The baby is with us!

We are over the moon excited by this turn of events. It's been an emotional few days, as you can imagine.

I never stopped pumping nor the drugs as my entire family told me to just have faith for a few more days. I guess it felt right to everyone.

My question- I finally got him to latch. I am not using lact-aid jsutyet, but plan to. My DH is resistant due tothe PIA factor, but I'm working on that. We nurse and then use a bottle of formula parallel to his body to keep him working on sucking or the other way around. After I nurse I get maybe 5ml. Is this tiny amount ever going to increase?

I don't know how much breastmilk he is getting, but he consumes alot of formula (relatively speaking) so I am assuming little. We also do finger syringe feeding and use the syringe at times on my breast. I seem to produce a spray every once in a while when I squeeze a nipple. He also really likes the breast and sometimes even prefers it. He only wants a bottle or rquires the syringe when he is super hungry and nothing much is coming out. It happens but not all the time.

Are there any easy ways to use th e lact-aid? Mostly just setting itup? And how long can formula be at room temp once it's out of it's original container?

It seems like I have a lot of questions and need alot of reassurance.

Thanks,

Deb

Hi Deb,

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You see? You must be so happy you didn't make any quick decisions.

Oh about supplementation. Please inform your husband that babies learn to breastfeed by breastfeeding and that supplementation needs to be done at the breast. Using the lact-aid will help further stimulate your own milk production. Bottle feeding will set you up for all kinds of problems the most important of which is the baby may become more used to the bottle.

Educate me please "PIA" factor?

You must discard unused formula after 1 hour and you must not reuse the formula once the baby is finished feeding. It has to be discarded unless you're using the Lact-aid because the formula passes from the bag to the tubing and not back again. So unused formula in the Lact-aid can go back in the fridge. But again, even with the Lact-aid, once the formula has been at room temperature for an hour, you need to dump.

Some moms prepare several Lact-aid trainers and keep them in the fridge. You can keep them in a container all together or you can purchase a Lact-aid holder that can support 8 trainers at www.lact-aid.com Then just grab one out of the fridge and put in the pocket of your shirt or around your neck. Here's something you probably don't know. It's ok to feed cold formula. You don't have to warm it. And when it mixes with your warm milk at your breast, it's even better.

Whatever breastmilk your baby is getting from you is a precious gift that only you can give. Don't compare the amounts at this time. Just breastfeed and top up and enjoy your baby.

Best,

Lenore PIA means Pain in the @$$
Bakerybabe trust me coming from both avenues the lact-aid is less of a PIA than what you are doing now. It does take a little getting used to latching with it but once you get the hang of it your life will be so much easier. Feed baby with lact-aid and then pump after.
You are doing fine.
And congratulations on your little bundle of Joy.

Deb,

I'm so happy for you that the BM changed her mind and you are the proud new mommy of a wonderful new baby. Post a picture so we can see your new bundle of love. Keep up with the nursing...it is about so much more then producing milk. The bond we share when breast feeding is so amazing. I'm so glad I did it-and you will be too.

oh I just thought of something while rereading this thread. When you get baby to latch you can then thread the lact-aid in. This is how some moms do it so it maybe worth a try to you. The longer he stays on the breast the more stimulation you will have, but you know that. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Having the lact-aid there to provide nourishment will keep him at the breast.