You're not still nursing, are you?

In the last week, I've been asked this question 4 times. First by my dad, who didn't realize that Ian was still nursing in the middle of the night. The second time was by my mom, who didn't realize the same thing. Number 3 was by my friend's sister, the mother of a 7 month old. And the last time was by my friend, who does not have any children. My parent's tone was casual, because they couldn't care less if I'm still nursing, they just didn't know. Number 3 was a bit surprised, but she doesn't really know me, so she didn't make any further comments. The question by my friend had the most bite and was accompanied by a wrinkled nose and a disparaging tone. I answered that yes, I was still nursing in the evenings, either when Ian went to bed or when he woke in the night. She said, "I think that once a kid cuts his teeth, that's it!" I told her that Ian had never bit me and that if he was a biter, it might be a different story. I stopped my end of the conversation at that, not feeling that I needed to defend myself.
In the beginning, when I first learned of Ian's birth defect, I was concerned that I might not be able to nurse my baby at all. That was one of the first questions that my husband asked the Cleft/Palate team, "My wife has her heart set on nursing; will she still be able to?" It was the big question that was answered when Ian was born and he immediately set to my breast. It was very difficult from the start. He just couldn't seem to get a good latch. He kept slipping off, and I had to keep readjusting him. The nurse and lactaction consultant made many visits, offering tips on holding him, helping him to get the right latch and getting comfortable with nursing. Honestly, I never thought that I would get it.
And then my milk came in and I was terribly engorged, which made matters worse. Ian had an even harder time getting the latch. I was nursing constantly and getting more and more frustrated. I didn't think that the small cleft would have made for such a tricky time. It wasn't until we saw the plastic surgeon that I found out that Ian had a break in the muscle above the cleft that ran all the way up into his nostril. Finally, a reason for the difficulty. The surgery would help. They would cut this muscle break and reassemble it, layer by layer.
Immediately after the surgery, the nurses took me back to nurse him. He was groggy and his lip was extremely swollen. It was very painful to nurse him, as the stitches inside his mouth poked me. But his latch and suction were stronger and I was finally relieved by the success at last!
So, yes, I'm still nursing him. And I will continue to nurse him as long as we're both comfortable with it. I'm proud to have stuck with it for this entire year, even though many times I felt like throwing in the towel. I think that Ian and I are closer for it.