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| April 4 2011. CC spots a bird; despite the simultaneous rainfall and snow! |
Much to our delight, the Brat has been babbling for some time. Mostly Gaga, Dada, Papa and Mama. My husband and I refer to each other in the baby's presence with the french appellations for mother and father, so we are not sure if Papa and Mama refer to us, or if they are random babbling sounds. However, the other day, I was quite certain our baby spoke her first word. If I had to venture a guess, ball or baby would have been at the top of her first-word list. I was mistaken. The word uttered both surprised and frightened me.
It was a few mornings ago. We had brought the baby to our bed at around 6:30AM in an attempt to coax her into getting a little more sleep. It didn't work. Instead, she found her way over to my side of the bed, and started beating on my chest. That is the Brat's way of saying she wants breast milk. I was reluctant on this occasion to give in, as I had recently fed her, and she was shortly due for breakfast. But as I usually do, I relented. She nursed for a few minutes, then pulled away. Her face was adorned with a wide grin, and she very clearly uttered "MIL". I turned to my husband in surprise. He too had heard it. While I was pleased that our baby was progressing from babbling, I was instantly gripped with a fear that I would never be able to say no to her nursing
I instantly thought of my older sister who still breast-feeds her 31/2 year-old son. They hold entire conversations on the subject. She suggests to him that it might be time to stop (as most of his nursing requests come in the middle of the night), to which he replies, "not yet mommy, maybe when it's time to go to school." I had the chance to witness a few interactions between my sister and her three year-old son this last summer during their visit to Canada. He was very clingy, despite other immediate family members being around. He would even attempt to follow her into the bathroom! My sister says that he sometimes wakes up 10 times per night demanding "more milk." I firmly believe that at this point in time, breastfeeding is the main barrier preventing our baby from sleeping through the night. My husband and I are planning a trip sans baby in mid-June. My goal is to wean her by then. She will be 16 months old. Far older than most North-American babies at time of weaning.
Currently, the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life for healthy, term infants. "Breast milk is the optimal food for infants, and breastfeeding may continue for up to two years and beyond." (http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/n/breastfeedingmar05.htm).
The American Academy of Paediatrics, for their part, says that "there is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychological or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;115/2/496). What about psychological harm to the mother?!
Oh! What a beautiful development in baby's babbling! Yes, babies sudden burst of words is compared to a kettle which is plugged in-it gathers heat and suddenly it comes to a boiling point. We think babies do not understand when we talk to them, but in fact they are collecting and preserving every single word and when this collection reaches "a boiling point" we see this incredible outburst. Input vs output! I talk with my grandchildren all the time from a very young age. When I have a chance to take one of my very young grandchildren (0+) to a park there isn't a single thing that we don't talk about-cars and their colours, dogs and cats and squirrels and trees and leaves and grass, birds and the blue sky, and rain and sunshine and snow and ice. It is such a heavenly love, the relation between grandmothers and grandchildren!
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