[blparent] breastfeeding and prematurity

[Bernadetta Pracon]

Jan,
I know you say you've given up on trying to get your boy to nurse 
directly from the breast, but I thought I'd share something that seems 
to work for me somewhat. My son has had a lot of trouble latching on 
too; Well, he latches but then he gets confused as to what he's 
supposed to do afterwords. But I've been using a nipple shield and that 
seems to be just the thing to allow him to nurse properly. Also, with 
the nipple shield I have absolutely no problem positioning him, so if 
you need help with latching him directly, maybe the nipple shield would 
at least allow you to be able to do it yourself.  Granted, it's plastic 
and so there is a slight barier between the baby and the mom, but at 
least it's something. I can get him to nurse like that for fifteen 
minutes or so before he gets frustrated. Then it's time for the bottle.
 That being said, I do the frequent pumping thing too, as well as the 
tea, but I'm still having to supplement with some formula, something 
I'm not very happy about. If I may ask, what are aniseeds? I'm trying 
to increase my milk supply and make it last for as long as I can 
because my boy is still only three months old, and I hope I can keep 
nursing until he's a year old. It's crossed my mind to start taking one 
of those drugs like reglan, but I've been paying attention to what's 
been said on here about such drugs, and so I'm very hesitant. So I'm 
looking into whatever natural supplements I can find to help me keep up 
the supply. Maybe nine more months might be a real stretch for me, but 
I would probably be really upset if I had to give it up before Gabriel 
is six months old at least.

Bernadetta