Adoptive nursing
So. Adoptive breastfeeding.
I just spoke with a nurse at my health practice and I got the green light to go ahead. My doctor wasn't in today, but her nurse looked over my chart and said that I'm all set to induce lactation. She also said that my doctor is extremely committed to breastfeeding and has nursed her own child while working for the past 2 years. Even better, the nurse says they have at least one other nursing adoptive mama as a patient. I'm glad I called; I feel much more comfortable knowing that my health practice has my back.
The nurse referred me to a local lactation consultant, so I called her, too. She referred me to the ever-popular Newman-Goldfarb protocol, so I feel even more confident that I've been getting good information during my own research into all of this. Since the nurse says that my doctor follows the recommendations of the lactation specialists, it seems like I won't have many problems trying to follow the N-G protocol if that's what I decide to do. So that's good, too.
My biggest fear in all this is that DSS will FREAK at the thought of adoptive nursing. I'm going to get all the info I can beforehand; I don't want to jeopardize our placement in any way, so if I have to nurse on the DL, I will. Does anyone have tips for broaching the subject with our social worker?
I just spoke with a nurse at my health practice and I got the green light to go ahead. My doctor wasn't in today, but her nurse looked over my chart and said that I'm all set to induce lactation. She also said that my doctor is extremely committed to breastfeeding and has nursed her own child while working for the past 2 years. Even better, the nurse says they have at least one other nursing adoptive mama as a patient. I'm glad I called; I feel much more comfortable knowing that my health practice has my back.
The nurse referred me to a local lactation consultant, so I called her, too. She referred me to the ever-popular Newman-Goldfarb protocol, so I feel even more confident that I've been getting good information during my own research into all of this. Since the nurse says that my doctor follows the recommendations of the lactation specialists, it seems like I won't have many problems trying to follow the N-G protocol if that's what I decide to do. So that's good, too.
My biggest fear in all this is that DSS will FREAK at the thought of adoptive nursing. I'm going to get all the info I can beforehand; I don't want to jeopardize our placement in any way, so if I have to nurse on the DL, I will. Does anyone have tips for broaching the subject with our social worker?
posted by Clementine at 2:20 PM
7 Comments:
Well I don't of course have any first-hand advice or know anything about DSS or how they feel about this, but can I just ask why it's any of their business anyway? I wouldn't think you'd have to feel bad keeping it from them. But would it be a problem? What happens after you have a child placed - does the social worker keep visiting you?
I just think it's none of their concern.
shortnorthmama has an adoptive breastfeeding blog here: http://adoptivebreastfeeding.wordpress.com/
She's totally cool (she's the An American Family blogger) and I suspect you'll like her writing.
Thanks for the link, frog. I'm glad there are so many resources nowadays about ABF--the internet is a lifesaver on this topic. I also feel v. lucky to know (in real life) Ms. Round is Funny; she is nursing her son right now. She's giving me lots of advice and support, and I'm v. grateful to her!
And Jane, I'm not sure about DSS and their role in all this. If we get a tiny baby, s/he will probably be visiting with her/his birthparents on a weekly basis, and we'll have at least 2 social worker home visits each month. Add to that all of the early intervention home visits we'll probably have, visits from my child care licensing, and all of the kids' families in and out of the house and you'll see why I'm a little concerned about keeping DSS in the dark. Also, if any of this is in the baby's medical chart, DSS will know about it, anyway. Adoptive nursing seems like good parenting to me, but I know some folks freak out about it. If I have to ask permission to cut our kid's hair, it seems like they might want me to ask permission to nurse, too. It's hard to know how much in the world of parenting they'll leave up to Petunia and me and how much they'll want to be involved in. Sigh.
I see what you mean. Hmmmm. Well hopefully you can find some folks who might have more advice or experience in this realm and with DSS. Good luck, lady!
I'll direct Big G to this post & see what she has to say, m'kay? It's her area of expertise - me, I'm clueless.
Hi - I've been directed here by Neasa. (see above). And who says I don't do what I'm told? :-)
Forgive me for coming in at the last second & if I address issues that you already have clarified. I have a few thoughts/suggestions but they are based on the baby's "legal status". The question I would first have is if the baby is legally free for adoption (i.e., have birthparents signed off or have parental rights been terminated by the court).
If you'd like, I'd be happy to talk about this with you privately. You can contact me through my blog: http://bigguinea.blogspot.com
Good luck!
BigG
Thanks, Neasa and BigG! I really appreciate your help.
Post a Comment
<< Home