Make your own SNS/ Lact-Aid?

[Mommy2Austin]

I've been trying to figure out if you could make your own SNS or Lactaid. Ideally I want to buy one, but I don't think we can afford the $$ plus everyone tells you to get more than one and thats practically impossible! If it's not possible what would you suggest doing? TIA

P.S. Just in case you are wondering I want to get my 7 mo (today!) back to breast. Even if I never get him off the SNS and it is just formula in the tube I just want to get that bonding experience.

[twinsarefun]

The Lact-Aids are super expensive. One way to cut the cost for the SNS is to buy everything separate and not as a set. I'd have to look up the part numbers. I am hooked to a pump right now. Some people have made Lact-aids from baby bottles. Jack newman has women take the tube and insert it in a bootle. That is not very comfortable though for long term use. I think with ordering the Madela parts, you can sqeeze by only paying about $20. That is without the neck tie. You can just attach ribbon for that. Most SNS's are sold in kits. You often don't need the different sized tubes and lid for the SNS. You may need it later though. The kits sell for about $45. Sometimes you can find on e-bay for less. I'll try and come back to this later if you interested in more info. I also have the phone number for the company where Dr. Newman buys his tubing.

[Mommy2Austin]

Originally Posted by twinsarefun

The Lact-Aids are super expensive. One way to cut the cost for the SNS is to buy everything separate and not as a set. I'd have to look up the part numbers. I am hooked to a pump right now. Some people have made Lact-aids from baby bottles. Jack newman has women take the tube and insert it in a bootle. That is not very comfortable though for long term use. I think with ordering the Madela parts, you can sqeeze by only paying about $20. That is without the neck tie. You can just attach ribbon for that. Most SNS's are sold in kits. You often don't need the different sized tubes and lid for the SNS. You may need it later though. The kits sell for about $45. Sometimes you can find on e-bay for less. I'll try and come back to this later if you interested in more info. I also have the phone number for the company where Dr. Newman buys his tubing.

Thanks I checked out medela's site and they have the insturctions there with the seperate parts order numbers. I'll check them out thanks!

[Mommy2Austin]

Ok...I bit the bullet and bought an SNS on ebay I paid 43.50 total. It was $38 for the system and $4 shipping plus $1.50 for the insurance. Crossing my fingers and praying that it'll work!:

[puppeteermom]

So confused! I got my SNS for FREE. The one I am planning to use and the one I used with baby #1. Was my LC just really, really nice? She tells me that Medela gives these out FREE at their place...So confused! :

-Heidi

[twinsarefun]

Wow. What a nice LC. I bought mine from a LC that works at the hospital I delivered at. Maybe Madela gave her some for advertisement purposes. I know a lot of LC's and this doesn't seem to be the standard. That is unless, the LC's are selling the system when they got it for free? :

[Mommy2Austin]

Did they give you the full version or just the starter one?

[puppeteermom]

Pondering...

No, it's an actual, honest-to-goodness SNS. And she specifically told me that Medela gave them away to LC's...though perhaps it's because she's at a teaching hospital or something? I dunno...

Ever so thankful,
Heidi

[monamcmona]

making an SNS is actually really simple. All you need is a syringe, and some tubing! You could get both of these at a medical store. you would want to get a few syringes and change them around for cleaning! This is what they use in the NBICU (I work as a lab tech).
You could probably get all of this for under 5 bucks! I bought an SNS and really regret it. Not only did DD not use it, but I overpaid for something I could easily have made.

[pugmommy7]

i bought mine used from a mama on my breastfeeding support group. they were great and i have since passed mine onto another mama.
this is an "at your own discretion" thing, but I knew and trusted the mama.
The mama I gave them to knew me and was using donor milk anyway with an adopted child.
It is a wonderful thing and I know lots of mamas who use one and have had great bonding breastfeeding experience with it.
my motto is: I may not be providing 100% of my child's nutritional needs, but I am providing 110% of her breastfeeding needs"

good luck finding some.
oh and btw try freecycle,a girl was looking for a syatem on my local freecycle recently. or post an in search of on the trading post. Ya never know

[twinsarefun]

That is interesting about the syringe. What size syringe is that? What kind? What size tubing? Is the the 5 french? That is what Dr. Newman uses with his patients.

[boheime]

Personally, I don't care for the syringes. Besides needing a hand to push the plunger, I don't feel like like they mimic breastfeeding very well - as the baby or child isn't controlling the flow.

You can make something similar with a bottle and tube (such as a premature infant feeding tube). Trim the nipple in the bottle so that it is large enough for the feeding tube to go through. Feed the feeding tube through the artificial nipple so that the small end that goes in the child's mouth is on the outside and the capped end is on the inside at the bottom of the bottle. You can just set the bottle down. This can work well for young newborns. However, as the child gets older and moves around more, I find that the bottle tends to get knoced over. I suppose you could sew a little sling to go around your neck and hold it, though. That might solve the problem. The feeding tube works similarly to the SNS or Lact-Aid in this manner - allowing the child to control the flow.

