Relactating

Mothers never stop thinking of ways to help their children. It doesn't matter how old the child is or what the problem is. So, when Justin received his diagnosis of Crohn's disease, I began to wonder if there was anything I could do to fix it. Quite frankly, I was petrified. I know that Crohn's is not something you have for a while and then get over it. It is a lifelong sentence. According to what I am currently reading, it can ravage major body systems and affect almost every aspect of family, life and work. Not a diagnosis to be taken lightly. I of course began to pray fervently for healing. Not just a lessening of the symptoms, not just a temporary reprieve. I wanted the Crohn's to be gone. Now, I am not into thinking that God needs my help to do his healing. And I don't make it a habit to try to tell Him how to do His job. But I did at least try to think of ways this healing might possibly come about. Being a lactation consultant, I have learned what a marvelous food human milk is for babies. It is unparalleled in its composition and in its capacity for providing protection against diseases of all kinds. The foundation that is laid in the early weeks of exclusive breastfeeding is so important for lifelong health. There is research that clearly backs this. I don't know why Justin has Crohn's since I breastfed him exclusively for 6 months and with complementary foods until he was 2-1/2 years. God has His own reasons. He also believes in second chances. Would he give Justin a second chance? Could it work the second time around? At first, I thought of donor human milk as a possibility. After all, Crohn's is a disease of the GI and human milk has anti-inflammatory properties. It would soothe his gut. But where do I get donor milk? Whose milk can I trust? There are milk banks, but they want $3.75 an ounce. Who can afford that? Then I began to wonder if I could relactate and be the donor myself. The more I thought of it, the more it made sense. My DNA is already imprinted on every cell in Justin's body. His body would recognize my milk as an old friend. And unlike donated milk from the milk bank, my milk would be raw and the immunities and antibodies intact. I am the perfect donor! But would I be able to relactate? In my enthusiasm, I began pumping with our Medela Symphony breastpump that we have in our lactation office. I was surprised to see a drop of fluid at the nipple when I turned the pump on. I kept this up every three hours for the next 4 days and each time was able to pull drops of colostrum-like liquid to the tips of my nipples. Not much, but a start. My nipples began to feel raw, much like they did in the early days of breastfeeding each of my three sons. I began using a little Lansinoh nipple ointment and triple antibiotic ointment. Both of these seemed to help a lot. I also had to experiment with flange size to get the right fit as I discovered that the 24 mm size shield was too small and caused irritation on the sides of my nipples from rubbing along the funnel of the flange during pumping. I also began inquiring of other lactation professionals if they had any pointers for me and my relactation efforts. One LC pointed out her set of relactation and induced lactation protocols which I thought very appropriately titled, "Menopause Protocol." I am 50 years old, and while I still have some periods, I feel that I am not far from complete cessation. I asked this LC for her advice. She suggested that I stop pumping and begin taking Ortho 1/35 for 28 days along with 10-20 mg. Domperidone, 3 times a day. She said this was necessary to "wake up" the breast tissue that had been involuted for the past 6 years. At the end of the 28 days I was to stop taking the Ortho 1/35, keep taking the Domperidone and resume pumping every 3 hours. I got through 21 days of the birth control pills that my doctor prescribed and my excitement couldn't be contained. My breasts were beginning to be fuller and were leaking milk. So I began pumping on July 5, 2006, every 3 hours for 20 minutes. Once again, I was on my way to making milk for my baby! Next post will give some of the nitty gritty on the galactagogues I have taken, the amounts I have pumped and am pumping and Justin's response to drinking the milk!