I’ve heard that tribes often breastfeed until age 4 or later, and that they start giving solids much later than us as well. However when I look at it instinctively, I don’t feel like I would naturally start solids much later or nurse my children that late in age, so I wonder where the discrepancy is.
I started sharing solid food with my daughter when she started wanting to share it with me, when she would reach out for it. Now at almost 15 months, I still nurse her often, but she also wants a lot of what I’m eating. How does it happen in tribes? Are mothers purposefully keeping solid food out of their toddler’s reach? And if so why?
And then comes the bit about when you stop nursing them. I plan to nurse until it no longer instinctively feels right to do so. I’ve heard this transition often happens when pregnant with the next child, when a strong instinct to stop comes about. Women breastfeeding in our society often become fertile again at around a year after birth, meaning that by the time your toddler is two your toddler is fully weaned, if you get that instinct to push away and listen to it, but this doesn’t seem to line up with the four year old breastfed children idea. Do tribal women also become fertile again much later? Or alternatively, like some women I know, do they sometimes ignore the instinct to stop breastfeeding and keep going?
Just throwing my thoughts out there to see if anyone had any insight into the matter.