Would you breast feed someone elses child? - Page 2

[stormborn]

Yes! Dh has a friend I see occasionally whose baby (AIM fed, long sad story) has reflux~ IMO could have been prevented by bf. Anyway...every time I hold this baby I have the urge to whip out a boob! And would love to nurse this child but Mom would never allow....
Also a good friend is moving back to my town and we've already decided that for watching each other's babies pumping would be a waste of time since we are both bfing.

[WickidaWitch]

Stormborn-
what is AIM FED?
I would also like to add that ds2 was bf and had a reflux problem for a while.

[stormborn]

WickidaWitch~ AIM=Artificial infant milk.
Sorry if I inadvertantly linked reflux w/ form. feeding, but that particular situation hit a sore spot with me...guess I should give a bit more info. I'm convinced that this baby's prob was caused by a formula intolerence because Mom quit bf after 3 wks because-in a nutshell- she 'didn't want to be tied down with it'. Started the cheapest formula she could find without consulting her Dr., LC, etc. And then switched brand several times in a few weeks.
She then called me several times wanting to know why he was all of a sudden spitting up and fussing all the time. I expressed a few times-tactfully I hope- my opinion that she needed to either continue bfing before her milk dried up or at least consult a Ped about her formula choice...but no, she waited until the problem was severe enough for the ped to recommend surgical intervention..

Ahhh, this is getting way off subject...just wanted to explain a little before I gave the wrong impression.

[WickidaWitch]

Thank you for explaining that to me. sorry if I seemed nosey. I can be a real air-head sometimes.
Hope the baby is doing better.

[telekinetic pyro]

Originally posted by lisamarie
But.....when you see a crying baby, say at the mall or in church, and the mom does nothing to console it.....don't you just have the urge to put that dear baby to your breast and nourish them emotionally and physically?

Warmly~

Lisa

I nearly did nurse a girl I work with baby once. I was holding him and he got fussy. She had mentioned that when he woke up from his nap he would probably want to eat. Well he woke up and I said "oh I bet you are hungry aren't you big guy?" And lifted up my shirt (in the lobby of our very professional, corporate building none the less) the father of the child noticed what I was doing and kind of cleared his throat and I was like "oh yeah, here ya go" This baby is strictly formula fed and I'm not quite sure what I was thinking. Except I'm holding a baby he is hungry, I should feed him.

[lilyka]

It is such an intimate thing. It would have to be a baby I already had close bond with and would probably know for the rest or its life.

I certainly don't think there is anything wrong with nursing someone elses child though. unless of course the child objects.

[stormborn]

oh, Wickidawitch~ I didn't think you were being nosey!...just reread my post & thought it sounded kinda bit*#%y and might have offended so i'd better explain a little more.

And you are not an airhead! I love your posts!

[Irishmommy]

It would have to be a very close friend, and I would want permission prior, but that's about it!

[pie]

glh what do you mean by troll?

[lisamarie]

Mamapie~

I think, glh is referring to a troll that came strolling by EBF last winter. Am I right glh?

Warmly~

Lisa

[IfMamaAintHappy]

I have been a wetnurse, actually.

My friend needed emergency abdominal surgery, and her son was not yet on solids and would not take a bottle. I nursed him and my own 6 month old daughter for 24 hours. I had such a copious supply (thanks to my comfort nursing daughter) that I didnt even need to take anything to increase my supply.. I ate oatmeal for breakfast both mornings and made sure I was well hydrated.

It was a very interesting experience. It was harder for her, knowing someone else would be nursing her child... I would feel the same way. But as the actual wetnurse, other than being sleep deprived, I thought it was a very education experience. I mean, how many women in the US in the 21st century can say they have wetnursed?

[glh]

mamapie-Yes a similiar thread was started a few months ago. The person posted the same question currently posted here on this board and also simultaneously posted the same question on other boards and then she/he was never heard from again. Most people on the board concluded it may have been posted to stir up trouble. I notice that whoever started this thread has not posted since then, but who knows maybe she's legit.

[kama'aina mama]

Pie my dear, "troll" is internet slang for someone who goes about joining chats and posting inflammitory comments or in some other way creating controversy. When someone has virtually no posts and starts up a potential hot topic it is good to be cautious. This poster sounded authentic to me and we've had a good conversation so, no harm no foul in my book. A few months back we had someone post a similar Q in three or four different boards as their only posts here and the way the Q was phrased was sort of odd too. That really felt like a troll!

[Megs Mom]

I would nurse another person's baby with their permission and, obviously, if the baby was interested. I would HATE to have someone else nurse my baby, but I would do that if AIM were the alternative - i.e. if there were a very, very good reason I could not nurse her myself.

[glh]

kama'aina mama, I agree, if this was meant to stir things up she came to the wrong board!

[kama'aina mama]

glh... well, trolls don't always want to start a fight. I think some of us here worry about lacivious freaks with odd fetishes getting a cheap thrill off our earnest conversation. That's what the threads I mentioned before sort of seemed like. Or maybe that they would wait for us to say we think wetnursing is great and call us freaks... it's hard to suss out the motives of losers with no life, ya know?

[fraya]

I think I agree that having someone else nurse my son would be harder on me than nursing somebody else's child. I have had the urge to nurse a child whose caregiver is just letting the baby cry and scream, but I haven't done it. In a dire circumstance where I was absolutely not able to nurse, I would be grateful to have someone else nurse my child or at least give him EBM.

I am intrigued by the notion from that book, The Red Tent, that inter-nursing was frequent some time ago. What an interesting way to spread immunity around a community.

[tara]

I have nursed another woman's child. She is a friend of a friend whose baby was "failing to thrive" and absolutely refused a bottle or supplemental nursing system. The mama was feeling desperate and asked if I would nurse her babe. I thought she was incredibly brave to ask and immediately agreed to do it, even though I really felt that there was nothing wrong with her milk. She'd been to LCs and a couple of docs and I wasn't going to argue with her, kwim? I was going to help her in any way I could! I nursed the little babe once (she was 5 months old at the time and teeny tiny). She latched right on and gobbled since she was hungry, but once the hunger passed she looked up and me and cried for her mama! It was all really hard for this mama, who was feeling inadequate and didn't know how to help her babe. I agreed to nurse the babe twice a day for as long as it took, but that very day the mama got some better advice from a different LC and while the babe is still pretty teeny, they're doing fine!

I would do it again in an instant for any mom who asked me. If I was in a position to need another woman to nurse my babe, it would be very hard emotionally but I'd consider it a loving gift.

[pie]

oh I know what a troll is. If this was started by a big stinky troll then I hope it's ****** falls off.

[Where the boys are]

My first instinct is to say I would only nurse my Sister's baby (our kids have only shared EBM so far), or the baby of a close friend. But really, when it comes down to it, if any of us saw a babe with a real need or if someone needed help and asked, could any nursing mama look at that baby and say no? Probably not, no matter how uncomfortable we were. That's the root of why nursing is so beautiful and what makes it a gift.

Go forth and make milk!