Showing posts with label at breast supplementer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label at breast supplementer. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Increasing milk production and weaning from supplements

Before working to increase milk supply, make sure there is a true supply issue first! Take a look at these articles to first see if you have low milk production:


The golden rule of milk production: The more frequently and completely the breasts are drained, the more milk will be produced: How Mother’s Milk  is Made

Increasing milk production:

  • offer both breasts two times at every feeding
  • use breast compressions
  • nurse frequently (at least 12-14 times in 24 hours)
  • increase skin to skin contact
  • rest, and stay hydrated

What this process looks like:

Offer baby the first breast and allow him to nurse as long as he likes. When he starts to slow down on his sucking/swallowing start doing some breast compressions. When you squeeze your breast you should see baby respond with an increased sucking/swallowing. Baby has “finished” the first breast when breast compressions no longer get baby nursing more, baby falls asleep or lets go of the breast. When baby has finished the first breast offer the second breast. Repeat the above steps with breast two, (offer breast, use breast compressions and allow baby to finish the breast) then repeat the whole process again with both breasts. If baby is still hungry after taking both breasts two times, then you can continue the process, nursing on one side and then the other, until he is full and/or falls asleep.

Mom resting with baby after nursing with a starter SNS
When working to increase milk production, increase milk intake, or work to eliminate supplements, spending as much time as possible resting with baby skin-to-skin on your bare chest, encouraging frequent nursing, can make a big difference in a short amount of time. This can also be a chance for mom to rest, with baby napping on her bare chest. It can be a great time to have a movie marathon. If you have older children they can be movies to entertain them while you and baby rest and nurse.

Supplement in a way that supports breastfeeding:

Consider using an at breast supplementer instead of bottles for the supplemental milk. This will provide extra stimulation to your breasts and prevent a preference for bottles.
Lact-Aid at breast supplementer

If you are using bottles make sure you are giving them in a way that supports breastfeeding and minimizes flow preference. Bottle feeding in a way that supports breastfeeding includes:
  • Using a slow-flow soft bottle nipple that has a wide base and a shorter, round nipple (not the flatter, orthodontic kind).
  • Starting by resting the tip of the nipple on the baby's upper lip and allowing him to take it into his mouth himself, as if he were nursing.
  • Keeping the bottle only slightly tilted, with the baby in a more upright position, so he has to work to get the milk out. If you hold the bottle straight down, the milk will come out too fast, and he may feel overwhelmed by the flow (Kassing, 2002).
More information on bottle feeding in a way that supports breastfeeding: 

If you are currently supplementing with a bottle at every feeding, baby may expect that the time at the breast is always followed by a bottle. If you are using an at breast supplementer at every feeding, baby may expect the constant flow of milk from the tubing whenever he is at the breast. The first step towards eliminating supplements is to get baby comfortable with nursing without supplements at every feeding. Begin by encouraging comfort nursing between feedings, for at least a few days, before you begin to eliminate supplements. If baby is using a pacifier between feedings begin to replace the pacifier with your breast as much as possible.

The Finish at the Breast Method can be a great way to supplement with the bottle and encourage more breastfeeding. You may have heard to breastfeed first, then finish with the bottle if baby didn't get enough. Sometimes it works better to turn things around as described here. The "Finish at the Breast" Method of Bottle Supplementation

Nursing without supplementing

Weaning from supplements:

 If baby is gaining weight on target and is showing signs of getting enough milk then you can safely begin to wean off of supplemental milk.

One way to do this is to start by eliminating the first supplemental feeding of the day. First determine what time in the morning you give the first supplement. Try eliminating that first supplement of the day. You may be able to eliminate it completely, or you may need to start by delaying it by about an hour or two.

 Follow the steps above to nurse multiple times on each breast and use breast compressions. If baby is still having enough wet diapers (5 per day, plus at least 3 poops if baby is under 4-6 weeks old) then after a few days you can eliminate the next supplement of the day. Eventually you will get to where you are only giving one supplement in the evening and that will be the last one to drop.

Common Questions and Concerns:

I’m afraid to cut back on supplements, I ‘m worried my baby will starve!
Taking away one supplemental feeding will not cause your baby to starve or get dehydrated. You need for baby to be hungry enough to want to nurse more as that will increase your milk production. You can always go back to more supplemental milk if you realize you cut back too much too soon.

I tried eliminating the first time I usually supplement, but baby was screaming and refusing to nurse any more before it was time for the next supplement.
Go ahead and give the next supplement. You can simply delay the time of the first supplement instead of just eliminating it. If you were to delay that first supplement by one hour every day, by 24 days you would no longer be supplementing.

