Luckily for me, Gypsy came along and I got to breastfeed all over again. The happy hormones, the loving stares and the feeling of connection were once again alive and well.
I felt so in love with everything and everyone around me while this was going on and again planned to breastfeed as long as possible or until she chose otherwise.
Alas, I became sick, my Crohn’s Disease started to play up and my milk supply dropped to the point of needing to bottle-feed. I kept on trying to bring my supply back up, but it just wouldn’t come up enough to fill her little belly.
I know that most women that have had these experiences mourn losing breastfeeding. I certainly did and still do. When I became pregnant again I was looking forward to having this all over again with my brand new little Aquarian baby.
I am still missing breastfeeding and when little Gypsy (now 2.5 years old) started to show interest in boobie milk I was very tempted to help her re-attach. I knew that this was just a phase and although re-lactating for me even now would be quite easy, she would lose interest and I was only doing it for my own needs, not hers.
Breastfeeding is such an emotional bond. When you have it, you never want to lose the feeling of attachment. If I was able to have another baby now I would try yet again to hold on to breastfeeding for as long as possible.
Some women get to breastfeed their infants into toddlerhood and I know that there is a lot of debate about it in the media.
I would have been an extended breastfeeder if the opportunity were presented.
Now that my breastfeeding days are over (sorrowfully) I now advocate breastfeeding for extended periods to women all around the world. Breastfeeding is the most natural and nurturing experience of both mother and child’s life and should have the stigma removed.
So much has been said about breastfeeding and the benefits that come from the connection and the nutritional benefits of breastfeeding. Yet here we are in the 21st century having trolls hassling mothers across social media for advocating and showing themselves breastfeeding their infants to toddlers.
We are one of the few countries left in the world to fully embrace breastfeeding as the social norm. It is now the time to stand up for both mother and child, advocate breastfeeding and support the mother you see in public nursing her infant.
Happy feeding, mums.
Megen Hibbins, the free-spirited hippy mother, writer, homeschooler, traveller, off grid liver, blogger and vlogger. Living totally off-grid in the Australian bush with beekeeper husband and children aged 7, 6, 5 and 2 that are homeschooled. Megen is a passionate writer, vlogger, homeschool advocate and lifestyle freedom and earth-loving activist. She writes twice a week on her blog whilst working with her husband and children on the things that need doing. To contact her head to her blog at www.yogahippy.com.au or subscribe to the Yoga Hippies YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/yogahippies
