Toddler Nursing

Is he a toddler or a baby? It's hard to say.

At 13 months old I still very much think of Benjamin as a baby. He still looks like a baby. He still snuggles up beside me in bed every night in the same way that he has done since the day he was born. He's been 'toddling' since he was 9 months but he was certainly still a baby then!

But he is starting to show a toddler side now too. He gets frustrated and can't express it adequately. He 'shouts' at me if I do the wrong thing or don't respond appropriately to a request. He follows simple instructions - and sometimes chooses not to with an adorable cheeky grin lighting his face and a mischievous glint in his eye. He follows his brothers around and tries to imitate everything they do. Jack in particular. I wish I'd had a camera at the ready a few mornings ago when I was preparing the breakfast. The two of them climbed up onto a chair in the kitchen to look out at the birds scavenging in the grass for seeds and breadcrumbs that had been thrown out there the day before. Jack had his hand protectively on Ben's back and he was chattering and pointing all the while.

But when it comes to breastfeeding? He's definitely a toddler. No longer can I sit and drink a cup of tea while he feeds. Or read a book. Or watch a dvd. He climbs. He kicks. He stands upside down. He tries to climb off and play while still reluctant to release his latch. Unfortunately for me, I'm not made out of elastic (though that part of my anatomy might be getting there!).
Sometimes it's cute. Lots of the time it's incredibly frustrating! On. Off. Down. Up. Down. Up. Up. Up some more. Ouch. Ouch. Let go! Ouch! Off. On.

It still melts me though when he pulls off and looks up at me with a big grin and some melodic chatter before burying his face back again.