My baby seems hungry 10 minutes after taking both breasts. Does that mean it is time to give a supplement?
No. If baby is hungry again soon after nursing on both sides, offer both sides again. And again. Your breasts are never “empty”. As you continue to nurse, your body continues to produce milk.

How can I nurse so frequently? My breasts don’t have time to “fill up”.
Your breasts are never empty and don’t need time to “ill up”. “The emptier the breast is, the faster it tries to refill - similar to an automatic icemaker. Emptier breasts make milk faster than fuller ones (How Mother’s Milk is Made).”

If I eat better and drink more water, will I make more milk?
“Research shows that the mother's diet, her fluid intake, and other factors have little influence on milk production. If the "milk removal" piece of the puzzle is in place, mothers make plenty of good milk regardless of dietary practices. If the "milk removal" part isn't there, nothing else can make up the difference (Smith, 2001).”
The more milk is removed the more milk you will produce. Pumping will remove more milk and help to increase your milk production. However, if you are nursing at least 12-14 times in 24 hours it will be hard to fit in pumping. Some thnigs to ask yourself include: Is it worth the additional stress? Would it be better to spend that time resting with your baby skin-to-skin? If you do pump, you can use it to replace any other milk you have been using to supplement.
Resources
Book: The Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk By West and Marasco

 Bottles and At Breast Supplementers

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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

My struggles and triumphs with breastfeeding!

I have another great, inspirational story about breastfeeding success! This article, by mom Christina Adams, is both inspirational and informative. She was able to successfully breastfeed with hypoplastic breasts and following breast surgery:

I had struggled with breast feeding my son, Vance. When he was born we lived in Japan and there wasn't a support system there at all. When I was struggling with supply issues, the hospital staff handed me an SNS (supplemental nursing system) and a case of pre-made formula and basically told me "Good luck". No one knew how to work the SNS and I was too nervous to try it. After 3 months of wondering why breast feeding wasn't working and having to supplement with bottles of formula, Vance developed a nipple preference and refused to nurse anymore. That was the end of that...

When I became pregnant with Harper, I decided that no matter what, she was going to be breast fed for at least one year, come hell or high water! I read everything I could get my hands on. I became very active in the Breastfeeding moms forum. I got in touch with La Leche League. That's when I realized that my supply issues were the result of something I had done to my breasts 8 years ago.

When I was going through puberty and developing breast tissue, something went amiss. Only one breast developed glandular tissue. As a result, my left breast was a size D and my right was tubular and only about an A cup. (This is often referred to as Insufficient Glandular Tissue, or Tubular Hypoplastic Breasts)As a teenager I was mortified by my "defect" and used a mastectomy prosthetic to mask the difference under clothes. When I was 20 years old (and about to be dropped from my dad's insurance) we found out that because my defect was considered a "chromosomal abnormality", his insurance would pay for reconstructive surgery! We went to all the referral appointments and the plastic surgeon that was covered did the surgery on May 30, 2001. He did a reduction on the left side and then put implants in both, so that they would both have that full, augmented look. They were still uneven, but looked a little better in a bra than they had before.

I went to the BFAR (breastfeeding after reduction) website and saw that a device called a "Lact-aid" was very highly recommended as an at breast supplementer. Then, in the breastfeeding forum, one of the moms recommended it as well. (Lact-aid is different than an SNS mainly in the way the milk come out of the tube. With an SNS, the baby doesn't have to work to get the milk out because gravity pulls it down. With a Lact-aid the baby has to suck and pull the milk up [like a straw] so it gives breasts more stimulation). I ordered the Starter Set that day! Domperidome was also mentioned numerous times to help up supply. Adoptive mothers had used it to get a supply going so they could breast feed their babies, even though they had not birthed them. I ordered a 3 month supply of that, too!

When Harper was born (an accidental homebirth!) on the way to the hospital, the EMT asked my if I wanted to nurse her. So there I was, strapped to a gurney, headed to a hospital, nursing Harper for the first time in front of a large, strange man that had just seen me in all my glory! I knew right then that everything with Harper was going to be different than it was with Vance!

