Breastfeeding my adoptive child has been one of the most rewarding and beautiful experiences I have ever had. My husband and I got married just after my 43rd birthday. Although my husband had a child from a previous relationship, I had none. We knew we wanted to have children and I knew I at least wanted to experience being pregnant and giving birth to a child. Instead of trying to get pregnant on our own we immediately began the process of learning about IVF and egg donation. Before any treatments started I did get pregnant but miscarried very early on. We had great success with our egg donor and I got pregnant on our first try. Unfortunately that pregnancy ended after 12 weeks. There was no particular reason for the loss and we chalked it up to 25% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage.
So, we decided to try again (we had 6 more frozen embryos). This time we put 2 embryos in and wound up with a single pregnancy. When you get pregnant using assisted reproductive techniques, you know you are pregnant very early on. This makes for some uneasy times during pregnancy after loss. Well this time we made it through the first trimester and we began to believe it was really going to happen. Unfortunately my water broke at 18 weeks. I will never forget those 2 days in the hospital. First there was the hope that we would still be OK and I would be on bed rest. Then the 30 minute ultrasound still showing a heartbeat. Our OB finally sat down with us and told us that there was virtually no chance for the baby to survive. He wouldn?t be able to develop fully without the fluids.
Ultimately I had to go through full labor and delivery?right there in the maternity ward. I can still hear the wheels of the carts with the babies in it as they were wheeled to their mother?s room. They kept pushing back my inducement because healthy mothers were coming in for delivery.
So I had the pregnancy?I gave birth?but I still had no baby. Something in me said (as I was wheeled out of the hospital next to mothers with their newborns) I could not leave the hospital again with empty arms.
Our adoption story was one of miracles?our newborn baby girl came to us just 3 months after beginning the process. Although I had given up the miracle of child birth, I still got to experience the beauty of holding and loving a one day old baby.
During our homestudy I was doing research online and stumbled on asklenore.com. As soon as I found out about the possibility of adoptive moms breastfeeding, I scheduled an appointment with a Lactation Consultant at Arnold Palmer Hospital. She also referred me to asklenore.com and together we reviewed the accelerated program. I received my domperidone within about 10 days and began Yasmine and pumping as soon as my period ended. Throughout my pumping I got at most one ounce between both breasts...usually about 1/2 ounce total.
We think having delivered a baby just 6 months prior to our birthmother?s due date may have helped in my lactation. (within a few days after that delivery my breast produced a milk supply?which at the time was very upsetting). My expectation for this process was only to have the opportunity to breastfeed my baby for how ever long possible. Even if I got to give her milk once I would have been thrilled.
When we went to visit our baby (Isabelle) for the first time?about 30 hours after her birth, I asked the nurses if it would be OK for me to try and breastfeed. They were not aware of the possibility of that working but were very supportive and called their lactation nurse who showed up right away. She helped me get positioned and sure enough within a few seconds Isabelle latched on and began sucking. I will always remember looking down at her beautiful face as tears ran down my face. She took a full feeding off both breasts! It was quite an emotional time. God must have been in the room with us! How else can you explain such a miracle. Isabelle did not have to read any manual to know what to do. 
Isabelle is now 8 weeks old and I continue to take the Domperidone and also Motherslove Special Blend. I supply anywhere from 30 ? 50 percent of her milk. I also use Breastflow Technology bottles from ?The First Years?. They have sort of a double nipple so the milk doesn?t flow too fast.
Isabelle never lost any weight at the beginning and at her 3 day old doctor appointment had already gained just under a half a pound. She eats equally well between my breast and the bottle. This way my husband gets to help and I have no stress whatsoever as it relates to weather she is getting enough nourishment.
This whole experience has been so wonderful. My dreams have come true and I wanted to share my success with anyone else who is in this situation. Really if I was only able to breastfeed that one time in the hospital, this whole process would definitely have been worth it!
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