And he nursed for the last time.

It wasn't anything I or my husband pushed, this slow and steady weaning process. Breastfeeding just fell off the radar, with one session dropped, another forgotten. Finally, last Wednesday, Tycho nursed for the last time.

He turns 21 months today, the little stinker! He's running, talking (sometimes incessantly), giggling, constantly learning. Each day, he grows more and more, both physically and mentally. It's amazing to watch someone you made and raised turn into his own individual person, and I'm literally lost for words to describe the feeling.

Last Wednesday, at an unacceptable 5:45am, Tycho nursed for the last time. He had woken up asking for Dada, and when Dada relented, Tycho was brought to me in our bed for nursing (and, admittedly, some quiet time before our alarm clock went off at 6:30).

We had been down to morning nursing alone for a long time at that point -- I'd say, the past two months. He weaned his night-nursing at that time, and we instead changed the routine to include snuggles on the couch, reading a few books in bed, and kissing his sweet face as he sank into his pillow. That itself was bittersweet, so for the following months, I held onto that last shred of babyhood.

Having relactated when Tycho was just a few months old, I'm filled with pride to say that I nursed him this long. It was truly a miraculous and marvelous thing to nourish him in the beginning and to continue offering comfort as he grew older; there was literally nothing that nursing couldn't fix. I knew it would end, but I didn't realize just how emotional I'd be after the fact, or just how determinedly white-knuckled I'd be as it attempted to slip through my fingers.

But six mornings have passed now since Tycho has even mentioned his nenes, and while I in no way encouraged him to continue when he was clearly done, I'm left pining for 5:45 mornings, kissing his hair, and snuggling him that much closer as we lay in bed.

Babies, man... they really don't keep.

There's so much awaiting me as a mother, though, and while it's hard to accept, moving into this next stage and knowing that it just gets better from here brings me so much joy that I can't contain it all. I swell with so much pride every day for my son that, in the end, I'm happy to leave the baby stage in the dust!

Yes, I remain wistful, even a bit sad. I liken it to mourning. But this is just the start of a new, exciting path of independence, engaging conversations (even constant questions and back-talking!), teaching him to ride a bike, learning grade school science all over again, watching him hit a grand slam, and everything else that comes with... well, growing up.

Tycho's clearly ready for it, so I'm taking his lead... and eagerly forging on into this next phase of motherhood. ♥

World Health Organization: No long-term benefits to breastfeeding

I have breastfed. I still breastfeed my 19-month-old. If it was up to Tycho, I'm sure we'd be breastfeeding until elementary school (despite my plans to cut him off entirely by at least three -- good thing he doesn't understand that yet!). I enjoy it, he enjoys it, it's a mutually-beneficial relationship, and I'll be sad when it's gone.

But is breast "best"? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the answer is a resounding "NO".

The WHO recently published Long-term effects of breastfeeding: a systematic review by Bernardo L. Horta and Cesar G. Victoria, both MD, PhDs from Universidade Federal de Pelotas in Brazil. While this study serves mostly to supplement one done under the same name, published in 2007, this 74-page research paper touts the benefits of breastfeeding in the first six months, but also resoundingly shows that there is no evidence for long-term health benefits of breastfeeding.

I bolded that and made it huge because, as a breastfeeder and, even more, as a relactation-er, while breastfeeding for any length of time is a worthy goal that should be socially accepted and assisted to ensure a mother's success (provided it's what she actually wants to do), I did it NOT for the health benefits, but for that mutually-beneficial relationship.

And I strongly believe that, regardless of how you feed your child, you also have the same right to have that mutually-beneficial relationship.

Most people who read this blog (and, for that matter, even have access to the internet) are, I assume, from an industrialized society of some sort, one that has clean water and access to healthy, scientifically-sound, entirely safe and effective infant and toddler formulas. Considering this, any benefits to breastfeeding are small and short-term, so there's no reason for any mother who chooses formula-feeding to feel guilty at all.

And for chrissake, can we stop with this "liquid gold" mantra? It's just milk. Sure, it's your milk, and as someone who relactated, I can appreciate how much each drop matters to a mother. But it is just milk. This nomenclature serves only to humiliate and vilify mothers who feed their babies infant formula, whether by choice or by circumstance.

You're doing great, mama. Absolutely wonderfully. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, and know that you have the WHO (and me!) on your side. ♥

MommyCon Philadelphia: A Photo Review

This past weekend, we gathered the family, packed up a few articles of clothing, and head out to Philadelphia for MommyCon! Tycho slept the whole way there (then didn't sleep at all the rest of the day...), and when we arrived, we were surrounded by moms, babies, and general excitement!

Matt skedaddled right out of there. ;)

Here are some pictures from MommyCon, including what we got in our swag bag (VIP FTW). It was an absolute blast, whether you're expecting, have a toddler like we do, or your kids are grown. I'll definitely be doing it next year when it comes to DC!

