induced lactation (aka adoptive breastfeeding)

I'm a La leche League leader. Try to e-mail one in your area - and try again. We work as volunteers and sometimes miss e-mails:)But, I think it is wonderful you intend to try to breastfeed. I've heard a lot of great success stories! It sounds like you have a good start - good pump, SNS, and Fenegreek! Here is a link from the LLL website: [url=http://www.llli.org/FAQ/adopt.html]LLLI | Can I Breastfeed My Adopted Baby?[/url]LLL has published a book - Breastfeeding an Adopted Baby and Relactation.Since the baby will be a newborn, I would attempt to put the baby to the breast as much as possible. Personally, i would avoid pacifiers and see if she will pacify on the breast. You can also avoid bottles and feed with a dropper or a cup. That might be really difficult in the long run - but some moms do and and make it work! Kellymom is also a great breastfeeding resource: [url=http://www.kellymom.com/bf/adopt/index.html]kellymom.com :: Adoptive Breastfeeding & Relactation[/url]You can actually start pumping now to start to stimulate a milk supply. If you an speak to a IBCLE Lactation Consultant, she may also prescribe Domperidone to help your supply.Best wishes. Feel free to PM me for any support. I can get in contact with other leaders and a few LC friends and get more ideas for you.

Went through this when adopting the first time. Looked into it and everything. Was all ready. Then we got a surprise pregnancy that resulted in a baby boy. I tried and tried to nurse him but milk never came. I contacted three lactation consultants that gave me six different pills and pumping/nursing instructions. After three months nothing worked. This led me to discover the SNS. Oh glory of glories. :) It soothed my emotions because I so wanted to nurse my baby and have that special bond. Point is I plan on using it with our adopted baby and wanted to mention it to you. It's a little pricey and takes a while to get used to it's fickleness, but it's worth it. Here's the link: [url=http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/breastfeeding-devices/51/supplemental-nursing-system-sns]Supplemental Nursing System™ (SNS) - Medela[/url]. Use it instead of a bottle. There are three tubes that are supposed to achieve different results. One is for weak suck, one is for increasing milk supply, and one is for adoptive breastfeeding. Hope this helps and good luck!

LLLmom - I got the name of a lactation consultant from a midwife, but when I called her she dismissed my request for support and information bc she was also a LLLeader and apparently was confused about the purpose of both of her positions. I also attended LLL meetings for a time, and that leader didn't know anything about adoptive breastfeeding either, nor could she put me in touch with anyone. I ended up doing my own research and started taking Fenugreek a few months before my would-be baby was to be born, which promptly made me very sick. So I didn't continue that. I also used the Madela Freestyle Pump several times a day for several weeks with results absolutely no better than hand expression, and frankly hand expression was more successful though I never got more than a few drops. Finally, I did use the Madela nursing supplementer twice, and the baby did latch on, but it leaked and was a major hassle to set up and clean up. We did not end up adopting the baby (mom changed her mind), and frankly, I am no longer set on adoptive nursing. I got no support from my local lactation consultants nor la leche league leaders; the Fenugreek that was supposed to do wonders for me only made me very, very ill; and the use of the pump and nursing supplementer were extremely cumbersome. We have a 15 month old foster daughter whom we've had since she was just under 7 months. I tried to nurse her, but she wouldn't have it and would bite me. She grew teeth like no tomorrow (at 14 months she had all 25 of her baby teeth), and she absolutely loved solids and feeding herself. What's more, I worked and she was in daycare, and I just couldn't find enough reasons to keep trying to nurse her. Now, I have a like-new Freestyle madela breastpump with all accessories, spare bottles (brand new), nursing supplementer used twice, nursing bras and pads, and a manual hand pump, as well as some mother's milk tea - all sitting around collecting dust, never really getting to be used for what they were meant to be used for. Any suggestions on how I can put them to good use? I'd want some other mom to be able to get a chance at adoptive breastfeeding, and I don't want to just throw all these like-new tools away. Together, it's about $500 worth of gear!

