Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply Baby is here!

Hi ladies...

It's been a crazy couple of weeks here! On 12/12/12, we got word that the baby girl we were expecting to adopt in January was stillborn. Of course we were devastated. But, immediately on the heels of that horrible news, we were offered a stork drop baby born on 12/12/12 in Las Vegas. We said yes and are now the happy and proud parents of a baby BOY named Connor.

I was on the regular protocol since early Spetember. I started pumping Nov 25 but two weeks into it wasnt making more than 10ml or so per day. So I wasn't near ready to nurse a baby in terms of volume. But, we are still nursing many times a day, just having to supplement with a bottle afterwards. He's quite the eater and takes 1-2 ounces after I nurse. I try to make him wait a little while to see if I am making more and more milk on my own and able to satisfy him longer. I'm thinking now of getting a supplement system as the nursing for 20-30 minutes plus giving him a bottle afterwards is getting very time-consuming! So I can't remember which supplementer you all recommend... The SNS or the LactAid. Do you know if the local LLL chapters have them or do I need to get mine on Amazon?

Well, I'm off to try to get some laundry put away while the baby is sleeping!

Thanks,
Daisy

Congratulations!!! I am so sorry about the loss, but happy God had other plans for your family. My daughter was also born on December 12th (2007).

The lactaid is recommended. I might have one that I could sell, but if you need it quick Amazon might be the way to go. I would have to find it and then ship it.

Keep us in the loop how things are going.

Jennifer

Congratulations!! And yes, I would also recommend the LactAid. I have used the SNS from Medela and the LactAid and the SNS was messy, clumsy, and just plain a pain in the rear.

Good Luck! Keep us posted!

How long would you say it takes to max out on milk production? I'm just beginning to wonder if I should even keep going with my attempt to nurse. (And I know there are other benefits to nursing besides the nutrition... BUT, Connor doesn't care so much for it if he's not getting enough milk.). To date, I've pumped for exactly two weeks before we got the baby. The most I ever got was about 10ml, or 1/3 of an ounce. Now he's been nursing for about 2.5 weeks so I haven't been pumping nearly as much (because I just can't fit it in since I'm feeding him a bottle after I nurse him). I did pump this morning after no nursing last night and I only got a little over a 1/2 ounce. I was really thinking/hoping it would be more after having gone all night. I know babies empty the breast better, but I doubt there's much more in there as he takes another 2 oz after I nurse him. So do you think I'm likely to continue to increase my supply or do you think I'm maxed out? If there's a chance I'm going to keep increasing significantly, I will definitely stick with it. BUT, if this is as good as it gets, I'm not going to continue to make this sort of financial, emotional, logistical, and time commitment so that I can give him a few lousy ounces of breast milk per day! I ordered the LactAid, but I only want to use that if I am able to really pick up my supply and eventually not need it. Otherwise, I will return it. I have a good stash of donated breast milk, so at least he's getting that. Ahhhhhh... This is so frustrating!

As always, thank you so much for your input and for tolerating my questions!

Daisy

I think you could still increase. I have heard of it taking a couple of months to increase supply. I don't know if you have access to one, but I had a baby scale where I could weigh the baby before and after a feed. It gave me a better idea of how much she was eating each time. When I was making about 70% of her need, I took a leap of faith and stopped supplementing and I did catch up to her need after that.

I did not use the lactaid, because I found it difficult, but I know many others liked it.

Jennifer

Thanks Jennifer! While I highly doubt that I am going to significantly increase my production, the good news is that I found two more milk donors in my area!

That is great!
Jennifer