Today a breastfeeding support group I used to go to at Kingston Hill Children’s Centre celebrated it’s first birthday and I, together with two other “veteran” mummies popped in to say hello and have some cake to celebrate the occasion. It was lovely to see all the new mummies with their newborn babies, getting to grips with breastfeeding. It was also a good reminder on how quickly the time flies, and that we need to appreciate and enjoy every moment of parenthood, however difficult we find it at times.

I will not bore you with the details of my breastfeeding story. Suffice to say, it was long and difficult with lots of crying (both me and baby). If you do want to read about it, I wrote a guest post detailing my experience here. But thanks to a wonderful breastfeeding consultant Anna Page we got through the initial humps and I still breastfeed my 11 month old son, and for the moment we both are very happy with this arrangement.

If you told me 10 months ago I’d be able to do this, I would not have believed you. Breastfeeding without having a zillion pillows laid out around me to support the baby, or having my boobs out in the open because Alex just couldn’t latch on without help? Crazy.

This was taken in The Alps, at 2811m above sea level. I honestly did not plan this but by the time we got up there Alex got a bit unsettled, so I had to give him some milk. Easy peasy.

So what would I say to a new mum who wants to breastfeed but it is not proving easy and her friends keep telling her to give up?

Just hang on in there. If you want it, then try for a bit longer. If you think you’ve tried hard enough, then don’t feel guilty about switching to formula. And if you want to continue breastfeeding beyond 6 months – then do it, nevermind people who will tell you your baby is “too old” to be breastfed. After all, WHO recommends to continue breastfeeding up to 2 years old and beyond.