I am a long-term user of Lact-Aids. You can resuse bags several times before replacing them (unless they get yucky). Also, I have found that the LA strainers tend to grow mold and need to be thrown out. Instead, I use disposable coffee filters. They are very inexpensive. I place one over a glass, folding about 1/2-3/4 of an inch over the outsides, and fill with supplement. After the filter is wet, it will stay on the glass without you holding it. To speed things up, I usually start 2-3 glasses so that it can be filtering while I am making other LAs.

Another tip when making formula from powder - use warm filtered water and toss the water and powder in the blender. The blender helps mix it very well, amking clogs less likely.

[twinsarefun]

Yes. The blender works great. If you have a Vita-Mix blender, you can even skip the filtering all together. The Vita-Mix is a 2 HP speed, so it really dissolves everything. I make a quart of formula per batch. I put in two .5 L water bottles + another 1/2 c. of water, 1 1/2 cups of formula, and one 1300 mg. capsule of evening primrose oil (GLA for immune system). This usually lasts me 1/2 day with twins. For singletons, it would probably be good for 24 hrs. When I was using the Lact-Aids, I would take the blue funnel and run water in it to rinse out before re-filling the Lact-Aid. Also, I would skip the glass set up. I would just simply put in the funnel and fill up. This made things so much easier. I guess you kind of what ever tricks that will help to make things smoother. With twins, you gotta do so.

[boheime]

Do you know if only the Vita-Mix blender elminates the need to strain? I would love to stop straining. When I learned about using the blender, I really noticed the difference in the supplement right away. It does take time to wait for the supplement to strain (which is why I typically have 2-3 going at once to save time). If I could skip that, it would be nice. We have a nice Kitchen-Aid mixer - but it looks lik eit has less wattage than the Vita-Mix blender.

[twinsarefun]

I'm not sure if the Vita-Mix is the only way to avoid straining. You could try blending the formula for about 5 minutes and then let it sit for a while in the fridge before using. I would think that with all of this, the powder would dissolve. Let us know how it goes.

[Mommy2Austin]

Thanks for all the suggestions ladies I didnt realize that there was a need to strain before you put it in the sns...thanks for the warning!

[Laurel]

I don't strain my supplement.: I used to to it faithfully, but then I got really lazy and would only do it sometimes. Now I do it maybe once a week. Honestly, I haven't noticed a difference between when I do and when I don't.

I don't mix in a blender. I have a formula-mixing pitcher that I got from Babies R Us. It has a plastic blade-type thing in the top that is supposed to get the lumps out. I just shake it really hard, and it's been fine.

[twinsarefun]

Another thing, I would nurse the baby first and then use the tube (if your baby will do that . Since you are relactating, you may just have to use it from the very beginning. If baby just will not go with the tube, you can always pull it through the nipple shield since that is similar to the bottle. I have never tried that but have read of some women doing it. Madela says to use the tube through the whole feed. That is not entirely accurate and will take milk away from you. It also does not say anything in their directions about straining, but it really helps if you are not mixing in the blender. Never ever make the formula in a bottle or cup and then put into the container. The tubes get clogged very easily. After each feed, rinse out the container and/or clean with a bottle brush with soap and water. With water in the container, squeeze the water through to clean the tube. This will help to keep them clog free. This also is not in the directions but is very essential. You can pm if you need any other help. I wish you well. Many women have made it through this. You seem pretty determined, so go for it! I would recommend a hospital grade pump for pumping after each feed. That might help to get the supply up. You can also go to the kellymom.com forum. They have a relactation section there that is great.

[raeanneb]

Wow, I was just going to post about this!
I was going to ask if anyone knew about any organizations that would have these available for low-income moms...
DS had his 6 month check-up and had only gained 10 oz since his 4 mo. appt; then had a follow-up 2 weeks later, had gained 12 oz; then today (1 week since follow-up) had WIC appt and has lost 9 oz And when he only weighs 15 lb 13 oz, 9 oz is pretty big
SO, needless to say, I probably need to be supplementing, since I've been BF'ing often and I know my supply is doing well (it had gone down considerably, but in the 2 weeks between his checkup and the followup, it came back full force). Problem is, he absolutely REFUSES to drink from a bottle, sippy, regular cup... anything but me. He gets incredibly upset and then won't eat even from me.
Can anyone tell me where to get the tubing? I found tubing on the Lact-Aid website (a set of 4 tubes) for $7.95, but was wondering if there would be a local source (i.e. drugstore, hardware store, LLL)?
I tried tonight to just use some pump tubing I have, but he noticed it too much and it just made him bite me. I'm planning to do the bottle thing with the tube, if I can find the tube. Otherwise I guess I'll have to order it off of the Lact-Aid website.
TIA!

[twinsarefun]

The tube set up you would get from Lact-Aid is not the one you mentioned. That is only the actual tube that attaches to the main tubing. I don't have the form in front of me (pumping), but you would need the whole set up of tube with the feeding tube attached. I think it is about $16.95. Some women use this with a baby bottle. They invert the nipple and poke a hole. They add a neck ribbon and use that. There is a supply in canada where you can get just tubing. I don't know how much it is. You would ask for the 5 french tube. You can go to Dr. Jack Newman's site and he has a video download where you can watch the use in action.

www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html

Starkman's Surgical Supply in Toronto, [phone]