Adoption Under One Roof

When I was waiting to adopt a child, I read a ton of parenting books. I did not know a thing about parenting a child, so I wanted to read everything I could get my hands on so I would have some inkling of what I was doing.

Because I was in the process of adopting an infant, I mostly read books about taking care of a baby during the first year of life. I also read magazines geared toward new mothers. Whenever I read these resources, I was bombarded by messages about breastfeeding my baby.

Most parenting resources that I found pushed breastfeeding in multiple places. These articles would tell me that breastfeeding would result in a healthier baby with a stronger immune system who was smarter. “Breast is best” messages were woven into just about everything I read. There was only one little problem – As an adoptive mother-to-be, I was not lactating and probably never would.

I became very frustrated and depressed about the fact that I could not breastfeed my adopted child. Like any other new mother, I wanted what was best for my baby. I did not want to start him out in his life having a weaker immune system and not being as smart because he was a formula fed baby. However, I was unaware that breastfeeding the adopted child was even possible.

Then, I stumbled upon a passage in an adoption book that mentioned breastfeeding an adopted child in passing. I did some research and learned that I actually could breastfeed my adopted child. I was elated. However, as it turned out, I was never successful in lactating, so my adopted child never did get the benefit of eating breast milk.

But, you know what? He wound up having fewer ear infections and colds during his first year of life than most of his breastfed peers, and he has done just fine in school. Yes, breast milk is best, but breastfeeding is only one of many factors that influence who your child will become. I have grown to learn that the choice not to breastfeed an adopted child is not going to harm him for life. It is great to know that breastfeeding an adopted child is an option but also that your child will be just fine even without it.

Related Topics:

• Breastfeeding the Adopted Baby
• Adoptive Breast Feeding: Natural Ways to Induce Breast Milk
• Did You Breast Feed Your Adopted Baby?

Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt