My one-year-old on her birthday!

My nursling now joins the 21.4% of American babies that are breastfeeding at the one-year mark according to the National Immunization Survey breastfeeding statistics. She falls at the 75th and 80th percentiles for height and weight, which puts her right in between her oldest sister who always topped out at the 95th and her other sister who hovered around the 50th.

If I add up all the months I have been breastfeeding — from this precious moment with my first born, through this funny moment with my second nursing toddler, up to my third baby — I have been lactating for seven years now, which is about 19% of my life. I have to say, that gives me a certain sense of accomplishment. It’s not because my nurslings and I breastfed for any particular length of time or met any particular milestone, but because I have the satisfaction of knowing I worked hard to overcome the challenges I faced along the way — the challenges that inspired me to start blogging about breastfeeding — and because I have had the satisfaction of providing my milk for my babies.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

By: Juria Yoshikawa

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3