Mothering Your Nursing Toddler

I nursed all four of my children as toddlers and delight in recommending this nurturing book. While long-term breastfeeding becomes more popular in the US, Europe and Canada, there is still some confusion and unease about the topic. This book provides a reassuring nod to all mothers who are breastfeeding their toddlers. Filled with practical tips, real-life stories, quotes from experienced mothers and glorious photos, it is a joy to read. Handy pointers about typical toddler-feeding issues such as that annoying twiddling, handling your child's verbal public request to nurse, dealing with critics, night-nursing and weaning. If you currently are nursing your toddler, or if you are considering the journey, this book is worth owning. I have included a recommendation for it in my new book, Gentle Baby Care: Essential Tips for Raising Your Baby. -- Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution.

As other reviewers have written, this is a compassionate, informative and inspired book supporting the nursing relationship between mother and child. Our culture puts a lot of pressure on the family to create "independent" children. Often this means mothers are told that sleeping with their children, holding their children, and nursing on demand is actually harmful to them. Even committed nursing moms sometimes find themselves questioning their choices when faced with criticism from family or strangers. How refreshing to find a book that shows the *rightness* of a hands-on approach to child rearing.No psychobabble here! The book is a fun read, based upon the testamony of 1000 nursing couples as well as the author's own experience. Some of the things toddlers have to say about the subject are simply priceless, and the little cartoons will bring a knowing smile to any nursing mom's face. I found this book not only to be a wonderful resource on nursing but on parenting as well. Any woman nursing a child or contemplating nursing a child will find this book helpful and heart-warming.

This book is a must-have for any mother who is still nursing their child past the first year (or thinking about it). If you ever had any hesitations about extended breastfeeding, this book will show you why you should feel good about your decision to continue nursing your child. The author answers all of your questions about the how, why, and when of extended breastfeeding. This book covers every imaginable topic, including sexuality while nursing, family pressure, tandem nursing, and weaning. The information is very easy to read, and more importantly, it lets you know that you are not alone. Whether your nursing child is 1, 2, 3, or older, this book addresses all of your concerns and questions in a very supportive and informative way.

I read the first edition of this book when my daughter was about 8 months old and it helped me make the decision that it would be OK to keep nursing her past 12 months if I wanted to. I re-read the first edition when she was about 14 months old for practical advice and reassurance. I have since purchased the new edition [which is even better!], and I've returned to it many times over the last year. I've used it as a reference whenever I had a question, and I just recently re-read the whole thing as my daughter's second birthday began to approach. I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of this book and I recommend it to any mother who is contemplating nursing past the first birthday.

I loved this book because it was so nice to actually see someone write black on white that it is perfectly ok to want to continue nursing beyond 12 months and even during pregnancy. It also helped me overcome the weird feeling I always had when my in-laws and parents questioned my belief in child-led weaning. Read it! It's a wonderful book.