A Successfully Breastfed Adopted Baby Via Induced Lactation

Today I am pleased to feature a guest post by Susan from International Adoption Facts and Information. Susan is a mother to three adopted children, one of whom she successfully breastfed by inducing lactation. This is her story.

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 I am the blessed mom of three adopted children, and although I have made peace with the fact that I could not have children biologically, I still missed the fact that I could not breastfeed.  I envied the closeness I saw my friends have with their biological children whom they breastfed.

My husband and I first became parents when we became foster parents to a three-month-old little boy.  He was severely lactose intolerant.  When I first got him, he would projectile vomit whatever we fed him, and his skin was bright red.  He had a terrible time sleeping.

We experimented with different kinds of formulas and eventually settled on a soy formula.  And while it worked better than a regular milk formula, it was not the best for him.  He had constant ear infections and delayed speech as a result.  Today he still struggles with language.

Then, when my son was six, we traveled to Guatemala to adopt our infant daughter.  I had read a little about adoptive breastfeeding and tried to get her to nurse, but she was struggling with reactive attachment disorder and pushed away whenever I tried to hold her close.  And I didn’t have a nursing supplementer and didn’t know what I was doing besides.  Eventually, I gave up and fed her with a bottle.

Then when she was 23 months old, we were contacted by my son’s biological mother.  She had given birth to another son and wanted us to adopt him.  We were fortunate enough to bring our youngest son home when he was just four days old.  The first night we had him, he was very fussy and would not settled down.  Finally, I allowed him to suckle on me, and he fell asleep.

I tried to feed him the milk-based formula and discovered that he was lactose intolerant as well.  This time, I was determined to provide him with breast milk if I could.  With the help of a friend, I contacted La Leche League as soon as I got home.  A woman from a local group gave me a Medela supplementer.  I started using it and within two weeks I was producing colostrum.

The problem with the Medela supplementer was it gave the milk out too fast.  My infant son was gulping in his milk.  Eventually I switched to a Lact-Aid supplementer, which worked much better.  By talking with other breastfeeing moms – the nursing room at my church was a great place for information! – I eventually learned about fenugreek and started taking that.  It really helped me to produce more milk.  My son made a funny face the first time he fed after the fenugreek, but we both adjusted just fine.

I never weaned us off the supplementer.  I was too worried that my son wouldn’t get enough of the nutrition he needed, but I was able to successfully breastfeed my adopted son until he was nine months old.  We developed a powerfully strong bond, and my son is a happy and very loving child today.

I am so glad I was able to have that bonding experience and give my youngest child the healthy breast milk he needed.  I would recommend it to anyone.

If you are considering adopting a child overseas, Susan runs a very helpful website called International Adoption Facts and Information.

She also runs a site called Organic Gardening and Homesteading about living self-reliantly and frugally in the country.  Check them out!

To read Upstatemomof3′s story about breastfeeding her adopted daughter go here. 

Do you have a story about breastfeeding your adopted baby? Please share! I’d love to hear from you!

Related posts:

1. Breastfeeding An Adopted Baby: One Mom’s Story
2. Behavioural Problems? Yes, My Breastfed Baby.
3. Monday Musings: Were You Breastfed?
4. Six and Breastfed For Half Her Life
5. Monday Musings: Would You Nurse Another Woman’s Baby?

Tags: adoption, fenugreek, induced lactation, La Leche League, Lact Aid supplementer, Medela supplementer