My seven month old breastfeeding

by Melissa
(Wilmington, IL)

Hi my name is Melissa I am a mother of 2 boys. I breastfed my older son for 5 months while supplementing with formula. I was a first time mom and had a hard delivery and also lacked the knowledge of breastfeeding. I also had the hardest time getting him to latch. I feel proud that I was able to give him breast milk for 5 months even with the lack of knowledge I had with breastfeeding. When I found out that I was pregnant with my second child I knew that I wanted to breastfeed him exclusively. I took a breastfeeding class at my local WIC office to learn more about breastfeeding. This class was a life saver! I learned so much especially how to build up your milk supply. To make a long story short it takes about 30 days to build a great milk supply and to keep it. The key is to let your baby nurse when they want to and for as long as they want to its called feeding on demand. People say oh they should be on the breast for 20 minutes. Not true, you should not be watching the clock and setting a time limit for your infant. For my second baby I fed him on demand when ever he wanted to and for as long as he wanted to. Now my younger son is 7 months old eating solids and I am still able to feed him on demand. Both my boys are wonderful beautiful children and thriving so well! I am so happy that I have given both my boys a wonderful start of life. Breast milk is mothers precious gift!