She was 8lbs 6oz and just beautiful. I didn't let her out of my sight. She nursed and slept and nursed the entire time we were in the hospital! When we went home a couple days later she was down to 7lbs 11 oz (within normal range for loss). 3 days later when we went back in for a follow-up, she was 7lbs 12oz! My milk had come in that previous night and I was hopeful that i would be able to make enough milk for her without having to take the domperidome or use the Lact-aid. I made an appointment to see the lactation consultant in one weeks time. At that visit, Harper was still 7lbs 12oz. I was heart broken that my around the clock nursing and 64+oz of water a day just wasn't enough. The LC showed me how to use the Lact-aid and gave me a can of formula to use in it. I started taking the domperidome that day. I also started taking 12 fenugreek a day as well.

Because I knew that my breasts needed constant stimulation in order to send the signal to my brain to make more milk, I only gave her 2oz at a time in the Lact-aid, and only after she had nursed both sides without it. I watched her diaper count to make sure she was getting enough. She averaged about 12oz of formula or pumped milk a day and nursed 12-14 times in a 24 hour period. Her diaper count was always 6+, so I knew that she was getting enough. Slowly (and I mean s l o w l y!) we were able to wean off the Lact-aid. She was 5 months old. I had stopped taking domperidome about 2 months before then, but I was still taking fenugreek daily.

We battled thrush twice. Dane, Vance and I had Swine Flu in August. I know that she didn't get it because of the antibodies I was giving her through my milk. I had abdominal surgery when she was 8 months old. Because of the surgery, I had to stop taking the fenugreek. I was terrified that it would cause a dip in my supply, but to my surprise, I did fine without it. When Harper was 7 months old, I went back to school full time. I can't pump enough to send her with only "mommy milk" so she has been getting about 6oz of formula a day for the last 5 months. On the weekends, she only nurses. We stared giving her solid foods when she was about 6 1/2 months old and she is a food-aholic! She loves to eat pasta with red sauce and whole cuts of steamed broccoli.

She still nurses 4-5 times a day and I see no end in sight. I will nurse her for as long as she wants to. I love coming home at the end of a long day and cuddling with her on the sofa, while Vance sits on my opposite knee and we all read a book together. It makes the stress of Algebra and Western Civilization melt away, and at the same time it melts my heart. Vance is an amazing big brother. He is patient and loving towards her. Whenever she is upset and crying he'll tell me "Booboo needs nurse, mommy". I love them both so much!

I am so proud of my accomplishment and I know that I did everything I could to give her the very best! She is my angel-girl and I love her so much!

Resources

Diary of Lactation Failure
Hypoplasia/Insufficient Glandular Tissue
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Getting an Older Baby to Breastfeed

There are situations when a mother has an older baby, a baby beyond the newborn stage, who is not breastfeeding. It may be an adopted baby. It may be the case of a child who has weaned and the mother wants to get the baby breastfeeding again. Whatever the reason, there are ways to help transition an older baby, or even toddler, to the breast.

Kellymom.com has some good information on getting baby to the breast. She suggests that, especially with an older baby, you think about coaxing baby to the breast. These are just a few of her suggestions:

Your goal is to coax baby to the breast. Do not attempt to force your baby to breastfeed. Forcing baby to the breast does not work, stresses baby, and can result in baby forming an aversion to the breast. As baby gets better at nursing and is able to get more milk via nursing, he will grow to trust that breastfeeding works and will have more patience when latching.

  • Lots of skin-to-skin contact can help your baby nurse better and even gain weight faster. Keep your baby with you as much as possible, and give him lots of opportunities to nurse (even if you're not successful). Get skin-to-skin with him, first when he is sleepy, right after a bottle feed (or however you're supplementing). This way baby has the opportunity to sleep and wake up happily, skin to skin at mom's chest, and mom is right there to catch the earliest hunger cues. If baby moves toward the breast and then falls asleep before even mouthing the nipple, or after sucking twice, then these are positive baby steps, not failures.
  • Carry your baby close to you ... "Wear," carry, hold and cuddle your baby as much as possible; carry baby on your hip while doing other things, play with baby, and give baby lots of focused attention.
  • Sleep near your baby. If baby sleeps with you, you'll get more skin-to-skin contact, plus baby has more access to the breast... If baby is not in the same bed, have baby's bed beside your bed or in the same room so that you can catch early feeding cues, breastfeed easier at night, and get more sleep.
  • Nipple shields can be helpful at times for transitioning baby to the breast. Talk to your lactation consultant about using this tool.
  • Comfort nursing is often the first to come, followed by nutritive nursing. Offer the breast for comfort any time you see a chance- at the end of a feeding when baby is not hungry, when baby is going to sleep or just waking up, when baby is asleep, and whenever he needs to comfort suck If your baby is actively resisting nursing, then try encouraging comfort nursing after baby is comfortable with skin-to-skin contact. After baby is willing to nurse for comfort, you can then proceed to working on nursing for "meals" as well. You are working to seduce your baby back to breast. Again, coax, don't force!

