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By Sarah W.
Certainly one of my favourite books ever – and I imply ever – is Amie by Terry Stafford. It was truly initially printed by La Leche League Worldwide in 1983! It’s exhausting to seek out in print, now, sadly. It’s a loving story of a nursing toddler, round three years previous.
The story is a collection of vignettes in Amie’s life. It contains mattress sharing, breastfeeding, play, time together with her dad and mom, understanding that generally nursing needs to be discreet, and seeing different households with nursing toddlers. I all the time significantly loved the image the place she’s smiling whereas nursing and is barely nonetheless hanging on. I’ve positively seen my son do this (he’s practically 4)!
The guide opens with Amie introducing herself. She reveals the readers her room, introduces us to her household, and talks about how nursing is an integral a part of the beginning of her day. The illustrations are mushy and loving pencil illustrations.
All through the guide, we see Amie main a buddy to get “milky” from his mother when he hurts himself. The tales additionally cowl studying about nurse discreetly. We see Amie nursing and snuggling at the beginning and finish of her day. Non-nursing occasions are included too, like taking part in costume up, with playdough, within the sandbox, and different particular experiences with household. Each web page is nice and non-judgmental. It presents breastfeeding as merely part of Amie’s day and part of her household dynamic.
I can quote practically your complete guide and fondly keep in mind my dad studying it to me after I was a nursing toddler! It’s pretty to see breastfeeding past infancy and toddlerhood normalized and easily a part of the life of a kid on this guide. It actually was formative for me, having a guide “about me” that I may determine so strongly with. And after I was rising up within the late Eighties, there actually weren’t many books displaying nursing, a lot much less nursing toddlers! Breastfeeding was a core worth for our entire household, and Amie helped us really feel seen.
My son likes Amie, however he doesn’t appear to really feel a have to determine with it. Perhaps we’re beginning to enter an period the place books will be helpful for representing normalized nursing for a number of years, however don’t must be the lifeline they as soon as have been. I positive hope so! Nursing, for my son and me, has positively been a essential level of calm and connection in his hectic toddler and preschooler life. I’m very glad that I’m not experiencing the form of side-eye and criticism I keep in mind seeing after I was a child.
Amie did additionally affect a few of the language that we selected once we began our nursing journey. Within the guide, Amie says, “Milky, milky, milky it’s my greatest!” Milky, whereas not the time period that was primarily utilized in my childhood, was actually current in our household too, as a quote and reference all of us knew. After I began nursing my son, I used the identical vocabulary I grew up with (nursing and “mommy milk”, which became “mama milk”). However once we referred to as it “milky”, my kiddo is aware of precisely what I imply and precisely what I’m quoting!
Simply the opposite day, I used to be repairing our copy of the guide (the duvet had come free from too many loving readings, I suppose!), and my son got here up and requested me to learn it to him. I informed him it was considered one of my favourite books, and he mentioned, “It’s my favourite guide, too! It goes in my room, so it’s mine.” It warms my coronary heart to see him benefit from the guide meaning a lot to me. Even when he by no means hears a unfavorable phrase about prolonged breastfeeding or doesn’t want that illustration, he nonetheless loves the guide, the story, and the mama milk snuggles he usually will get whereas I learn to him – identical to Amie!
Share your guide evaluations, tales, and reflections with Kylie at [email protected]
Supporting Breastfeeding Households–At the moment, Tomorrow, All the time
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