Breastfeeding Adopted Baby

The last issue of New Beginnings (by La Leche) had a story of this situation. Her baby was 10 months so she also had to deal with nipple confusion/resistance. This mother used the supplementer. She gradually transitioned from threading the tube through a bottle nipple, then another nipple closer in style to the breast, then a nipple shield, then the bare nipple. It will depend whether you can ever cut off all formula.

A La Leche leader in my area (northern UT) breastfed her adopted daughter. I can give you her number, if you'd like.

My s-i-l used the formula supplemental system with both her adopted kids. For the second one, the birth mom sent her milk for it until her milk supply was built up enough. The first time she never had enough milk to do more than supplement, but for the second one she did. I think she felt it was partially due to the first never had a good suck. GL and congratulations on the new one. I hope all goes smoothly.

I know who Laura is referring to--the number you want is for Amy in the Layton area of Utah. You can find her number by going to the La Leche League of Weber Davis page at www.llli.org. She will have a wealth of tried and proven ideas and resources for you. She is friendly and very well-informed, being an experienced LLL Leader and a mother of several children, both biological and through adoption.
Adoptive nursing is a lot of work but highly rewarding. The moms I know who have done it have had varying goals and have used an SNS, lots of pumping and domperidone. It's hard to get enough of an herbal supplement to make a big difference in induced lactation; if you choose to use herbs, I recommend you go for capsules over teas so you can have some idea of how much you're getting in each dose.
Good for you for giving the very best to all your children! Congratulations on your coming baby!

Hi C.!

Congratulations on your new baby! I am sure you have done a ton of research- a site that I find that has a lot of current and helpful info is kellymom.com. I did a quick search for relactating and adoption, and here is the link to all of the info http://www.kellymom.com/bf/adopt/relactation-resources.html

I am a huge proponent of herbal remedies, and the Motherlove lactation aids are the best. Their remedies are concentrated formulas that work very quickly and effectively- usually within 24-48 hours. Like Silencia said, their facility is FDA approved, and they are a company that is built on honesty and integrity. And they are local (Fort Collins).

If you are interested in learning more about their remedies, you can also check out my website at http://www.naturalchoices4baby.com/catalog.php?category=2 If you would like to try any of Motherlove's remedies, I would be happy to extend a discount to you, just email me for the discount code. I have been selling (and using) Motherlove's products for a while now, and I can say from experience, that their products are amazing (and SAFE!!!)!

I also just wanted to offer support in that you are doing an incredible thing nursing your new child. There are certain challenges with adoption, and I think that nursing the new baby can make such a difference- good for you for doing a little extra work for your new little one! I hope that the rest of the adoption process goes quickly and that your baby is happy, healthy and ready to nurse!

Merry Christmas!
H. Gaitten
Natural Choices
www.naturalchoices4baby.com
____@____.com

I would check out La Leche League's forums. They have a section on relactation and induced lactation:

http://forums.llli.org/forumdisplay.php?f=50

I actually work for an herbal combany, Motherlove, and our product is made in an FDA regulatd facility. So there is nothing even close to prescription drugs or any ingredient that is not on the label. We have had a lot of adoptive mothers use goat's rue and our more milk plus formula and breastfeed their babies. There is a lot of testimonials on our website of women who have had sucess. All the herbs that we use are food grade and classified as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) plants. Herbs have been used for generations and I personally feel they are much safer than prescription drugs. I would recommend at least looking into using herbs. Our website is www.motherlove.com Congrats on your new baby!!!

have you looked into supplemental nursing systems? They are great. They give you breasts the stimulus while still delivering the formula which allows you to naturally build up a milk supply instead of fighting nipple confusion with a bottle. Some adoptive mothers have to use them all the time but some can build enough of a supply to not need one.
I also struggle with having enough with my own and am on Domperidone. I love it and there aren't any side effects like with other perscriptions. It is not approved by the FDA for milk production in the US and so getting it can be a bit tricky but there is a place that compounds it in West Jordan. Those are my two tricks...Hope they help.
Good luck

I would really recommend against using an herbal product! They aren't regulated, so who knows what might be in it! There was recently an herbal product that was removed from the market because it had a prescription drug (not disclosed as an ingredient) in it that had the potential to cause dehydration, heart problems, kidney damage, severe allergic reactions and even death... You don't want to give your baby that risk. Use a prescription medication if you use a medication so that you will know the risks vs benefits.

My aunt was telling me about a friend of hers who did this. She was never able to have a child and when she adopted she wanted to breastfeed. She successfully used Marshmallow root and was able to nurse for some time. Good luck.

I think the likelihood of success will depend greatly on how old the child is when you adopt. A very young baby will probably take to the breast fine, while an older baby (6-12 months) will most likely not do as well. My good friend adopted a 10 month old, and had taken supplements and was producing milk, but the 10 month old, who had been bottle fed to that point, was not at all interested. I say this not to discourage you, but to let you know that if you are adopting an older child, things may not go as smoothly as you would like, and additional support may be needed. Good Luck.

I would be more concerned about latch than about milk production. Call you local Le Leche League and they should be able to help you gets started. There are some really great systems to encourage a good latch. Once that is established your milk should come in just fine.

I, too, would like to do this someday when we adopt. I would talk to your doctor about a hormone pill that will get milk started, but once milk is established there shouldn't be an issue. I also suggest looking into the supplement system others have mentioned. Good luck!

C.,
I know that the adoptive mother of my grandchild nursed him.
I am not clear exactly how she did it though.
Best wishes for you and your family,
C.

my friend did this with her adopted baby, it took a lot of work, but in the end she was so glad to do it (and she had not previously had children nor breastfed, so don't discount the power of those "mom" hormones).

she started out with one of those supplement feeding systems (a flexible tube she would tape to the underside of her breast... with open end near nipple). she swore that sitting there, smelling her baby's smell and the stimulation, etc. helped work it out. If I remember correctly she also took supplements (fenugreek tea... maybe something else). she also started pumping once her supply came in and started giving that to her baby through the feeding system.

the only trouble she had was getting the baby to latch after she started tapering off the feeding system... the baby was used to a stronger flow, but in the end she worked it out. good luck... i really hope it works out for you, what a great way to bond with your new baby.

I had a friend who was adopted herself and is an adult now but i remember her telling me her mom did nurse her as a baby so it can be done. I think you will need some hormone shots from the Dr. I would talk to them first. This is so cool, good for you and good luck!

Hi,
After I lost my milk,having surgery while nursing, my Dr. gave me a pill to take. If you take this pill, and nurse or pump every 2 hours you will get a milk supply. I took the pill and nursed every 2-3 hours with the twins and got my milk back.

good for you, and good luck!