There could be a couple things going on here, that I can think of.  Often,
with adopted babies, they will go to the breast either with or without the
supplementer, at first, but will get to the point where they only want the
breast with the supplementer, sometime in the first few months.  Others will
not suck unless the tube is there, from the beginning.  This does not
necessarily relate to the amount of milk that is coming from the breast.

I think, all thing considered, I would encourage this mom to just go ahead
and let the baby have the SNS when she wants it.  She can continue to offer
the breast without it, but should try not to get discouraged, if she doesn't
take it.  From what I have seen, with many, many adopted babies, most of
whose mothers' milk supplies required  quite a bit of supplementation, the
fact that the baby has come to wanting to take the breast only with the tube
there, doesn't necessarily mean anything about mom's milk supply.

What sized tubing is she using, with the SNS?  I have always felt like the
smallest is the best, for use with a baby without a suckling defect, or a
weight issue.  If she is using the medium, now, switching to the small would
probably help keep the baby at the breast a little longer, to get the same
amount of formula, and require her to suck somewhat deeper, increasing the
amount of milk from the breast, to some extent.  I would also suggest that a
mom who is likely to need to supplement at the breast for a long period of
time check into the Lact-Aid.  It is more handy to use, overall, tends to
require better suckling from the baby, and can be used in front of people
without them knowing it is there.  That last thing may be even more
important for a mom who has given birth to her baby than for those of us who
have adopted.

I would keep trying to encourage her to look at the benefits her baby is
getting from nurturing at the breast, and recieving some breast milk, and
express respect for her willingness to go the extra mile to provide the best
she can.  When I was nursing my kids, I tried to look at it from the angle
that I was doing the best that I could for them, with the situation I was
in, and not compare my milk production to women who'd had good breast
development as a result of pregnancy.  It sounds like this mom has a similar
situation to many adoptive moms, which is inadequate breast development.
The fact that she has this, despite pregnancy, where adoptive moms have it
because we haven't had the benefit of pregnancy (and other moms have it
because of breast surgery), makes no difference, as far as the managing of
the situation.  If she has the internet, I would give her links to adoptive
breastfeeding sites, as well as some about breastfeeding after breast
reduction.   She would certainly recieve support from such sites.

If she can get to where she is comfortable nursing with a supplementer, and
secure that she is providing her baby with benefits she would not get from
bottle feeding, she will be more likely to keep nursing until her baby is
ready to quit, regardless of what her milk supply does.  OF course, she can
try other things along the way, to try to increase milk production, but it
is advantageous for the mom to be able to see what she is doing, right now,
as acceptable and beneficial, first.  Then, if those efforts result in more
breast milk, she can see it as a bonus, rather than seeing a lack of
significant increase as failure.

I was not one of the high milk producers, among adoptive moms who
breastfeed.  Some of my kids got more milk than others, but the overall
average was that they got about half as much breast milk as they did
formula.  The older my children get, the more I appreciate the benefits of
breastfeeding them, as far as our relationships.  It would have been worth
the effort, even if I had never produced a drop of breast milk.

Aloha,
Darillyn

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html