“It’s hard to speak about it without it being bittersweet because it’s beautiful and intimate while also being difficult and exhausting. It’s the most bittersweet thing I’ve ever done. So, I never say just good things about it because it’s hard too. It’s hard and it’s really depleting and I want to be able to do it all the time. I want to give it to her whenever she wants, but sometimes I just can’t. I’m just like, ‘No, I’m ready for a break.’
I actually had to start my own toddler breastfeeding mom support group. In January of last year. I was having a hard time with the night feeding and I realized that I had four other moms in my circle who were in similar situations. I started a messenger group for all of us and it’s been a God-send. It’s expanded obviously, beyond breastfeeding, but we all breastfeed toddlers and we are all there for each other to vent and offer advice. It helps so much.
From the beginning it was easy in the sense that I didn’t have any issues or anything like that. It always felt really natural. But, I definitely get like a lot of comments about it, especially as Noa gets older. Like, the other day I told someone at my yoga studio that I was breastfeeding and she was like, she was like in shock and I feel that’s kind of like the general reaction and like, I feel like there’s a lot of judgment. I don’t really get judgment in public, but I’ll get judgment from like the older generation. It’s not even always a comment, it’s more like a look.
So yeah, I guess that’s the hardest part for me is the judgment. Not because I care so much what people think, but more because it makes you feel alone and unsupported. And you want people around you to understand what you’re going through and to, like, be there for you, and if it’s such an anomaly in our society, then they can’t, it’s like there’s a wall between us. ”