Update to Monday's post

This post is solely about breastfeeding, so if you're not interested stop reading now.

I've already told you all that Isabella dropped nap nursing on Friday, and didn't nurse before bed on Monday.  Tuesday morning she refused to nurse and was cranky all day.  Her temperature was slightly elevated, but stayed below 100, so I assumed it was a mild reaction to the shots she received the day before.  She always runs a slight fever and is cranky the day after shots.  I didn't even attempt to nurse at nap.

She wasn't eating solids well, but I assumed that was either due to teething pain, or her irritability for the shots.  Then during dinner she got sick.  I immediately got her into a bath and she was back to her normal happy self.  It occurred to me that we may have been in the midst of a nursing strike due to her upset tummy.  At bedtime she tolerated the cradle position so I attempted to nurse, with come success.  She turned in and actually latched for a moment, but ultimately did not nurse. 

I started to really question if she was really weaning because and had noticed during the day that she had shown interest, but became upset when I actually tried to nurse.  I decided to do some research on La Leche League's website and kellymom.com and read that children rarely self-wean before 18-24 months, generally wean gradually rather than suddenly, and usually act normally otherwise.  I emailed the lactation consultant about and decided to try to get her to latch in the morning.  Yesterday morning she woke earlier than usual so I thought I'd try to nurse her back to sleep and it worked!  She has been nursing normally ever since!  I know that she eats solids well and would be fine if we stopped nursing now, but if I don't mind it and she still want to nurse, why not?  I know that some people don't get extended nursing, but it is such an amazing bonding experience for mom and baby and it's not like the health/nutritional benefits stop at one year.  The American Academy of Pediatrics's official stance on breastfeeding states that, "It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."  The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until the age of two.  If I've learned one thing as a mother it's that the old saying has some truth: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!