    There are more things you can try:
    • Offer the breast when he is not hungry.
    • Try giving him most of his feeding by bottle and then switching over to the breast.This is known as the Finish at the Breast method.
    • You can change the way you bottle feed to help the transition. There are methods of bottle feeding that are more supportive of breastfeeding.



    SNS At Breast Supplementer

    If you have tried all of the suggestions above, without success, there is another approach you can try. I will describe steps in a method that is often used to teach older infants to breastfeed. How quickly you go through these steps will depend upon how your baby is responding. You will need an at breast supplementer to do this.


    Lact-Aid At Breast Supplementer
  • First, only mom feeds the baby (both solids and bottles). Baby is always held by mom when being fed.
  • Don’t allow baby to hold his own bottle. If baby is used to holding his own bottle you may need to gradually get him used to you holding it. Put a sock over it so that it looks more like a piece of clothing than a bottle.
  • When baby is comfortable with mom holding the bottle, and being held by mom while feeding, you are ready to try the at breast supplementer (abs). The first step is to thread the tube of the abs through the bottle nipple he usually takes, and feed him that way (you can use a tapestry needle to thread supplementer tube into the nipple, it only needs to stick out a little).
  • Next, move the bottle nipple over your own nipple. Once he is comfortable sucking on the nipple with the abs over your nipple you are ready to try and move him to your breast. Toward the end of the feeding try and switch him to your breast.
  • Once you get baby to latch on to the breast directly, you may try to feed at first with the abs (even if you have a good supply) as baby may like the faster flow he is used to getting from the bottle.You can eventually wean off of the abs (usually very quickly if you have a good supply).
Here is how one mother describes her progress:

From Child of My Heart
All the next day I bottle-fed him in the nursing position. He was content, but I found it so awkward. Breastfeeding leaves you with one hand free, and I'd never really realized that bottle-feeding takes two hands! The next day I began to work on the gradual transition to the breast. My first step was to thread the tiny tube of the nursing supplementer through the same type of bottle nipple he was used to. Then I placed the bottle nipple (without the collar) over my breast for the feeding. This way Joshua got used to being against my skin, while still sucking on his familiar bottle nipple. His formula now flowed from the supplementer rather than the bottle and to all outward appearances, he was breastfeeding.

Another mother describes their progress:

From We Are Breastfeeding
During the third week, I began put the tube of an at-breast supplementer next to the bottle nipple. I planned to put this tube next to my nipple while breastfeeding so he could get more milk at the breast. He needed to get used to that idea, so I pulled the tube through the bottle nipple with a needle, and then filled the supplementer bag with milk... ...At the end of the third week I put the bottle nipple closer to my breast and then right over my breast. Then I could move him toward me into a breastfeeding position. We were almost breastfeeding even though he had not yet latched on. He got milk from me while being held in my arms. He felt my skin next to his belly. He felt my breast against his cheek. He looked into my eyes. He smiled back at me.
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Saturday, October 2, 2010

I Always Knew I Wanted to Breastfeed: My Adoptive Breastfeeding Journey

I always knew I wanted to breastfeed my children. I couldn’t imagine doing it any differently. I was lucky enough to give birth to two beautiful boys and I enjoyed breastfeeding them both. Not that it was easy or without struggle, but it was what I wanted to do and loved doing it. In fact, I liked it so much, and felt so passionate about breastfeeding that I became a La Leche League Leader, so that I could help other breastfeeding moms. I really took to the idea of “Mothering through breastfeeding”. It wasn’t just a feeding method for me, but a relationship with my child.
My husband and I always talked about adopting a child who needed a family. We thought, if we can’t have kids of our own then we will adopt. Even if we can have kids of our own, maybe we will still adopt. After the birth of our second son it became clear that going through another pregnancy was not going to be good for me or our family. My doctor told me not to risk it, that my health was at stake. But we wanted another child. Well, here was our chance to adopt!

We chose to adopt a child out of foster care. We found an adoption agency that places foster children into adoptive homes. We went through all of the training, the homestudy, and all of the waiting. We were open to adopting one or two children (there are lots of sibling groups needing homes) between the ages of 0-5 years old. I knew that I really wanted to breastfeed another baby. I also knew that it was much more likely that we would get a toddler. There was also the issue of would it be okay to breastfeed a foster child? Would I just not tell anyone and do it anyway?

