Mayim Bialik, an advocate of attachment parenting, caused some controversy in 2011, when it was revealed that she still breastfed her 3-year-old son. Surprisingly, The Big Bang Theory actress put an end to breastfeeding her son Fred, but it wasn’t until this past November, when he was 4-years-old.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss being able to latch him on and make it all better. We have other ways to soothe Fred now,” Mayim wrote on the Jewish website Kveller.

Attachment parenting involves extended breastfeeding, potty training without diapers, a natural birth among other things.

“From the time that Fred night-weaned a year ago, he was nursing about once a day, but not always once a day. Sometimes he’d go a few days without nursing. After night-weaning, he could nurse anywhere but in the bed, since it invariably made him think of nursing all night, which he did like a real champ for his entire happy milky life until he was 3. And I didn’t want to go back to that,” she explained.

“I nursed Fred four to six times a night for three years. I pumped at work for Fred from the time I got the job on The Big Bang Theory when he was 18 months old until he was 3. I didn’t nurse him literally anywhere, anytime, but I made sure to meet his needs and have mine satisfied as well,” Mayim added.

What do YOU think, HollyMoms? Did Mayim wait too long to wean her son off of breastfeeding? How do you feel about attachment parenting?

— Chris Rogers

Follow
@ChrisRogers86
More Mayim Bialik News:

1. Mayim Bialik STILL Breastfeeds Her 3-Year-Old Son! Is This Wrong Or Perfectly Normal?
2. Mayim Bialik Divorcing Husband Michael Stone After 9 Years
3. ‘Big Bang Theory’ Star Mayim Bialik’s ‘Unschooling’ Parenting Style — Progressive Or Crazy?

Mayim Bialik, star of the hit show The Big Bang Theory, and her husband Michael Stone are divorcing, the actress announced in a statement on Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Mayim cites “irreconcilable differences” as the main reason for the split. “The main priority for us now is to make the transition to two loving homes as smooth and painless as possible,” she said in a statement. “Our sons deserve parents committed to their growth and health and that’s what we are focusing on.”

She and Michael have two children, Miles, 7, and Frederick, 4. The couple had been married for nine years.

– Billy Nilles

More Celebrity Divorce News:

1. Joe & Tina Simpson File For Divorce
2. Evelyn Lozada Files For Divorce From Chad Johnson
3. Katie Holmes Filed For Divorce From Tom Cruise

Mayim Bialik doesn’t embrace her celebrity mom status quite like Angelina Jolie or Kourtney Kardashian. But in her new book Beyond the Sling, she brings a public face to the alternative parenting style of attachment parenting. “We’re accused of being martyrs and passive parents,” Mayim said during an event hosted by The Moms at Simon and Schuester publishing offices on March 7.

The goal of attachment parenting is “forming and nurturing strong connections between parents and their children,” according to Attachment Parenting International.

Mayim’s parenting style features co-sleeping in a large family bed, an “unschooling” style of homeschooling and diaperless potty training for her sons, Miles, 7, and Frederick, 4. Her husband, Michael Stone, wasn’t too thrilled about the latter.

“He thought this diaper free thing was totally crazy and he didn’t want to do it,” Mayim said of her supportive husband, who finally did come around.

Mayim may not publicize every moment of her or her children’s lives, but she won’t turn down a fan that approaches her on the street. “My son thinks it’s normal when people come up to me and take my picture or call me Blossom,” Mayim said.

And which of The Big Bang Theory boys does Mayim think would have benefited most from attachment parenting?

“Some would say Sheldon, but I think Leonard, because Leonard talks a lot about his mother. Leonard’s mom is the one that’s kind of dialing it in to be his attachment,” Mayim said about her co-star Johnny Galecki‘s character.

Emily Morgan

More Hollybaby News:

1. Snooki MUST Stop Drinking ASAP If She Hasn’t Already, Experts Say
2. Jenelle Evans Impersonates Her Mom’s Accent — Funny Video
3. Parents Forgot 3-Year-Old At Chuck E. Cheese, Didn’t Notice Until They Saw The News

In a new blog post for kveller.com, Mayim Bialik, 35, who best known for starring in Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, admits it may finally be time to start weaning her three-year-old son Fred. Yeah, we’d say so!

