Darling is 28-months old today!

Happy 28-months old, my Darling!

My then little baby is now a beautiful young girl. You've grown so much beyond my expectation. 

One of the most obvious area is speech development. We can no longer talk secretly with a foreign language in front of you. Oh wait, we can still use Malay as of now. Even that, I suspect you can actually understand too! 

Bedtime routine, we're still struggling. For the pass month. You've done pretty well in self-soothing to sleep a few times. I let you tire yourself to bed so it's late by the time you dozed off. About 11pm to 12am. But most of the time, you cried and insisted for nen nen till I couldn't bare the heartache and nurse you, even though there's nothing left in my boobs. But we're figured that when you have some milk before bed, you will doze off much easier and sleep through the night. 

Tantrum. You've developed something really awful of late. Each time you cry, you will scream. That shocked me the first time I saw it. Couldn't help but wonder how or when did you pick this bad habit up? Undoubtedly, it's for attention. But it's too much to ignore it when you use the tactic. I can just constantly reminding you on how horrible and misbehave it is to scream. Or, should I try any other punishment method like wall-facing or guarantine? Till then, nothing works yet. 

Emotion. I never knew my Darling can be such a sentimental little gal as such a tender age. It all started from your music class few weeks ago. It was a bonding session, light dimmed, soft music was playing. And I hugged you in my arm, we cuddled. Then you started sobbing, I wasn't sure why was it but to soothe you at the very moment as all your classmates were enjoying bonding time with their parents, it wouldn't be nice to interrupt them with your cry. So I was telling you, "It's ok, Darling. There's no need to cry, Mommy's here. Mommy sayang." Then you're crying even louder. But when we quickly went into the next story session with the light on, you're fine again :)

So now, each time you're about to cry in front of me, you will look at me in my eyes, pout your little lips with teary eyes. You know how to make use of it now! 

Mommy's so proud of you, despite all the handfulness, it's just means that you're smart and what's more to ask for, right? 

Luv ya,

Muah 

Breastfeeding Toddler

Breastfeeding a toddler!

I'm proud to say that my 19-month-old Darling still a nursing champion, only getting stronger. Each night, that's her bedtime routine to have her nen-nen before falling asleep.

Her favourite position is climbing on me, lie on her stomach comfortably to have her milk. Lately she learned to ask for the next breast after emptying one!

Expectedly, people around us are often amazed that why are we still breastfeeding? My toddler is going to be 2-year-old! Let's see what's the benefits of breastfeeding a toddler.

The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child.." * The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend that babies be breastfed for at least two years.

Breastfeeding a toddler helps with the child's ability to mature. Although some experts say a toddler who is not weaned will have difficulty becoming independent, it's usually the fearful, clingy children that have been pushed into situations requiring too much independence too soon. A breastfeeding toddler is having his dependency needs met. The closeness and availability of the mother through breastfeeding is one of the best ways to help toddlers grow emotionally.

Breastfeeding can help a toddler understand discipline as well. Discipline is teaching a child about what is right and good, not punishment for normal toddler behavior. To help a toddler with discipline, he needs to feel good about himself and his world. Breastfeeding helps a toddler feel good about himself, because his needs are being met.

Just as babies do, toddlers receive health benefits from breastfeeding. Your milk continues to provide immunities and vitamins, and can help protect your toddler from illness and allergies. If your toddler does get sick, nursing will help comfort him. In fact, a toddler with an upset stomach may be able to tolerate nothing but human milk.

Is any of these benefits convincing enough for you?