[sunnymommy]

Short story is we may be adopting a baby due this summer. I will still be nursing my son who will be 16 months old then. So if I want to nurse the new baby, do I just wait until birth and then try latching him on? Or do I need to be doing something ahead of time to prepare? Will my milk supply naturally increase as needed? Or do I need to pump and try to up it ahead of time? Thanks for any help!

[HopefulMom2bee]

I would think you wouldn't need to do anything in preparation if you'll still be nursing at that point. Infants require such small amounts at a time and as you nurse the new baby more frequently your body will adjust to keep up.

Good luck!

[rd200]

I agree. As long as you are still nursing your son you shouldnt have to prepare much at all. I would maybe keep nursing your son the same amounts of time between now and then and since you still have a supply your body should adjust to the new baby nursing frequently and should bring up your supply pretty quickly i would think. As long as you arent down to like 1 feeding a day i think it will be fine. Good luck to you.... how exciitng!!!

[noelani2]

Shoot! I just had a post to you almost finished and my dumb computer had a fit and lost it!

Anyway, there was a study done, quite a few years ago, of moms who were nursing a bio toddler and adopted a baby. Some did fine with supply and some needed to supplement. It seems that some women's bodies somehow remember that the pregnancy and birth was more than a year before, and remain geared to that, while others immediately respond to a sudden increase in demand. You certainly have a big advantage, but it might be a good idea to do a little bit extra to make sure the new baby gets enough milk. One idea would be to start doing some pumping, a month or so before the baby is due. It is harder to tell how much an older baby is taking from the breast, so that would also give you some idea of what you are producing. You could just keep pumping a couple times a day, in addition to nursing your toddler as often as he is willing, freezing whatever milk you pumped. You could also take some fenugreek. When the new baby comes, just keep a close eye on weight gain and diapers. You might be just fine, but if you aren't sure he/she is getting enough, you have the frozen milk to fall back on. It is true that newborns only need a little bit, but then their needs increase quite drastically, so I think it is better to be cautious.

Another thing to think about is how to position two babies at once. I have tandem nursed two different pairs of children (I always had to supplement, but all of the kids were adopted). In both cases, the older one had only been nursing a couple times a day but, when the new baby came, they suddenly wanted to nurse a lot more often. After a few weeks, they went back to the same nursing frequency. Of course, tandem nursing a lot really helps your milk supply, too.

Anyway, that is an exciting possibility! I have a new grandchild due in June. It's a boy and my son is thrilled! His 4 year old daughter was disappointed that she wasn't getting a sister, but she is getting used to the idea of a brother.

Best wishes,
Darillyn

[Theawesomefamily]

That was really helpful noelani2! I too am nursing my 2 year old a few times a day, and adopting a baby due June 20th whom I plan on nursing. Is there any medication anyone knows of that increases milk supply? I am hoping he will just "join the queue" and the milk will multiply, but worried that since I am not carrying, my body wont know what to do! Good advice, thanks for the posts!

[noelani2]

Domperidone is the only medication that really helps and is safe. The American FDA will not approve it, however, so you have to get it from somewhere else. It is really ridiculous that they won't. It has been used all over the world for more than 20 years, and has a great track record. The fact that it increases prolactin levels is a side-effect, but it has helped many mothers produce significantly more milk.

There is something approved, here, which is called metoclopramide, or Reglan, but it really isn't safe. I tried it on two separate occasions, in the early 90s. I felt like it did help with milk production, some, but the depression it caused was totally unacceptable. I just had to stop taking it. A baby would be better off with no breast milk and a mother who was happy and confident in her ability to mother him than to have even 100% breast milk and a mother who was severely depressed. The first time I tried it, I was on it for somewhere around a month. At the end of that, we finally got the baby we'd been fighting for 10 weeks to get out of foster care. I was so depressed that I felt like the worst mother in the world and wanted to give her to someone else. I quit taking it and the effects went away after a week or so. Three years later, I tried it again, thinking maybe the situation of having to fight to get our daughter out of foster care was the primary reason I got so depressed. But, I started getting depressed right away, so I just stopped.

During the 1990s, I was in touch with many moms who tried it and I would say 90% had significant depression and/or anxiety from it. There were a couple who were on it for several months and it took them several more months to get rid of the effects of it.

I don't know what the current source of domperidone is. Maybe one of the ladies here can give you a current source, or I can ask around and find it, if you are interested. You may not need it, but it would be good to have the information about it, in case you do.

Another thing you can do is get a Lact-Aid and plan on using that to provide any supplement, while keeping all suckling at the breast and building your supply. Of course, you can combine things.

Good luck and please keep in touch!

Darillyn

[noelani2]

Domperidone is the only medication that really helps and is safe. The American FDA will not approve it, however, so you have to get it from somewhere else. It is really ridiculous that they won't. It has been used all over the world for more than 20 years, and has a great track record. The fact that it increases prolactin levels is a side-effect, but it has helped many mothers produce significantly more milk.

There is something approved, here, which is called metoclopramide, or Reglan, but it really isn't safe. I tried it on two separate occasions, in the early 90s. I felt like it did help with milk production, some, but the depression it caused was totally unacceptable. I just had to stop taking it. A baby would be better off with no breast milk and a mother who was happy and confident in her ability to mother him than to have even 100% breast milk and a mother who was severely depressed. The first time I tried it, I was on it for somewhere around a month. At the end of that, we finally got the baby we'd been fighting for 10 weeks to get out of foster care. I was so depressed that I felt like the worst mother in the world and wanted to give her to someone else. I quit taking it and the effects went away after a week or so. Three years later, I tried it again, thinking maybe the situation of having to fight to get our daughter out of foster care was the primary reason I got so depressed. But, I started getting depressed right away, so I just stopped.

During the 1990s, I was in touch with many moms who tried it and I would say 90% had significant depression and/or anxiety from it. There were a couple who were on it for several months and it took them several more months to get rid of the effects of it.

I don't know what the current source of domperidone is. Maybe one of the ladies here can give you a current source, or I can ask around and find it, if you are interested. You may not need it, but it would be good to have the information about it, in case you do.

Another thing you can do is get a Lact-Aid and plan on using that to provide any supplement, while keeping all suckling at the breast and building your supply. Of course, you can combine things.

Good luck and please keep in touch!

Darillyn