World Breastfeeding Week: Coco Austin still breastfeeding her five-year-old daughter
It's World Breastfeeding Week and we take a look at Coco Austin's story about breastfeeding her five-year-old daughter.
As a society, we tend to react to things we don't understand. Breastfeeding has notoriously been a contested topic for many people - some for it, some against it, and others who just follow the masses.
What many people don't know is that breastfeeding is a very emotional and psychological practice. Many mothers feel very pressurised into breastfeeding and this causes their bodies to respond in a lack of milk supply. So let's take a moment to recognise mothers and also to recognise what they go through.
It's World Breastfeeding Week from the 1 to 7 August and this year the theme is 'Protect Breastfeeding: A shared responsibility'. The thing is that many parents are not fully informed about the benefits of breastfeeding, nor are they mentally prepared for all the things that get thrown at new parents.
Realistically, it is impossible to be fully prepared for your baby, there are a host of things that may or may not come up when you become a parent. So instead of us looking at it from the angle of being prepared for everything, we should look at it as being prepared for the basics.
The basics of breastfeeding should be something that all parents are informed about. A host of benefits for both the mother and the baby can be found here.
When it comes to freedom of speech, everyone has a platform that allows them to say what they want. But when it comes to talking about things that don't follow the norm, then somehow there is a shame attitude that many people abide by online.
Coco Austin, an actress, dancer, model, mother, and wife of rapper Ice T has revealed an inspired way of looking at breastfeeding. She was recently interviewed saying that she still breastfeeds her five-year-old daughter, Chanel.
It’s a big bonding moment for a mother and your child. Why take that away from her? … If she doesn’t want it, all right, that’s where you stop it. But I’m not just going to say no.
Coco has said that she has received a lot of props from other mothers about her choices when it comes to breastfeeding. The truth is each mother, just like each child, just like each family, is different and to compare each is a severe injustice to everyone involved.
She also said that her daughter eats real food and doesn't get her nutrients solely from breast milk. Adding that she will be sad the day that Chanel decides to leave the breast, because she truly loves that bond that feeding brings between a mother and child.
I had a hard time breastfeeding the 1st week of when Chanel was born, I almost gave up but my family told me to hang for another week. They told me I dont want to miss this special moment you have with your child.. health wise and bond wise..I hung in there and now almost 4 years later Chanel still wants the boob ..
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Coco is one of the many mothers that is following her own style when it comes to nursing. When you become a mother (and a father), you realise that parental instincts are real. There is a built-in mechanism that you can call on when you are not sure about something - some things come instinctively.
And the best thing to do is to trust it, when you look at birth, and the whole idea of conception, it's miraculous. The whole concept of a child just leaves us in awe at times. The way they grow, the way they learn, and the way they too become parents one day. So it doesn't surprise us that they find comfort in different ways from their parents, and that as parents we do things that we never thought we would do.
Its more of a comfort thing now and of course she eats regular but nap time and night time are our time and I'm lucky she hasn't grown out it yet because when that moment comes I will be so sad..its the best feeling and ALL mothers that nurse know.
Image Courtesy of Instagram