Either way I spent hours researching adoptive breastfeeding. I joined adoptive breastfeeding discussion boards like Ask Lenore and Four Friends. I read every book on the subject, including Breastfeeding an Adopted Baby and Relactation. I read the article Foster Breastfeeding over and over. I tracked down foster moms who had breastfed their foster babies in California (some successfully, and one who described a baby being taken from her home after the baby’s doctor “turned her in”).

On Monday July 6, 2009, we drove to South Lake Tahoe (about a 2 hour drive) to meet with a social worker. We were one of a few families they were considering placing a newborn girl with. We knew that the baby was a “safe surrender” baby, and that she was born premature. They had already asked if we would be able to go stay in Reno (where she was in the hospital) so that we could have daily visits with her in the NICU until she was ready to come home. It would be a few more weeks until she was ready.

We learned at that meeting that we had been chosen to bring her home if we wanted. Also, the hospital had just called and she was ready to go home! The social worker asked if we could go out to Reno, spend the night in the hospital with the baby, and take her home the next day. Of course we said yes (and I cried, a lot!).

At one point in the meeting the social worker looked at me and asked, “Are you going to breastfeed her?” For a moment I wondered if this was a trick question. My heart skipped a beat. But it wasn’t a trick. “We were so excited to see that you are a La Leche League Leader, and were hoping that you would plan to breastfeed her.” I knew this baby needed to be breastfed and I wasn’t going to have to do it “behind closed doors” as many fost/adopt moms told me they did.

I told them that I would if I was allowed. They couldn’t think of any reason why not, but decided that we would not talk about it any more, or put it in writing anywhere. You just never know how someone might react. People can be weird about breastfeeding.

In that meeting we also learned that this little baby was a bit of a miracle. All of the doctors and nurses at the hospital could not understand why she was alive and doing so well. She was born in a campground in the mountains above Lake Tahoe. Her birth mother did not know she was pregnant. In fact she did not know she was giving birth until she heard the baby cry. The birth mother was taken to a local hospital while the baby was flown to the NICU in Reno. To this day I don’t know if the birth mom ever saw the baby, or even knows if it is a boy or a girl. She gave very little information at the hospital when she surrendered the baby (I won’t get into the paperwork mess that her in one hospital and the baby in another at the time of surrender lead to). She said that she drank alcohol about every other week and smoked a half a pack of cigarettes a day. She told them she did no illegal drugs, however she tested positive for THC (as well as alcohol) at the hospital after the birth.

The baby weighed 3 lbs 2.8 ounces at birth. She was exposed and unreachable by rescuers for 30-45 minutes after the birth. (Even a full term newborn can quickly succumb to hypothermia right after birth, not to mention a 3 lb baby.) At first they expected she whould be in the NICU for about 2 months. She surprised everyone when she needed no help breathing and was quickly eating and gaining weight.
When we went to meet her at the hospital she was 17 days old. The NICU nurses were very nice. They had all “adopted” her temporarily. It was clear that she was a very special baby to all of them.

However, she was exclusively bottle-fed formula that whole time and I was wanting to breastfeed her. I was told by the NICU nurses to “just shove it in there” when I held the bottle nipple to her mouth, waiting for her to open like she would for the breast. I was shown the “right” way to hold her and give her the bottle, with her on my lap, away from my body. She was to be fed on a strict every 3 hours schedule. We were told to not hold her too much. “You can’t hold her so much like that when you get her home. You need to put her down so that she can sleep. She really needs to rest.” I smiled and nodded, knowing that we would be leaving in a matter of hours and that when we got home this baby would not get put down for the next several months.

The NICU doctor told us that we MUST keep her on the special 22 calories per ounce formula until she was 12 months old, no matter what her pediatrician said, no matter how well she was growing. Again I smiled and nodded, knowing full well I was going to do everything in my power to get her off of this formula. I had my own “special formula” in mind for her.

We gave her a name we had picked out for a baby girl years earlier. The next morning when we took her home she weighed 4 lbs. 0.8 ounces.

When we got home I called my LLL co-leader and she drove into town and up the mountain to my house to bring me a hospital grade, Medela Symphony breast pump and a Starter SNS. I needed to get started on bringing in a milk supply! I also went on-line and ordered a Lact-Aid, the at-breast supplementer of choice of adoptive moms. On-line I also ordered domperidone (a prescription that has the side effect of increasing prolactin levels, that is not available in the US) from a pharmacy in New Zealand.

