[RasintaSimbela1]

Does anyone have any experience or advise on how to breastfeed an adopted child? I have breastfed in the past after giving birth to my daughter, and am interested in starting to pump when our referral comes through. I think it is highly unlikely that I'll convince my bottle-fed new daughter to take to the breast, but if I can give her the antibodies in breast milk (even if I give it by bottle) as she arrives in the U.S. for the first time, I think that would be a great thing. Anyone have any idea about how hard it is to get a milk supply up when you don't have a pregnancy or a baby to get you started? Or know of resources to help?

[KarenInCa]

I think it's all on an individual basis. The fact that you breast fed your bio daughter is a big plus. There are some women that cannot breastfeed, even after giving birth.
We have a forum on adopt.com specifically for breastfeeding an adopted child.
http://forums.adoption.com/breastfeeding-adopted-child/

It's wonderful that you want to do this.

[RasintaSimbela1]

Originally Posted by KarenInCa

I think it's all on an individual basis. The fact that you breast fed your bio daughter is a big plus. There are some women that cannot breastfeed, even after giving birth.
We have a forum on adopt.com specifically for breastfeeding an adopted child.
http://forums.adoption.com/breastfeeding-adopted-child/

It's wonderful that you want to do this.

That forum is super-helpful. Seems like there is a small community of enthusiastic people out there who have done it. I haven't 100% decided if I am willing to put all that time & effort into it, but it's certainly interesting. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

[KarenInCa]

I breastfed my bio son for the first 11 months of his life. I loved the bond it created. And it was so much less expensive than bottle feeding.
I considered it with our first adopted daughter, but she was 14 months old at referral and 16 months old at the time we went to China. She actually didn't want anything to do with bottles while we were in China, except for apple juice. Other than that, she was obsessed with mastering the regular water bottles.

However, when we got home, two weeks later, we reverted her back to drinking a bottle of half formula and half whole milk while I rocked her to sleep for naps and night time. We really wanted to get her nutrients up, even though she was extremely healthy. She drank a bottle while we cuddled from the time we got her home at 16 months old, till she was 24 months old. Im SOOO glad we did that. The bonding experience was priceless, and Im sure it added to her strong bones, teeth, and body. If you do not master the breast feeding, or if your child is too old to really get into it (as ours was), then bottle feeding is also wonderful. Let them do it as long as they can, regardless of what others say, or the toddler's age. They need to bond with you as their main caretaker.
Even if you adopt a toddler that is already off the bottle, consider reverting them back to bottle feeding her/him for a bit. The bond is incredible regardless of breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Being able to look the toddler in the eyes while they rely on you for nutrients, and gently rocked or cuddled is so important for their mental and physical growth as well.

[RasintaSimbela1]

Hm, I hadn't heard anyone say that before, to bottle-feed until 24 months. I can see why that would really be helpful for bonding purposes. Thanks!

[specialk4b]

We adopted a 30 month old. We didn't go back to a bottle, but we did feed him his sippy cup like a bottle at bedtime. We called him baby, swaddled him, cuddled him and gave him a bottle every night after bath. It was great for bonding and I think he kinda liked being Mama's baby. We don't really know what his babyhood was like in China.

We still have baby time almost every night even though he's three now. Sometimes it's just a few seconds of baby time before he's "big boy" again.

[MissyAmomChina]

Hi,

I agree that do whatever works for your family. If it's breast feeding, bottle feeding or sippy-cup feeding....it's all great. Our daughter was adopted at 13.5 months and enjoyed the snuggle,bottle time till well past 2. My ped wasn't thrilled with it, but I didn't care. My son was adopted at 6 months and is currently 9 months. We'll keep him on the bottle as long as he needs it even though our ped would like us to wean him at 12 months.

[Karen in MT]

I would encourage you to certainly get as much information as you can. Even if a child gets the breast milk by bottle or cup it is of great value. I was a licensed Lactation Counselor. It is a bit complicated but certainly possible. Consult a Lactation Specialist. -Karen