I found that nursing each of my adopted babies has definitely gotten easier
with each child. I'm sure that building breast tissue is related, although
involution occurs at weaning and my breasts don't seem any different between
nursing children. I wonder how much of it is our bodies remembering what to
do?
My first son was supplemented with the SNS for all feeds. My second was
supplemented with the Lact-Aid for 3 months, when my supply caught up to his
needs. My current nursling was only supplemented for 6 weeks until my supply
was built up to meet his needs. (I have four children, but one arrived at 3
1/2 years of age, and while she nurses occasionally, it's a different
relationship than building a supply for an infant, obviously.)
If I had had more than 3 days notice before picking up the last baby, I'm
sure that by pumping in advance I wouldn't have needed to supplement at all.
Maybe the confidence issue plays more of a role too. I didn't expect to see
any milk with my first, whereas by the time #4 came along, I assumed I'd be
nursing just fine. #4 arrived at 2 1/2 months old, exclusively bottlefed on
soy formula, which I was determined to change, and quickly! That
determination was also a factor I'm sure. (I was a soy-fed baby and I was not about to
risk my children's longterm health, considering I haven't been able to
conceive any of them, and some have suggested that soy is partly to blame.)
There are so many variables, but for whatever reason, it's generally true
that we do better at breastfeeding as we go along.
Kerri Smith
LLL Leader and Doula
Adoptive Mama to Cole, Naomi, Adam, and baby Noah
British Columbia, Canada
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