Top Hat over at Its All About the Hat suggested a Breastfeeding Blog Carnival called "This is What a Nursing Toddler Looks Like." [This is my first blog carnival so I will link to the other participants as soon as I figure out the rules of the game - UPDATE: I have added some links at the bottom to other Carnival participants.] Luckily for me, the Carnival theme left a good bit of room for interpretation since I don't currently have a nursing toddler. I have many fond memories of nursing my kids when they were toddlers and so do they. I and they remember how important it was that they could nurse when they were sick or hurt or needed comfort. We nursed when they needed some time with mom. We nursed when they were getting used to sharing mom with a new sibling. We nursed when they were hungry. We nursed to sleep. We nursed standing up and sitting down and in positions I used to call "Olympic Freestyle Nursing."

A nursing toddler can also go hiking and he looks like this:

But with my kids getting older, I am seeing more of what a nursing toddler looks like when he is no longer nursing and is no longer a toddler. That can be someone who really understands how important it is that kids get to nurse and mothers get to nurse their kids. A former nursing toddler isn't fazed by seeing women breastfeed wherever they are.

A few years ago my then 12 year old son saw me helping to organize a nurse-in. I explained that a woman had been quietly nursing her baby on a bench in a shopping mall when a security guard ordered her to stop and move. She refused, saying she needed to finish feeding her son. Soon she was surrounded by security guards who engaged her husband in a shouting match and left the woman terrified. When the mom shared her story and the shopping mall management refused to respond to her complaint about her treatment, a nurse-in was planned.

My son was confused – why would anyone think there was something wrong with a mother feeding her baby? Then he was mad – this was wrong. He asked if he could come to the nurse-in. When he saw me making signs, he asked if he could create one for himself. I told him that we expected press coverage and there was a chance his friends would see a photo of him from the protest. He was adamant that he wanted to be seen.

Back to the Carnival theme – This is What a Nursing Toddler Looks Like. He looks like a proud breastfeeding activist.

UPDATE: Other What Does a Nursing Toddler Looks Like Carnival participants.

A Breastfeeding Toddler Photoshoot, Escaping to my Controversial Place

The Joys, Humors, and Struggles of … , The Mother's Lamentation

Nursing a (and Around a) Toddler Creates Cute Stories, Melissa's Place

I Never Thought I'd Nurse a Toddler, The Prudent Woman

The Pros and Cons of Breastfeeding a Toddler, Breastfeeding Moms Unite

Nursing an Older Toddler, Musings of Mommy Bee

My Nursing Toddler Story, babyREADY

Beautiful at Any Age, A Piece of My Mind

This is What A Nursing Toddler Looks Like, Three Girl Pile-Up

This is What a Nursing Toddler Looks Like, Permission to Mother

This is a Nursing Toddler, Gaze Into the Heavens

This is What a Nursing Toddler Looks Like, My Seaside Retreat

Nursing a Toddler in a Ring Sling, PhD in Parenting

This is What a Nursing Toddler Looks Like … , Mama's Apple Cores