I am glad that you are interested in breastfeeding your adopted baby! I have nursed six adopted children, the youngest of whom is now 15. It has been one of the most wonderful things I have ever done! It breaks my heart to hear about moms who try and then aren't able to find the support they need to succeed, of which there are many. Illness has prevented me from doing as much to help, for quite a few years now, but I am trying to do more. I have written quite a bit on the topic, although not for several years. Here is a link to some of it [url=http://www.fourfriends.com/abrw/Darillyn%27s/dc.htm]Darillyn's[/url]I just read it over and realized that it has been more years than I thought. I refered to my son, Thomas, as being 9 years old. He is now 21 and a father! But, the information is still good. I need to update, but there is not much I will change.The biggest thing I would change is to discuss the effects of domperidone, which is still not available in the USA, but can now be purchased online. The benefits vary from mother to mother, but it helps everyone to some extent, and helps some moms produce enough milk to dispense with supplementing, before the baby is taking lots of other foods, which is very rare, otherwise. Probably the biggest benefit of domperidone is with pumping. Without it, very few mothers see more than droplets from pumping before they get their babies. The pump isn't that effective at increasing prolactin levels enough to start lactation in someone who hasn't given birth and/or lactated some time before. I don't feel the fenugreek does, either. The domperidone does. It makes up for the fact that there is no baby there to produce the emotional effects that naturally increase prolactin levels. So, you could say that there are basically two ways to get lactation started; suckling a baby, or pumping while taking domperidone. Once it is started, there are many more things that can be done to increase milk production. Many herbs are helpful. The ones I liked the best were fenugreek and fennel. I prefered making tea, from bulk seeds, to buying capsules of ground herbs. You need lots of fluids, anyway. Also, capsules cost a lot more, and so do prepared tea bags. Maybe the most important thing with the bulk seeds is that they are fresh. I still have some fenugreek seeds that I bought about eight years ago, and they will still sprout, so they still have life in them! When the seeds are ground, they start to deteriorate immediately. Still another way to use seeds is to take a half teaspoonful or so and put it in your mouth and then wash them down, whole. By the time my sixth child came along, I was having trouble with my stomach, and the tea made it worse. So did the capsules. But washing the whole seeds down didn't. I have spoken to other moms who had the same problem and said that swallowing whole seeds didn't both them, either.I strongly recommend a supplementer. The only thing that is absolutely necessary to succeed at breastfeeding an adopted baby is to have a baby suckling for a great deal of time, while making sure that the baby gets adequate nutrition. With a supplementer, you can do both of those things, simulataneously. The first few times you do it, you usually feel all thumbs. However, a little persistance pays off. If you have time before the baby comes, it is very helpful to practice putting your supplementer together and filling it and, also, cleaning it. You can practice putting it on and getting used to using it, to some extent, by using a breast pump. Any decent pump that can be operated with one hand is sufficient. It isn't the same as the baby, but similar enough to help you feel a bit familiar with it when you first nurse a baby with it. Here is some of what I wrote on ABRW about supplementers: "Of the two, the Lact-Aid is by far preferred by adoptive mothers over the Medela SNS, by mothers who have had a reasonable amount of experience with both (yours truly included!). Among the features which make the Lact-Aid more convenient for adoptive mothers, most of whom must use it many times a day for many months, are that the Lact-Aid is:-- much easier and faster to put on and get set up to nurse (which is important when there is a baby screaming to be fed!)--much easier to conceal under clothing and use discretely in front of others--more comfortable to wear--easier to adequately clean--easier to use lying down or slumped down in a recliner--much easier to use without tape, which can cause a great amount of skin damage--more conducive to proper suckling.The tube is softer and more flexible and durable. Some babies who refuse the SNS tube will take the Lact-Aid tube. (They feel about the same to an adult's fingers, but not to a baby's mouth). Another problem with the SNS tube is that a baby will sometimes learn to suck in such a manner as to extract milk from the tube, and not be properly expressing the breast. Some of these problems may be helped by using the smallest SNS tube, rather the medium, as is recommended. However, it is much easier to just start out with the Lact-Aid. "You can purchase the SNS in lots of places. The Lact-Aid is not sold as widely, but you can order it right from Lact-Aid International in Tennessee. [url=http://www.lact-aid.com]Welcome to Lact-Aid[/url] . I am going on longer, here, than I intended, but just trying to think of what can help! I have so much experience from nursing my kids and from helping others, that it is hard to decide which to say. The last thing I am going to say is that it is very important to learn about breastfeeding, in general. That was one of the main things I feel made the difference between the few months I was able to part-time nurse my first two kids and the full-time nursing I did with my third, fourth, fifth and sixth, until they self weaned. You need to know virtually everything any mother does, with the specifics of induced lactation on top of that. With a basic knowlege, it is much more likely that you can get things going well from the start, rather than having to go back and try to solve problems. Learn what you can about positioning, latching, etc.. Some things that are very helpful when you first nurse your baby are to have a supplementer tube taped to your breast, a comfortable chair and pillows to put baby up to breast level, baby swaddled so his hands can't get in the way and lying on his side facing into your breast and, very importantly, privacy (only people you don't mind having see your breast and feel are supportive). That will help you be off to a good start. You won't need to have things controlled like that for long, but it is important in the beginning. Except for the tube, those things are important for all nursing moms. Remember that the relationship you are establishing is priceless, that you do deserve to call yourself a nursing mother, and that whatever amount of breastmilk you produce is beneficial for your baby. Everyone would like to have enough milk to not need to supplement, but a diet of a combination of some amount of breastmilk and a good infant formula is very respectable.I hope that is helpful! If you have any specific questions I might be able to answer, feel free to ask!Darillyn (Noelani)