A Breast by Any Other Name...

Before I had children, I predicted that if I successfully nursed my child, I would probably stop nursing either when she grew teeth, or when she was old enough to ask to nurse. I always thought that if the child was old enough to ask for it, she was old enough not to need it. Well, as it turns out, reality was quite a bit different from my pre-baby predictions! Both my children happily nursed well past the time they were first able to verbally ask to breastfeed.

Having a child who is able to ask to nurse can create embarrassing situations. I was fortunate that while I was breastfeeding for the first time, I read The Breastfeeding Book, by Martha Sears and Dr. William Sears. One gem of advice they provided in their book stayed with me and turned out to be very helpful. They suggested that a code-word be established for breastfeeding. The child would then use this word when asking to nurse. Without having a code-word, there is a large potential for embarrassing situations!

For example, my friend's one-and-a-half-year-old daughter asked to breastfeed while visiting at her grandparents' house by saying (loudly) to her Mom (in front of all the relatives in the room), "I want BOOBIES!" Needless to say, Mom was mortified, even though everyone had a good laugh about it later on.

I selected "num-nums" for the code-word with my children, and other moms have used "milkies" for their code word. It doesn't matter what you select; you can even be creative and make up a word. Just remember that whatever you decide to use, use it consistently. You may find that it will help avoid embarrassing situations later on!

This article was first published on ClubMom.com, which will be ceasing operations on December 31, 2008. I am republishing this article here.