My mom (she said) had "overflowing" breast-milk each time after delivery, but she only breastfed me (i'm the youngest out of 4 children) for one month. My sister and brothers (2) were on cow's formula since birth. Mom said in the 80's, TV ads promote cow's formula heavily and that breastfeeding disfigure the breasts, so she did not breastfeed and she regretted after she realized the importance of breastfeeding. breast milk gives baby the best nutrition and it can help reduce breast cancer (depending on how long you breastfeed). however, the duration should be the first few years of life. have you seen any other animals who still breastfeed into adulthood? please advise me if i am wrong.
Why breastfeeding is important? - We are humans and we drink milk from mom. Just like calves drink from their mom -cow. In ancient China, when the wife of a rich man/family delivered a baby, they employed a few nannies to look after and to breastfeed the baby. Those babies from poor families either drink milk from mom or in some cases where mom cannot produce enough milk (as mom has nothing to eat), they drink rice water. No matter what you drink when you are a baby, you still grow up.
A good example is my sister. She has two kids, she breastfed the daughter for 6 months and her son could not latch on and she had mastitis, so he was put on formula. Who runs faster? the daughter. Who has runny nose in the morning? the daughter. Who falls sick easily? the daughter. in my opinion, if you can breastfeed, that's the best, if not just go for formula.
for increasing milk production, you can try fenugreek and blessed thistle. if you want to go for medication, domperidone (brand name: motilium) is a good one to go for. otherwise try expressing milk every 2-3 hours day and night would help to stimulate milk production. try giving expressed breast milk in bottle if baby is 'snacking', drink every 1-2hour and has erratic sleeping pattern or don't sleep (as baby could be still hungry and can't sleep long).
i heard from a lady (she is 75 years old) and had her son 'ages' ago. her son was a hungry baby and always unsettle. at 2 months, the nurse told her to mix rice cereal with breastmilk in a bottle and cut the teat into a big hole so baby can drink. she did that and her son turned into a best baby ever. WHO and many breastfeeding associations out there are recommending no solid food up until 6 months or baby can sit or have no longer have the tongue-thrust reflex or interested in food. Chinese usually start introducing solids somewhere in 4 months, started off with plain congee and then slowly adding in food like sweet potato etc. you decide who and what to follow.
i am still breastfeeding my baby who is 4.5 months now and i have recently started introducing her solids. i give her a bottle of EBM daily and more when i work (two half days a week).
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