Breastfeeding for two years? That sounds like a modern woman's nightmare.

I snorted so hard my coffee shot right out of my nose when I saw the new American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on breastfeeding. "Two years they're saying?" I asked myself out loud as I cleaned up the mess splattered all over my desk and laptop. "What a nightmare!"

I realize my words may come as a shock. Plenty of moms and doctors are probably praising the new recommendations for supporting body feeding and infant wellness. But not this mother of two.

In fact, I'm here to remind parents that you get to choose what's best for you. Even if your pediatrician side eyes you (like mine did) when you tell them you're using formula, if you don't want to breastfeed that's OK – it's your choice. It will not get in the way of your maternal bond, either.

If you attempt to guilt trip yourself into breastfeeding longer than you want (or at all), however, it may make a wreck out of you. And that's never good for baby.

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The impracticalities of two years

As a woman who has been through two cesarean sections, I can tell you that they are not highly conducive to the production of milk. Another thing I can tell you: They are more likely to lead to postpartum depression. That's what happened to me after my first daughter was born: The depression made the breastfeeding more difficult. The difficulty of breastfeeding made the depression worse. The cycle continued. I was a failure at giving "chi-chi."

I remember feeling guilty about my inability to lactate on an industrial scale. I certainly didn't see that reflected on social media. In fact, to this day I have never seen other moms on social media talking about the joys of bottle feeding. I have, however, seen a lot of mom wellness influencers touting the joys of body feeding older children. That seems to be the standard we're supposed to aim for. No room for dissenters.

'Don't be emotional and stupid'

I will never forget the advice my best friend Gabriela gave me when my second daughter was born. I called her, postpartum and a tad weepy, to talk about how I was afraid I would be a chi-chi failure yet again. Her words of advice, "Don't be emotional and stupid." She told me to just give her the "mamila" (bottle) and get on with my life. "She'll be fine," she told me.

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Turns out her mother hadn't been able to breastfeed when she and her two sisters were born in the 1980s and their pediatrician in Brownsville, Texas, had told her to just give them "leche clavel" (evaporated milk). I am not saying that you should give your kid evaporated milk, but what I am saying is that Gaby and her sisters turned out just fine in spite of that evaporated milk.

Don't get me wrong: I think moms should do whatever is best for them. That's just not always breastfeeding. Sure, a lot of women might be able to breastfeed during their three months of maternity leave – my mom did just that with me in the '80s. But asking a modern woman to breastfeed for two whole years, in a country that has no paid maternity leave and minimal maternal support structures in place compared with other high income countries, is still a ridiculous amount of time.

In addition to caring for the baby (and recovering from pregnancy and childbirth), women are pulled in a million directions, including caregiving for potential other children, spouses or parents, working (outside the home) and all the unpaid domestic duties that fall on women.

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No matter what moms do, it feels like we're judged the harshest for it. Asking women to breastfeed for two years feels like a lot, and I know that no matter what women do, they're going to face criticism for it either way.

Best to do what works best for you, even if that means never busting out a chi-chi to breastfeed.

Carli Pierson, a New York licensed attorney, is an opinion writer with USA TODAY, and a member of the USA TODAY Editorial Board. Follow her on Twitter: @CarliPiersonEsq

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Breastfeeding recommendation of two years does not support women, moms