You are STILL nursing?

Boy, I hope someday somebody says to me, "you are STILL nursing?"  In large part because I had to stop nursing my baby after only 2 months.  If someone says that to me, it will mean I have successfully re lactated.
A back injury, a bad reaction to the medications, and undiagnosed ulcers lead to throwing up, digestive problems, and major weight loss.  Through it all my body WANTED to feed my little girl.  I believe I would have withered away to nothing before my body decided to stop producing food for my baby.  But I had to survive, and not only stopped nursing but had to stop pumping too.
I am currently in the process of re-lactating (lots of pumping, esp since Jane does not seem to remember how to nurse at the moment).  And then the TIME article came out: http://lightbox.time.com/2012/05/10/parenting/#1
These are the reasons why I chose to breastfeed to begin with, even though it was HARD at first.

1. Breast milk is superior to anything formula makers have come out with, we don't even fully understand everything that breast milk does for our babies.
2. I did not want to immunize my baby right away, and breastfeeding is a natural way to protect her from disease until she gets her shots.
3. Breastfeeding also helps her recover from colds and other common illnesses.
3. It saves money (lots, we spend over $100 a month on formula right now).
4. It is convenient, more convenient than formula (unless you are a Mom who works outside the home) once you get the hang of it.
5. No bottles to clean.
6. Bonding with my baby.
7. Comforting my baby.
8. It's natural, and I believe the natural way is almost always the best way.

I didn't know how long I would breastfeed.  I knew it would depend in part on Jane and how long SHE wanted to nurse.  But I secretly hoped I would be one of those Moms who is nursing a toddler.  I secretly hoped to nurse long enough to really upset some people.  My friend Meghan got a good reaction when she revealed she was nursing a baby over the age of one.  Like it is some magical number when every single baby doesn't need to nurse anymore. 

"Sayings" I have heard regarding when to stop breastfeeding:

1. By the age of 1 (where is the science behind this?).
2. By the time your child is old enough to ask for it (but babies ask for it simply by crying, or drooling, or nuzzling, newborn babies "ask" for the breast).
3. By the time your child is old enough to remember (I can nurse until my baby is about 4 based on this rule, but still, what is wrong with remembering?).

If you look at the science, there is no reason to stop nursing for any reason but Mom and Baby want to...and you should nurse until your baby is at least 2 if possible. 
So where do these rules come from?   I don't know for sure as I have only lived in this country and brought up in this culture, but I do know that we see breasts as taboo private parts before we see them for their true and far more important function: feeding and comforting our babies.  What a sad reason to impose arbitrary reasons to stop breastfeeding by a certain age.  Women should breastfeed as long as they want without regards to other people's opinion on it.  Breast milk is good for the baby, and the toddler.
Now that I am not breastfeeding, but hoping to start up again, I can add something to this list of reasons to breastfeed..or rather, expand it.  Bonding while nursing goes both ways.  Once I stopped nursing, and my old hormones returned, something was lost, some feeling I had every time I looked at my baby.  I still get it now, just not as often.  And I still love her as much as I did when she was first born.  But something is different.  Maybe it is normal by this age to feel a little apart from your baby, but I really feel like it is the loss of that nursing relationship.  A friend's baby recently weaned himself.  She was not quite ready and she misses it too.  There is something there, and until you know how it feels, you can't possibly tell a mother when the right time is to "wean."  It's complicated.  And personal.