Where's My Book?

One of the things that bothered me when I was pregnant was that a lot of the home birth literature has this almost fanatical bent to it. I mean, on the one hand, one of the main arguments in favour of home birth is that women should have control and choices in how they birth and should do what is comfortable for them. But then a lot of the proponents are so dead certain that there's only one right way to do it - and that conceding to any intervention is some sort of failure. They make it seem like in order to have a home birth you must be so hardcore about it that afterwards you're going to cook up the placenta and eat it for dinner. (Which reminds me, our placenta is still in our freezer, but I digress.) So in that sense, the proponents alienate those who might otherwise consider it because they make it seem like it isn't a mainstream choice. And as a result a lot of our friends and family thought we were doing it just to make a point, when in fact, we felt that for us it was a safe and sensible choice.

I find the same thing with breastfeeding sometimes. I'm not planning to wean at six months, or even a year. If what I've read is true it will be possible to continue breastfeeding in the morning and evening even when I'm working. I have no idea how significant the health benefits of breastfeeding are past the infant stage, and frankly, I don't care. I enjoy it and so does he. I remember thinking that with mothers who breastfeed toddlers "It's really as much about her..." Now I realise, well, duh, yeah! If I enjoy bonding with my kid that way, why not?

So I was mildly interested when I stumbled across a book about a breastfeeding toddler - but then the whole book is so hardcore; these people only shop at a farmer's market, and they don't own a car; their happy toddler is permanently in a sling on their hip or in a bike seat. I do admire that lifestyle in some ways, but it's not the one I've chosen. And it seems to me that people who relate to that book don't need a book like that to encourage breastfeeding an older child - I'm sure their happy granola circle and all their pals on the mothering.com forums are extremely supportive. Where's the pro-breastfeeding book for the condo-dwelling child of corporate drones? Now that's one I'd add to my Amazon.com wishlist.