(Please excuse the cell phone pictures. I did bring the good camera, but we got to Philly and Matt opened the camera up, only to find a dead battery and no SD card, sooooo.)

Donuts before hitting the road! They were a big hit, lol.

Registration! We got there about 15 minutes late and it was already pretty packed.

Official signage! Note the unicorn...

There was a really cool art exhibit thing on the ceiling that Tycho loved.

During one of the discussions from The Leaky Boob, we ended up winning a giraffe thing! Cool part was that it was a backpack crammed with goodies -- I have that swag at the bottom of this post. The rolling mouse was by far Tycho's favorite. :)

Got to meet Jenn Labit of Cotton Babies (and learned that her name is pronounced "la-bee", lol). Totally sweet gal, and Tycho was just ENAMORED. A friend pointed out later that he was probably confused because of her hair. Apparently we could be sisters...?

He was giving Jenn this look THE WHOLE TIME. It was adorable.

"Hello, room service? I'd like some nenes, please!"

After a crazy night's sleep, we're back at MommyCon! ERMAHGERD SO MANY BABBYS

Some of the vendors. I'm sure y'all recognize quite a few!

Babywearing World Record time! Apparently we broke the record! :)

Playtime means Mommy finally puts me down! (I think even HE was a little tired of babywearing after this weekend, ha!)

Kisses for the camera. ♥

Finding one's belly button is a great time-killer while in line at Panera.

On the second day, Matt took Tycho for the second half, leaving me 100% free to check out the booths and talk to some of the vendors. I went to a ton of different booths for carseat advice, inquiries into adult amber, discussing fenugreek tinctures with a mama who ended up being local (Crofton wassup!), and got some Baby Your Ink balm after raving about tattoos with a couple lovely ladies!

WANT! DROOL. WANT SO BADLY.

The Clek comes with this folding travel bag through 11 October. Again... WANT.

This dude was giving out actual starter packs of Kiinde Twist milk storage systems! I saw these while I was relactating and really wanted to get them, but the price tag was pretty up there (these starter packs retail around $40). But I got one, then another after the convention was closing up and they were giving out the rest! Possible Eventual Baby #2 will be pumpin' and eatin' in style...

One vendor had these Motherlove More Milk Special Blend pills... seriously, just one vendor. When I saw they had them, I about cried, as I depend on these for breastfeeding and I FORGOT MINE at home! So thankful someone had them!

Okay, these Mixie bottles are the absolute coolest and made me wish I had known about them while we were FFing Tycho. You fill the containers of these bottles with formula and put on the popping lid, then screw that to the bottom; water is then poured into the top. When you're ready to feed baby, you push the bottom, the popping lid pops off, and you shake the formula and water together! Demos are available on their site. AMAZING!

This woman gave a whole discussion on being a Mompreneur while juggling her two kids. Amazing... I can barely hold a conversation with just one baby. ;)

Honest Toddler talk! She was hilarious.

I absolutely loved this presentation given by the Car Seat Lady.

And The Baby Guy NYC gave out these awesome prizes! (Nothing won here -- and one of the numbers was ONE OFF from mine!! -- but it was a good time, anyway!)

Finally, Beco did something amazing and gave away 200 baby carriers to two babywearing organizations that provide structured and other carriers to military families and families in need. Such an incredible cause and an incredible gift from Beco!

As suddenly as it started, the Con was over! We had a bit of time on our hands before dinnertime, so we cruised around the city and took in the sights. Our impression of Philly: It's pretty awesome, kind of like a NYC Lite, but man... there were a lot of homeless.

BURGERS

Pretty much everyone had had a long weekend by this point. But we were all in high spirits. ;)

He kept saying "big bid!" for "big building!"

Jesus took our picture at the iconic LOVE statue. (Seriously. Jesus. A man of God who asked for tips as he took our cameras and gave them back. It was strange...)

CHEESE

And finally, the SWAG. Yo, if y'all ever go to a MommyCon, definitely get the VIP tickets. They're a bit pricey (Philly was $135 per person for the two days), but check out everything you get! We had a few duplicates, too, as they were just handing out half-full gift bags by the handful at the end of the conference.

I can't even begin to list everything in here, so if you have any questions or want to see something in greater detail, let me know!

Remember those lovely inked ladies I was telling you about? This is what I got from them. TOTALLY stoked for my Tycho's armillary tattoo idea now, especially since they recommended an awesome studio not far from where we live.

And here's what was in the giraffe bag that Tycho won! I've been wanting to try out the Reflo cup, so I was STOKED when it came in that bag.

All in all, this was an amazing conference with great mamas and tons of information. If you're planning on going next year to DC, let me know, we'll have to meet up! :)