If there is one thing I'm getting tired of in regards to nursing, its the following question:
How much longer are you going to breastfeed?
Do non-nursing mom's get asked how much longer they are going to feed their babies formula? I'm serious here, not rhetorical. I've never heard someone ask this of a non-nursing mother but I'm merely a sample of one & could be completely off base. I've been asked this question by moms and non-moms alike but its always from those that chose not to nurse their own children. So I wonder, because they didn't do it themselves, is that the reason they ask how much longer I'm going to feed my child? I'm not upset by it, I'm just a bit frustrated by the lack of forethought behind the question and the implication that I'm somehow not fitting in to the idea of a "normal mother" that sometimes accompanies it. Plus, I've been asked this several times, by different people, within the last 3-4 days so its had time to sit and stew in my mind.
Next time you think of asking a nursing mom how much longer she's going to breastfeed, think for a split second if you'd be asking that question were she not a nursing mom. The answer might surprise you ... and if it does, congratulate her on sticking with a choice that, even on the best day, is not the easy way out.
How much longer are you going to breastfeed?
Do non-nursing mom's get asked how much longer they are going to feed their babies formula? I'm serious here, not rhetorical. I've never heard someone ask this of a non-nursing mother but I'm merely a sample of one & could be completely off base. I've been asked this question by moms and non-moms alike but its always from those that chose not to nurse their own children. So I wonder, because they didn't do it themselves, is that the reason they ask how much longer I'm going to feed my child? I'm not upset by it, I'm just a bit frustrated by the lack of forethought behind the question and the implication that I'm somehow not fitting in to the idea of a "normal mother" that sometimes accompanies it. Plus, I've been asked this several times, by different people, within the last 3-4 days so its had time to sit and stew in my mind.
Next time you think of asking a nursing mom how much longer she's going to breastfeed, think for a split second if you'd be asking that question were she not a nursing mom. The answer might surprise you ... and if it does, congratulate her on sticking with a choice that, even on the best day, is not the easy way out.