Mayim, who also has a six-year-old son Miles, believes in child-led weaning and although she never thought she would be breastfeeding a three-year-old, she doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with it — actually she enjoys it!

“I have written about my now 3-year-old son Fred, and his nursing rhythms before,” Mayim wrote on kveller.com. “To recap: Fred nursed for a solid 12 months with no supplements, no solid foods, and not even a sip of water. He got the hang of eating solids around 18 months, but continued to nurse all day (with bottles of pumped breastmilk when I was at work), and on demand all night. A typical night involved no less than four wake-ups and sometimes six (every 2 hours on the clock for 12 hours of bed time was not unusual). This went on for almost 3 years.”

So, what’s next for Mayim and Fred? Read more on kveller.com!

But what do you think of this HollyMoms? Should a three-year-old still be nursing? Weigh in below!

–Leigh Blickley

More Breastfeeding stories on HollyBaby:

1. Gwyneth Paltrow Wants A Boob Job To Fix The Damage Caused By Breastfeeding! Does She Need It?
2. New Dad David Beckham Admits: I’m Jealous I Can’t Breastfeed Like Victoria!
3. Exclusive Interview: Mayim Bialik Had Her Son Potty Trained Before He Was 1! She Explains How She Did It

The former Blossom star and mom of two used elimination communication with her sons and practices holistic parenting.

Former child star Mayim Bialik plays a brainiac love interest for Sheldon (Emmy winner Jim Parsons) on The Big Bang Theory. But offscreen the equally intelligent (she’s a neuroscientist in real life!) mother of two takes an unconventional approach to parenting her sons, Miles, 5, and Fred, 2, which includes sharing a bed with them, and making them go diaper free!

You played the school guidance counselor on The Secret Life of the American Teenager last season. Did you and former teen queen Molly Ringwald compare any parenting notes?
We were sitting in the hair and makeup trailer and she was talking about how she started working with a trainer six weeks after having her twins, and at six weeks [after I had my son Fred] I was still on the couch crying. So I knew right away that we had very different lifestyles.

Speaking of which, what can you tell us about the parenting book you’re in the process of writing?
The idea is I’m not a pediatrician — I’m not an expert on children. I’m an expert on two children: mine. I practice holistic parenting and so I believe in extended breast feeding (letting the child wean himself off naturally), sharing a bed with my kids, eating a vegan diet, giving them gentle discipline (that doesn’t include hitting), and baby wearing [like strapping them to you with a Baby Björn rather than using a stroller]. These are things that as a neuroscientist I’ve found make sense evolutionarily.

Supermodel Gisele Bündchen made headlines in August for saying she thought there should be an international law stating mother’s need to breastfeed children for the first six months of their lives. What did you think when you heard about that?
I thought it was incredible. But I also think she’s a very, very brave woman for saying it — even though she is absolutely in line with what the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. She’s not giving you a wacky personal opinion. Although, I think that’s how people are seeing it. Breastfeeding is recommended worldwide because it’s good for women’s and children’s health. I think we need to make a really aggressive attempt to reestablish breastfeeding as the norm and that should be encouraged and supported.

Is it true your older son no longer used a diaper by the time he was 1? That seems amazing!
Yes, thanks to elimination communication on Miles’ first birthday he used the potty. Both my sons were wearing underwear by 15 or 16 months.

Elimination communication teaches parents to pick up on signals kids give off when they have to use the bathroom. So what signs did your sons give you so you could take them to the toilet instead of them going in their diaper?
Our little guy comes up to us and either tugs on our shirt or pants leg. At one point, he’d sit down and flap his wings like a small bird. That was his sign and if you keep reinforcing it, kids will keep giving it. We read Diaper Free by Ingrid Bauer, sort of a crunchy classic, that gives you all kinds of tips on how to pick up the signs. My husband thought I was crazy for wanting to try it, but now he’s a believer because he’s seen the proof in our kids.

Not everyone is going to be willing to try everything that goes along with a holistic parenting lifestyle. So if moms only take away one message from you, what would you like it to be?
Don’t be afraid to admit you’re wrong. My parents, who are very loving people, never thought they could admit they were wrong — whether it was about a disciplinarian issue or something they told me that turned out not to be correct. They thought they weren’t allowed to be wrong and I think that hurt my relationship with them. I’m honest with my kids. I say to my older son all the time, “I’m learning too.”

—Patty Adams Martinez