My one piece of breastfeeding advice would be this: don't give up!
My son is, as of today, one year and 2 weeks old. And we still share a good breastfeeding relationship. I am very proud of this accomplishment, I really am. At one point, six weeks was my goal. Made it that far, and then six months was my goal. At one year, I've exceeded my goal.
Here are some "booby-traps" we fell into, and how we got out of them.
When Max was born, he was born tongue-tied. I got a breast pump and he got his tongue clipped.
I was so sore and miserable for 2-3 weeks from all the latch issues Max had as a result of his being born tongue-tied. I set a goal...if my breasts are still sore after 6 weeks, I can quit. By 4 weeks, I was fine.
Sometime around 4 months, my supply dropped for about a week. Max was miserable. I was miserable. I tried everything under the sun: teas, potions, oatmeal. Nothing really helped. In a moment of desperation, we prepared a bottle of formula, which we had only because we'd received all sorts of free samples...and I'm sure this is their sneaky, slimy sales tactic. Max wouldn't take formula and I'm glad he refused it, because with no other option we kept at it and we got over the hump. He didn't lose weight or have any real significant problems other than a few nights of being hungry.
Max did start a combination of breast milk and formula at 5 months, because I wasn't producing enough during the day to keep up with his demand at daycare. He drank about one bottle of formula a day. At 8 months, I quit pumping because he was eating enough food and I got tired of pumping because by this point I was hardly producing one full bottle. He got formula and solids at daycare and I breastfed him in the morning and when I got home from work. At one year old, this is the pattern we still follow...except he's off of formula and on to whole milk. When will I stop? Whenever we are both ready. I've found that setting a date is kind of meaningless, because babies don't understand the concept of a calendar.
And at one year of age, it's so different than it is at 1 month. It's a relaxed, casual thing, and mostly I nurse him for his comfort and for the immunities he gets from the breastmilk (which is great, since we're getting into cold and flu season...and my son has hardly ever been sick, despite my husband and I and his daycare companions having all sorts of nasty bugs). Each month gets easier when it comes to breastfeeding: the baby gets a little less demanding, you get a little more used to the routine.
I know how fortunate I am, and I know that we're not all this fortunate. But looking back, there were so many instances where either I told myself or others told me to give up. And I didn't. I remember that I felt a little ashamed when Max's daycare provider suggested she add a little formula in because I wasn't pumping enough. I had a healthy, happy baby boy...what did I have to feel bad about? There's too much shame and judgement around breastfeeding in our society. And there's also not very much good breastfeeding support and information either. I only write this to encourage other moms to keep going if they can!
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