When your baby is ready to try her first solid food at six months, you can carry on breastfeeding her.
In fact, if you’re enjoying breastfeeding, then you and your baby can continue for as long as you both want to. You can breastfeed your little girl until she is at least one or, even better, two years old. The main thing is that you don’t stop before you’re both ready.
The support of your partner and family can really make a difference. If your loved ones are behind you, it'll be much easier for you to continue breastfeeding for as long as you want to. Sometimes, mums come under pressure from family to stop breastfeeding before they're ready.
Your baby may be feeding around the clock in the early days, but she'll start cutting back as she gets older. Many mums find the first few weeks of breastfeeding tough, but those who stick with it are glad they did.
As breastfeeding continues, you may find other breastfeeding mums to be a good source of support.
Returning to work doesn’t mean breastfeeding has to end. Some working mums find they can express breastmilk and combine breast and bottle-feeding quite successfully. Continuing to breastfeed may be one way of keeping up your close relationship with your baby. It may even help both of you to cope with the daytime separation.
How long you keep breastfeeding for is a big decision. It will depend on how you feel emotionally and what else is going on in your life. Most mums set goals for breastfeeding of between three and 12 months. It doesn't have to be that way, though. In many parts of the world it’s normal to breastfeed for two years or even longer.
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