Definitely!
Hafiy is reaching 2 years old this October, an age where some people think a mandatory to stop breastfeeding. But I am against the idea, because there’s no evidence of the compulsory of weaning at the age of 2.
Myths about the taboo in extended breastfeeding is really popular in our society, such as:
- The milk is no more nutritious after 2 years. Oh, even there’s suggestion that the milk is not nutritious at all. Kesian kan?
- The toddler won’t be independent.
- The toddler will view the breast as sex object rather than source of their food.
- It will cause the toddler to have blood disease later in their life.
- The toddler will grow up as an idiot.
- etc.
I don’t care about the taboos because they had no evidences. Even Hafiy, who is currently 21 months old, is quite independent (among children at his age). He can play by himself, can help me, etc. Of course he is sooo manja but it is orait la for a child to bermanja with his mother kan.
Quoted from al-Baqarah: Mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole years (if the father wishes) for the suckling to be completed. (2:233)
It is completed at year 2, but not neccesarily to stop.
Even, WHO, UNESCO and AAP are really encourage on extended breastfeeding (breastfeeding beyond 2 years of age).
Quoted from babycenter.com.my “Don’t let others pressure you to stop; there are significant emotional and physical benefits to long-term breastfeeding that can’t be ignored”
Actually, it is not easy (for me) to stick on the decision, especially when everybody around is against the idea (they even doesn’t support breastfeeding). But I am ‘lucky’ because Hafiy can’t take dairy product (even if he can, I’ll still telling everyone that he can’t :P), so there’s no way to give him formula milk. Even there were suggestions to give him soymilk, goatmilk, camel milk and other milk but my breastmilk. It was a bit ridiculous to me, cos all those animals are eating grass and plants (they are herbivor rite?) and I’m eating any kind of food including supplements and nutritional drinks summore. And I take those milks sometimes. It’s just not enough rite? Oh yes, there’s idea saying that ‘breastmilk is not nutritious anymore since modern moms are eating processed foods’. Hmm.. but I’m thinking that formula milk, or even pasteurized milk is ABSOLUTELY processed!
And also, people are worried if I’m gonna face difficulty in weaning Hafiy later. He should be weaned off sooner or later rite. Why people keep on worrying, I don’t know. My sister’s friend had been breastfed until she was 5 or 6, or 7? And now she is taking medicine under JPA. She even went abroad for almost 3 years.
Because he is a very picky eater, I tried him on mealshake sometimes. It is soy based protein source provides 30% of the Daily Value for protein and 35% or more of the 19 essential vitamins and minerals. It is good sources of dietary fiber. Taste so good, like vanilla ice cream. But this is not for weaning purpose. I take this as giving him other food (since he doesn’t eat much and variety of food to make sure he gets all the vitamins and minerals), and he has variety in his drinks, rather than drinking other flavoured drinks.
So Hafiy will still be breastfed tandemly with Fahry, until the time when he wants to stop, or maybe when another baby is coming.
Talking about tandem nursing, most of the people I met was astonished by it Maybe the myth about ‘boys drink a lot‘ was so popular and they don’t even know that breastfeeding boy is possible, so tandem nurse a pair of boys is something illogical. So when they saw me breastfeeding my sons, and they look very healthy, most of them would say “Is your milk enough??”, “Wow, you have abundance of milk!”. Well, yeah, all praise to Allah. And it is not comes easily even if it is naturally if I don’t obey the rules.
What makes me happier is some friends of mine were inspired by my tandem nursing. If before this they were told that “Breast milk won’t be enough to cater you baby’s need, so you need to supplement with formula“, now they have reason to object the idea
I love to have both of them on my chest…
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