Can I still exclusively breastfeed my baby even though he had formula in the first month of life?

The simple answer is yes. It is never too late to start giving your baby the gift of exclusive breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding by definition means giving only breastmilk to feed a baby in the first six months of life, no water, no formula- although baby can get multivitamins and necessary medications. However that doesn’t mean you can no longer decide to only breastfeed your baby because you had a rocky start or you didn’t fully realise the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding in the early days. Now that you know, and you are ready, we offer you a few tips for success.

You can start today as long as your baby is still under six months of age. After the age of six months it becomes important to introduce complementary or weaning foods, as breast milk alone is not sufficient to meet all of baby’s dietary requirements. However baby continues to need milk into the end of the second year of life and breast milk can comfortably provide this source of milk for your baby if you so desire.

To restimulate lactation and optimize breast milk production , you can follow a few simple steps

First you must resume feeding baby with breast milk on demand- and only with breast milk so you are able to signal your brain that baby needs milk. Remember that suckling sends. signal and frequent suckling sends frequent signals requesting more milk to be produced.

You should also be prepared to resume night feeds because the hormones that make for increased breast milk during the day are better stimulated by the night feeds.

Drink lots of water and galactogogues- which improve breast milk flow- pap, oatmeal, tiger nut, as well as almonds, moringa, carrots, ginger and garlic. There are also commercial breast milk stimulants such as cookies, a pounded meal that can be eaten with vegetable or okra soup or indeed any soup of your choice and milkshakes

If the reason you weren’t able to successfully continue exclusively breastfeeding in the early days was related to retreated nipples, be sure to continue to use a nipple shield and ask for support so you can fulfil your desire to breastfeed your baby exclusively after age on month.

Here’s to a happy resumption