Booboob Oh Booboob.

So last week was World Breastfeeding week and both my girls are (and in the case of Aiesha, were) breastfed babies, we nurse on demand and direct from source. I admit schedules, pumping and the like just do not appeal to me (Read : Mummy too malas and would rather go with the flow). I pumped for a bit for Aiesha but didn't see the point of it as I am a SAHM. I pumped once for Sophia and she rejected the bottle much to my relief. We once had to attend an evening wedding reception when my mum was around. I left a bottle of  expressed milk and my mum said she totally refused. It's direct from source or nothing at all I suppose.

Aiesha was a booboob baby all throughout my pregnancy and I was quite prepared to tandem nurse as she was 6 months when I found out I was pregnant again. Obviously still very much a baby and I felt it would be too cruel to cut her off (hardly her fault mummy is up the duff again). Knowing that my supply would dip/change we got a box of formula just in case. But we never needed it at she persevered with the dips and change in taste. However, a few weeks before Sophia arrived Aiesha weaned herself. I still remember the last proper nursing session we had.  She was almost 15 months old at the time. It was an emotional time for me as I just knew that it was the last time. You see with Aiesha, I didn't know what I was doing as she was my first. We had terrible latching issues and every feed was such agony for me. Even with the guidance of a lactation consultant, it would take us close to 3 weeks before it all finally click and our booboob sessions stopped hurting mummy. I was determined to have her exclusively breastfed so the end of our nursing relationship hit me quite hard. I knew that if not for my pregnancy she would definitely nurse for longer. She would still have the occasional nibble at bedtime but never again did she have a proper feed. And kept offering as I read that once baby arrives the older child starts nursing again once the milk supply is back to normal as it were. But it wasn't meant to be and the end was permanent.

By the time Sophia arrived I was already a pro at all this breastfeeding lark and nursing her was a breeze from the first latch. We would nurse on demand....anytime, anywhere. This was almost 2 years ago. Sophia will be turning 2 this coming October and our nursing sessions are going strong if not stronger. She speaks rather well for age and will ask for booboob. Recently she has become even more articulate and would actually say 'Can I have some booboob please, mummy?' How can I say no to such a lovely request from such a lovely little girl? As she is older her nursing sessions are usually confined to the home. We rarely if ever nurse in public anymore as she's always too busy when we're out and about. So she's quite capable of not having booboob all day long if we're out all day. But when we're home she can't get enough of booboob and recently it's as if all we do at home is booboob. What's up with that? A few weeks ago booboob was mostly during nap time and bed time with the occasional quick sip. Now the moment I sit myself down, Sophia will come over and request for booboob. And my little girl can nurse and nurse and nurse. :) Hope it's just a phase as I can't be booboobing all day long now can I? Unless of course I was booboobing a newborn.....my Sophia is almost 2, can ask for it and is quite capable of helping herself.

I of course plan to booboob my next baby. Whenever that may be. I'm hoping for sooner rather than later. InsyaAllah.