I have exclusively breastfed my 8 months old daughter during the first 6 months after birth, and still continue to give her breast milk along with other foods. I plan to breastfeed her to up to 12 months, but my husband wants me to continue breastfeeding after that too. I wanted to know if there are any benefits to breast feed babies after 12 months of age and if I should be doing it or not?
Breastfeeding is a completely natural process for babies and it should not be very difficult for you to get your little girl on breastfeeding now. All it will need is a little patience and determination on your side to make it happen.
The very first thing you should do is to make sure that your baby is latching-on properly. If you have never breastfed before, it is a good idea to take help from a lactation consultant. She will teach you the different positions you can use to breastfeed your baby, as well as give you tips on massaging your breasts and holding them for a perfect let-down. Skin to skin contact between you and the baby will make things easier for you. Try to spend as much time with your baby as possible, so she gets comfortable with you.
Once your baby has learnt to latch on, the next thing you should be worried about is maintaining and increasing your milk production. If you could not breast feed your baby in the first few days, chances are that your milk production has decreased. Using a manual or electric breast pump is a good option as it helps massage the breasts as well as increasing milk production levels at the same time.