[lisa in venice]

A gret reference is the fourfriendds website posteed above. As for the herbs there are a GANG of them that can increase milk supply the chief amoung them is fenugreek which is amidle eastern spice made from beans. zIt is mostly used in this country to flavor imitation maple syrup so taking it in large quantities makes you smell like waffles.

The other at the top of the list is blessed thistle which is a common weed. I personally played around with several herbs that other people had had luck with. Fennel worked well in combination with the other two and marshmallow root does a great job of increasing the fat content in your milk so that even if you have low production it is high calorie. I personally can't stand the taste of marshmallow root so as soon as Sam's waight gain was under control I quit taking it. There is a reason that they feed dairy cows alflafa; IT WORKS. I did see an increase in supply but one of it's side effects is increased appetite and I started eating like a dairy cow, heck like TWO dairy cows. I decided that if I continued taking it I would weigh as much as those two cows in mo time.

I also took Domperidone (Motillium is the generic name) Like Reglan it is a reflux drug but had no side effects at all for me. I am currently taking fenugreek, lessed thistle domperidone and Yasmin BCP in order to relactate for new baby. We are searching for #4 and I hope to nurse that one too.

lisa

[bajohnson]

Hi, I just wanted to jump in here and say WOW! I have never heard of bfeeding an adopted child. I am a 39 year old adoptee who is the bio-mother to 3. All were breast fed and I tend to lean towards the Nazi breast feeding thing too. I think it is the best way to prevent a multitude of ailments, etc. I wish that this practise had been around in the 60's as I'm sure my Mom would have loved breast feeding us. She is the greatest Mom in the world and would do anything for me. Have any of you read the Primal Wound? I know, very controversial, and I don't want to detour this VERY IMPORTANT discussion, but I wonder how much of that bonding/wound would be overcome with breastfeeding. I know how bonded I became with my kids while feeding them, I am curious to know the long term effects on the whole wound thing. I applaud all of you that are breast feeding. It can be inconvenient, painful, and the most rewarding experience of your life. Thank you for fighting the "norms"
Beth

[Sidswife]

Angelique,

There is an awesome website that tells everything there is to know about adoptive breastfeeding.
www.fourfriends.com
As for the herbs there are many that have been said to work. The most popular are:
Fenugreek
Mother's Milk Tea
Blessed Thistle (Not milk thistle)
Marshmallow root
Drink lots of water and eat oatemeal at least 3x a week.
Also pinapple and Henry Weinhart's Root beer is also said to help.

I, myself, have not started the herbs yet. I just have done a lot of research on the subject in preparation. We are matched with a baby due June 5th. I am waiting to see if the match will lead to a placement. If it does, I plan to use the Lact-aid supplemental system while starting the herb routine. It is said that milk should start to come in within a couple of weeks if the baby is nursing well with the system. You can find the it at
www.lact-aid.com

Remember, breastfeeding is not so much about the milk that you are producing, it is the bonding experience between you and your child. Some women nurse with the supplemental system and never produce milk.
Good Luck!
M

[Angelique]

Thank you all for the great information. We most likely will have little time to prepare for our baby before he or she is placed with us. ... We are not matched yet.. so do I wait to be matched before I try to get the milk rolling? Oh... and I also just loved nursing. Health wise and bond wise..its the greatest!!

[Michelle 053002]

Hello Angelique,

From everything I have read and heard, You should have a much easier time stimulating your milk supply since you have breastfeed in the past. I take Fenugreek. It seems to work well for me. I know there are alot of ours out there, that is the only one that the lactation consultant I dealt with recommended. Good luck to you and keep us all posted.

Michelle

[lisa in venice]

bajohnson,
it is interesting that you bring up "The Primal Wound" because I read a discussion of adoptive breastfeeding by the two authors of that book and they didn't like it at all. Neither one had really good reasons but seemed to be freaked out by it. In the end they came to the conclusion that it was "forcing" a greiving baby to bond. I personally don't buy it. I think they were just weirded out by the concept.

Of course our adoption was done all wrong according to them in that we were at the birth and "A" and I shared a hospital room for three days while she said goodbye and I learned about Sammy. He was breastfed from the start. They are pretty negative about adoptive parents being in the hospital (too coercive).

I saw the difference in the way Sam eased into our family. Now much of that had to do with his placment and the relationship between his two families. But I really believe that breastfeeding was a part of that.

lisa

lisa

[SmileyRylie03]

This is stupid but, I didn't know that you could breast feed if your were or have been pregnant. I breast-fed my 2 year old son, but, he isn't adopted. I've not considered adopting, but I saw an adoptive women breast feed her adopted child with a little box, thingy (for lack of better education, I don't know!) with formula. Can anyone answer my questions?

Ry

[lisa in venice]

No problem answerin questions Riley. You probably saw someone using a Medela SNS which is one of the supplimentalsystems for breastfeeding problems. it supplies formula or donor milk or enhanced milk for preemies to the baby while the baby feeds at the breast. The breast stimulation provided by the baby stimulates the milk making process. The more the baby nurses the more milk you produce. In most cases of induced lactation (where you have not been pg) a women begin to produce breast milk any where from 48 hours to 2 weeks and that production increases over time.

lisa

[Chelle01]

Just wanted to clarify a common misconception. It's not necessary to have ever been pregnant to breastfeed. In fact, you can have had a complete hysterectomy and never given birth and still breastfeed. The production of prolactin (hormone stimulating milk production) is related to the pituitary gland rather than the uterus so anyone (including males) can produce some degree of milk unless their mammaries have been removed or sometimes if they've had drastic breast reduction surgery. I've talked to many women who wanted to try but thought that they couldn't because of their hysterectomies and were very excited to find that nursing was still an option.

[Shelley]

I too nursed my 3 bio sons, and we are in the process of adopting a little girl and I hope to breast feed her. We are hoping she will be under a year old when we bring her home. I have 2 questions, 1 how difficult is it to get an older baby to nurse, and what herbs do/did you use to help with milk production? Thanks Shelley

[Dani4114]

I am new here and I have been reading like crazy soaking up all the information that I can. Thank you for all of your great questions and knowledge and experience! We are waiting to hear if we are going to be "picked" to adopt a preemie boy (born @ 31 wks) he has not gotten his sucking reflex down yet, which is normal for a baby his age, He did not test positive for drugs at birth but birthmom did, so we are assuming that he has had some sort of exposure. I am pretty sure I want to at least try to nurse, but I don't want to take any drugs to help induce lactation. I just want to get more information on how to go about this and if it is reasonable to expect success with the circumstances surrounding this possible adoption.

[mina2u]

Angelic,

Look up www.asklenore or look up you local LaLeche League.

At the asklenore site, it will give a protocol to follow that will greatly increase your chances of success.

Good Luck