I hope you are still here, since it has been several weeks since you posted! I just barely registered, here. The other message boards I have been on have either been closed, dried up or are slow, now, so I thought I would see if I could help out here.

I have nursed 6 children, who were adopted through a variety of situations. My youngest child is now 15. I never even had access to domperidone, so I just did it naturally. Like most moms who do it that way, I produced milk, but needed to supplement over the long-term. Most produce somewhere between 25-75% of the babies intake; during the period that the baby is totally fed on breast milk and EBM or formula supplement. Quite a few are able to dispense with supplementation at the breast, once the baby is taking a significant amount of other foods and liquids.

When you start nursing with the Lact-Aid,it is best to try to nurse every 2-3 hours (that's from the start of one session to the start of the next), and not go more than four hours overnight. You are trying to convince your body that there is a baby who needs milk, even though you haven't given birth to one, and that takes a good amount of effort. Some people try to pump in between those feedings. You can if you want, but I think it is often best to rest while the baby is asleep. Another option, is to pump the opposite side while the baby is feeding.

Even a small amount of breast milk is beneficial. Babies are born with stores of maternal antibodies. However, those are specific to the birth mom's environment and not to the adoptive home, which makes an adoptive mom's milk even more beneficial!

I didn't used to recommend pumping in advance, much. Due to a variety of things, like there being advances in pumps and accessories, I take a more positive view than I once did. However, it is still important to know that pumping is optional. Having a baby come along without notice isn't as common as it used to be (I had less than 24 hours notice with my first two), but it still happens. Even now, it is not uncommon to find out about a baby only a short time beforehand. If you have a Lact-Aid kit ready, you can just start suckling the baby when he/she shows up! Most will get drops of milk in two weeks or less; many in just a few days.

If you have time, and want to pump, you can do it however often is workable for you. There is no set amount of time that you have to do it. More frequency is usually better than longer sessions. Not many moms are able to pump a significant amount of milk without taking domperidone, although most of those produce ounces when they replace the pump with a baby. Pumps don't have the same psychological effect as a baby at the breast does. Domperidone increases prolactin without the benefit of a baby.

Another option with a pump is just to use it for breast preparation, a few times a day for a few minutes. Just a decent manual pump is fine for that purpose. When we found out that we were going to get our third son, in 1989, we had a little over a week's notice. During that time, I used my little battery operated pump. I started with three times a day for 5 minutes, on a low suction setting, and increased everything a little bit each day. When I started nursing him, I didn't have nearly the amount of soreness as I had when I first started nursing my first two babies.

I didn't know about using herbs until I was well into my breastfeeding career. I did use fenugreek and fennel, beginning with my fifth baby. I made a quart of strong tea every morning, with three heaping teaspoonfuls of fenugreek seeds and one of fennel, to a quart of water brought to a boil and taken off the heat. Some ladies have let it steep for a long time, or even simmered it for quite a while, but it does get bitter. I only steeped mine for 3-5 minutes; any more and it burned my stomach, and I had a hard time drinking much of it. When I first made the tea, I added a little honey. I usually drank one cup warm, with some milk. Then, I filled the jar the rest of the way up with water and gradually drank it, iced, during the day. I felt like it gave me another 4 ounces or so, per day. It took doing that for a few days to see an increase, and I had to keep drinking it to keep up my supply. I really smelled like fenugreek, which Joseph loved! After he started walking, he would go in the laundry room and find one of my nursing bras or tops that had the fenugreek scent on it and then carried around like a security blanket, sniffing it. One time, he put one into the diaper bag, when we were getting ready for church. I hadn't noticed he put it in there, so I was very surprised when I looked over and he was sitting there sniffing a nursing bra!

You can also use herbs and pump but, from what I have seen, herbs are better for increasing milk production, once you get it started, than for starting it. It still may have an effect on preparing the breast to produce milk. At any rate, it certainly can't hurt! Another way that both fenugreek and fennel can be taken is just to take a spoonful and wash them down whole, like a mouthful of tiny pills. I much prefer the whole seeds over the ground or crushed forms you get in capsules or tea bags. It stays fresh much longer. It is much more economical, too!

Well, it is very late and I am not sure I am making sense. If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to try to answer them!

Best Wishes,
Darillyn