[waitingfor4th]

I've had 2 bio-births and extended nursed with all of them (my youngest is 2 years, 4 months) and still bfding a couple times a day.
Bfding has always been a huge part of my bonding experience with my babies and thus I really want to EN my adopted baby, but I have no idea what it will entail to get my supply up to where it will need to be when we adopt. (We've just contracted for a transracial newborn, so we're looking at 6 months+). Everyone dr. I've talked to has been very supporitive, but I'm hoping there are some mom's who have some experience in building up their supply (and transitioning a toddler) so that I can exclusively bf the adopted baby. I've familier with Reglan (although not sure its applicable here), fenugreek, and oatmeal. But my familiarity is very limited because with my other kids I was pretty much a milk factory so I didn't need anything else.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions and/or personal experiences with bfding adopted babies after bios and what you found worked and didn't.

TIA
Momma to 3
(10-20-99 bf 42 months)
(3-09-02 bf 26 months)
(10-04-04 bf 29 months and counting)
(contracted to adopt transracially!!

[Nik99]

Hi there. I am new here too. You sound just like me. I am currently nursing my 23 mo ds. He was down to nursing a couple of times a day, but since I found out that we're adopting my 15 mo niece, I have been nursing him more frequently and pumping a couple times a day. I have also been taking fenugreek and blessed thistle. At first, I barely pumped a more than a few drops, but now I am slowly increasing my output to about 1/2 oz per session. I can hand express a lot of milk, but the pump doesn't seem to like me much anymore. DS is loving the increased supply, and is nursing several times a day now.

We met our niece for the first time last week, and we probably won't be able to take her home for 6 weeks or more. I have no idea if bf her will work, and if I should even bother trying b/c it could be very stressful. I don't want to add more stress at such a traumatic time. I also worry about ds and how he'd feel about sharing his "mamamilk". I'm going to take it very slow. I do plan to bottlefeed her and hold her in a bf position. I've read that bottlefeeding is a good way to promote bonding. Once she gets used to feeding in that position, maybe we can start transitioning to the breast with a nipple shield.

My situation is dif than yours in that I don't have to worry as much about providing enough milk as her full source of nutrition. I am hoping to get the benefits of attachment and bonding from bf.

I hope we can both hear from others who have more answers! Good luck to you!