Frances’s Holding Time account explores the unique challenges and rewards of extended breastfeeding. Having nursed her daughter into toddlerhood, Frances reflects on how responsive feeding shaped her parenting and how online lactation consultants and support groups provided essential guidance. She contrasts her own experiences with her mother’s, noting generational differences in attitudes toward schedules versus responsive feeding. Frances also highlights the pressures mothers face, both internally and from family, when choosing to breastfeed beyond infancy. Her story underscores the importance of social networks — both in-person and digital — in empowering mothers to continue breastfeeding. By sharing her journey, Frances helps to normalise extended feeding and demonstrates the value of maternal choice and resilience in shaping positive outcomes for both mother and child
Audio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28xDVo0JbFw
Transcript
I’m Frances, and I have a daughter who’s just over two and a half—two years and eight months, to be exact. I’m still breastfeeding her, and there’s no sign of stopping any time soon, though it does cross my mind occasionally. I was breastfed myself, and although I hadn’t thought deeply about it before becoming a parent, it always just felt like the normal thing to do. My mum breastfed both me and my sister—though not for as long as I’ve been breastfeeding my daughter. Still, I think that background gave me a kind of quiet confidence. I just assumed I would breastfeed, and that I could… read more