken her. "Would you like to nurse?" I asked, unable to come up with any others solutions. She said "yes" (no surprise there). It took her less than 15 seconds to figure it out! I thought they forgot how! Within a minute she stopped coughing. Within ten minutes she was sound asleep. When she awoke next morning she could talk! Her throat was still tender and her voice scratchy, but she was much better. I told her it must have been the breastmilk. She said she thought the nursing had been a dream. Me and my big mouth! Several times that day she told me, "My throat still hurts, I need to nurse." I said, "Forget it!" But that night, when the coughing ensued, I offered once more and she accepted. Next morning she was practically healed. Amazing stuff, this breastmilk! And how nice, after a year and a half of not nursing this child, to know just what she needed. It occurred to me that it might not be the right thing to do, but I also knew it was the only thing to do: to offer her the singular thing that would comfort her and heal her (and me?). It worked when she was an infant, a toddler, and a "big kid." It worked for a preschooler as well. Is there a limit to the things it can do? I don't think so.