Got Milk?

Comment

Comment by Ali on December 2, 2011 at 11:24pm

Hi,

I am sorry to hear what you are going through, Jacks advice to contact La Leche League is absolutely right (I am a La Leche League Leader in UK). You certainly can get back to breastfeeding your baby. Women who adopt can breastfeed, even men can! We have a really good leaflet at LLL about induced lactation and relactation. It takes a lot of perseverance but it is really worth it.  There are herbs and medications available which help to increase your milk supply (galactagogues) but a really useful device available is a "nursing supplementer", it has a bag which you hand around your neck and contains the supplement (whatever you are currently feeding your baby, ideally expressed breast milk but formula if you are using that) and then 2 tiny tubes lead from that bag and are attached to your nipples so that you feed your baby at your breast. The supplement adds to whatever breast milk you are producing and ensures your baby gets fed but the stimulation causes your milk supply to increase so eventually you use less and less supplement and more and more of your breast milk until you no longer need the supplement. Avoid bottles and dummies as this can cause nipple confusion (babys suck is very different with bottles and the breast). The long term health benefits to you and your baby make this a really worthwhile thing to do.

Good luck and LLLove

 

Comment by charlotte madadi-fiorina on November 30, 2011 at 11:27pm

Thanks Mary and Jack for your nice advices.

Jack, I caled on of the advisers in hannover and She olso told me it was pretty much possible to come back to breast feading only...My mistake was that I shouldn´t have stopped a hundred % on powder milk...right now she drinks 100 ml of powder milk so I should start with giving her only 50 ml a day for a while...And allways gradualy give her less and less from the other milk,untill she only drinks breast milk...That was a big help, thank you verry much

Comment by Jack on November 30, 2011 at 7:44am

...and before I forget, it is usually possible to restore milk production, even if it has diminished greatly or completely stopped for a while; again, LLL should be able to help.

Comment by Jack on November 30, 2011 at 7:41am

This says there are 10 milk banks in Germany:

http://europeanmilkbanking.com/germany.html

Comment by Jack on November 30, 2011 at 7:39am

Before any other advice, I would contact La Leche League (http://www.lalecheliga.de/); your profile says you're in Germany, and though I have no experience of the German LLL, they generally hold very good quality and I hope the German one does, too. They can give you hands-on advice, possibly nutritional advice, latching techniques, how to increase your milk production etc. - or just understand what you're going through.

 

Apart from LLL, "wet nurse" (someone else who breastfeeds her) would be my #1 choice, milk donators #2 and fresh, ripe, mashed/blended, soft fruits & veggies my #3.

 

Though #1 isn't common these days, there are women who help each other out in this way, and it is one of the most beautiful gifts one can give IMHO. LLL may be able to help with this. Women have been breastfeeding each other's children for as long as humans have existed.

#2 should be possible in most somewhat urban locations.

#3 might be possible exclusively, though it is far from optimal for such a young child, and I would take precious good care to make sure she only gets the very best, organic fruits and follow her growth closely; some supplementation with something might be necessary, and human milk just trumps everything else 100-0. Some kind of milk donation should be possible, wherever you live.

 

Hope you find help!

 

Much ♥,

 

Jack

www.lfrvfamilies.com

Comment by TetrisKing on November 30, 2011 at 1:15am

Also forgot to mention, that when I did stop breastfeeding, I refused to drink Cow or Soy milk, so my mum gave me rice milk which I apparently didn't complain too much about.  I am not advocating this, just reassuring you that alternatives like the raw baby formula do exist, and I am sure your baby will be fine on a balanced raw or vegan diet.

Comment by TetrisKing on November 30, 2011 at 1:12am

Would it be possible to source another mother's milk through the hospital? My mum started feeding me mashed up peas when I was quite young, although I was still breastfeeding at the time too.

 

Also check out this site - a raw baby formula with hemp as the base

 http://empressorganics.vpweb.com/

Comment by charlotte madadi-fiorina on November 29, 2011 at 11:57pm

I forgot to say she will be 4 month on december 5th.

so she is actually 3 month 3/4...