I took my baby up to my room and lay back on the pillows on my bed. I took off my shirt and put her in only a diaper. I put her warm, tiny little body on my bare chest. She wasted no time. She threw herself down and latched onto my right breast. She started sucking and her body completely relaxed. She was home. She had found her mommy. Now, I just needed to make some milk!

The first few weeks I tried to put formula in the Starter SNS and then the Lact-Aid and feed her at the breast. She could latch on great, but her suck was weak and she could not get any of the formula through the tube. I went ahead and got a full sized SNS to try as, unlike the Lact-Aid, liquid would flow out just with gravity. I bottle fed, and then tried the SNS a couple of times a day. Eventually she could get an ounce from the SNS. Gradually I increased the number of feedings at the breast. Soon she could nurse with the Lact-Aid and get formula from that as well.

After about a month I did all of the daytime feedings with the Lact-Aid. I ordered more parts so that I only needed to wash and prepare the Lact-Aid supplies once a day. Soon I fed with the Lact-Aid around the clock and completely eliminated all bottles. I stopped pumping at this point, as she was nursing very frequently. I encouraged her to nurse for comfort, or for what little milk she could get between formula feedings.

She was such a good little nurser! She would nurse for a while on one breast, then let go and move to the other side. This is what breastfed babies will do naturally after finishing one breast, but I had to move the tube over to the other side so that she could keep eating. She would nurse and nurse for hours, even when she was getting very little milk. We would often take “nursing vacation” days when Papa took her big brothers out for the day. I carefully watched her weight gain to make sure I wasn’t being too stingy with the formula. I wanted to give her the smallest amount she needed so that she would nurse more and get more from me to help stimulate my supply.

Soon I was able to nurse her first thing in the morning and satisfy her. I would just keep nursing her until it became so frequent that it was clear she needed some formula.
I was so excited when I realized I could go from about 3am until 10 am without using formula. Then I could go until 11am, then 1pm, then 3pm! Before I knew it she would get formula at about 2 am and I didn’t need to give more until about 4 in the afternoon. I could go out of the house with her all morning and not need to bring bags of formula! I was exclusively breastfeeding for more than half the day! She soon gave up her pacifier that she came home from the hospital with. Once you have the real thing, no substitutes will do!

When it got to the point that she needed two, 2-4 ounce servings of formula in the evening I stopped using the Lact-Aid. If I had to fill one more bag or clean out the tubing one more time I was going to go crazy!! She was 5 months old when she was only breastfeeding with the exception of two bottles of formula in the evening, getting a total of 4-8 ounces per day. She would nurse both before and after the bottles of formula. I really wanted to breastfeed exclusively, but this was pretty darn good!

At 6 months old I started to offer her solid foods. She LOVED them! She was on WIC and they gave her an obscene amount of jars of fruits and vegetables and boxes of baby cereal. She gobbled it all up. Within a week we had dropped one serving of formula and the next week we dropped the last one. She was now EXCLUSIVELY BREASTFED! (Well, along with some solids, but close enough!) She never had a bottle again. In fact, the one time I left her at 9 months old for a few hours, she would have nothing to do with a bottle.

I thought that when she turned one year I would stop taking the domperidone. As I tried to wean off of it my supply really dropped. Baby got pretty frustrated. So, I did some more research and decided it was safe for me to continue to take the domperidone longer and ordered another 6 month supply. Making More Milk describes a study showing no adverse effects for people taking 120 mg/day for over 10 years, and although for a while I took as much as 160 mg/day, I am down to only 90 mg/day.
At 15 months old she is still going strong. I really enjoy nursing her to sleep at nap time and bedtime. I love cuddling in bed with her early in the morning and hearing her gulp down my milk. I can’t imagine stopping any time soon.

When I breastfed my boys my goal was to nurse them for at least two years, as this is the suggested minimum by the World Health Organization. I learned about so many benefits of breastfeeding well into toddlerhood, that I really wanted to do this. Sadly, I only nursed my boys 14 months each. We ended early for different reasons with each, but both times I was disappointed that I did not make my goal. I still feel like I let them down, even though I know that I did the best I could at the time with the given circumstances. I am hopeful that I can nurse my daughter at least 2 years, and as long as she wants. I got another chance.


For more information on breastfeeding your adopted baby go to: Breastfeed Your Adopted Baby

ETA:
In February 2012 Cafemom sent out a crew to interview me about breastfeeding my adopted baby. The kids and I actually had lots of fun. The film crew was great and they really fought to get here. They needed to get new tires on their van to make it to our house due to the snow storm.




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