Things you learn....

As I began researching the whole adoption process, a few things really surprised me. The biggest surprise was that adoptive moms have the ability to breastfeed. I never knew that was possible, but it is. They may not be able to provide all the nutrients for their baby but they can produce some milk. I always thought you needed to be pregnant for that, but apparently not. There are many methods for women who want to induce lactation. One of them is to take herbs and get a hospital grade breast pump and start pumping.

Unfortunately, due to some issues I have and some medication I am on, I have been advised by my doctor not to breastfeed. It made me really sad, until I started researching bottle feeding. In this world where you are almost demonized if you do not try to breastfeed, there is not a lot of information out there on bottle feeding. What I learned though, is that a very real connection can happen with bottle-feeding as well as breast feeding.

We have already met with a pediatrician and he assured us that our baby will get all they need from formula and while it is not perfect, it is a more than suitable form of nutrition. This is such a personal choice for not just adoptive moms, but all moms. What moms have in common though, is they are doing what they and their pediatrician feel is best for their babies.  It has taken me awhile with being okay to let go of the sadness that I have that I will be unable to breastfeed. But, like everything else in adoption, it may be different and that is okay.

Some women obtain donated breast milk. While there are some benefits to this, as antibodies in breast milk are valuable, we ultimately decided against this after much research. Unless someone we know donates milk to us, we will stick to formula feeding. The way women who wish to get donated milk do so, is largely through facebook sites where other women donate their extra milk. The problem with this is the milk is not regulated and it is impossible to know what the women donating are eating, drinking or smoking. So because of this, we will stick to formula which provides consistent nutrition.

The one thing I know for sure, is that the most important thing that our child can get is adequate nutrition and a copious amount of  love, and I know that we can provide that in spades.