• Breastfeeding
  • Why breastfeeding is important
  • Finding support and information
    • Breastfeeding advice videos
    • Share your story
  • Learning to breastfeed
  • Common breastfeeding challenges
  • Breastfeeding in public
  • Pumping and milk storage
  • Going back to work
  • Breastfeeding and everyday life
  • Government in action on breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding in Spanish (en español)

My son is 9 months. I had him when I was 20 and still breastfeeds exclusively! He latched on perfectly, he was given 4 2oz simalic bottles when he was first brought home because I had to go back to school the following Monday, I had him on sat :( and the WIC office hadn’t given me my pump yet. Since the new health care bill passed I have been able to pump him milk at work too so he can still have the best food! I couldn’t be happier. People ask me all the time when I am going to stop and are surprised when I tell them no time soon that I would like to pump for a couple of years and after that I plan to pump him milk and give it to him instead of cows milk. It just makes more since to me then giving him cows milk we don’t let cows drink their own milk for a period of time then say no more now your have to drink human milk lol. I thank God for giving me such an amazing son and giving the means to provide him with the best!!

I currently have a 3 month old and I enjoy breastfeeding him. BF'ing to me is something that I believe every mother should experience. It's the healtiest and the bond alone is undescribeable. I want to encourage all mom's to BF their baby as long as possible.

We have breastfed both of our sons. Although from the beginning we were adviced not to do it, we decided to continue and we have seen how healthy and far from illness they are now.

My oldest son is 26 months old and is tandem nursing with his little brother who is 4 months old. My oldest nurses at bed time, nap time, and for comfort. My youngest nurses for nutrients and bonding. Our nursing relationship is a beautiful one, and has created wonderful bonding between the two siblings.

When I was a baby, my mother nursed me until I was two and a half, so it was a very normal part of my life, and I didn't doubt that I'd breastfeed my own child. And I did! My daughter was born in July 2009 and she's still breastfeeding about once a day, now that she's two. Luckily breastfeeding was incredibly easy from the beginning. Yes, it took a lot of time, but it wasn't painful or uncomfortable. When I began pumping I found that I had oversupply, which caused some gas for my baby but it all evened out eventually. Those first few days are so important in setting up the breastfeeding pattern. I was in a really hard labor for 30 hours, but we were committed to breastfeeding exclusively. Resorting to formula early on may set you up for difficulties!
My daughter nursed all the time the first few months, and today she is so healthy and secure--I don't regret those sleepless nights one bit.

I'm still breastfeeding my 10 month old & we both are doing great! When he was born, a whopping 10 lbs 3.4 oz, we were both exhausted. When I tried to get him to nurse it just wasn't happening. He would just sleep & sleep. I started getting so engorged with milk I could feel it in my armpits! After several emergency doctors visits it was decided that I needed to start pumping. I had to feed through a dropper to get him interested & to empty my breasts to give me some relief. After a few nights of pumping every hour & feeding an ounce of milk by dropper to my sleepy guy he FINALLY started to get interested enough in nursing to help me out! By the end of the week I had enough milk for about 6 babies & my little guy was nursing like a pro & past his birth weight. Although I was in a lot of pain that first week I never gave up and I'm super glad because I know that my boy needs breast milk so he can grow up big (er....BIGGER)& strong & I'm helping in the best way I can!!

My first baby would suckle, sleep for 1 hr then wake up crying. Then she'd stop suckling and start crying. For 2 days at home I got no sleep and was frustrated. My hubby suggested pumping to see how much milk she was getting. I was not producing any milk yet! She was hungry, that's why she was crying and not sleeping. That night she got formula and slept all night. Then on I'd pump for colostrum and add it to her formula. 5 days later my milk came in. I pumped to monitor how much milk I was giving and I'd mix it with formula. A week later I produced enough milk to stop giving formula. From then on I pumped exclusively and fed her from a bottle. Which allowed dad to participate too. The Dr said I wouldn't be able to keep it up because I needed the baby to stimulate milk flow. NOT true! I set a pumping schedule every 2.5 hours to ensure proper milk supply. I was able to maintain enough milk that I had frozen milk to get her thru the first year when I quit pumping at 7 months.

It had been thirteen years since I breast fed my son, and we were planning on adopting. I wanted so badly to nurse this baby, for her own health. We found out she would be ours three weeks before she was born, and I started to pump, ten minutes on each breast every three hours. She was born on the 17th of December, she came to us on the 18th. My milk came in on Christmas eve, and I ended up nursing her for three and a half years!!!!! She is now 22 years old and I treasure the bonding we have!! I encourage every new mom to nurse, it's the best for every one! Having this experience in my life has helped me to help others to nurse their babies, natural born or adopted. (I have also attended births since 1977 and am a doula.)

I have one son who is 2 and breast fed for 18 months. It was the most challenging thing and the most rewarding. My milk was producing by day two but did not flow well till the 5th or 6th day. I had cracked and bleeding nipples and was in a lot of pain. But I took it one feed at a time. Rested my nipples at night when I was more likely to have him latch bad and gave him a bottle. Once my milk flowed it was sooooo easy. For me the pain was the most challenging obstacle to overcome. However, other obstacles presented themselves throughout the year, but both my son and I were able to make it through.

My twins were born at 36 weeks gestation. They were tiny at birth, lost more than 10% of birthweight and would not latch or suck at the breast. We had to give them formula to prevent them from losing weight. I pumped while in the hospital to keep my supply. I got a few droplets of colostrum the first few days that we syringe-fed to the boys. My milk supply started to come in 5 days after birth. My boys are 4.5 months and I am still breastfeeding and pumping. They are mostly bottle fed - I work full time, and they get formula, and it's difficult to pump at work, and expensive to rent hospital grade pumps....when I get to put my boys to the breast and look at them while they feed, the feeling of satisfaction and love that I get is well worth all the efforts. There is no stronger bond than a mother feeding her baby. No one but a mother can provide this for her baby. To all the women who wonder if it's worth it - yes it is. Keep it up!!