Adoptive AP???

[hsmom26]

A good friend of mine just adopted a newborn yesterday :heart , their third adopted child, and I was wondering if any of you had experiences with doing AP with adopted babies that I could share with her. Her parenting style with her older kids seems very AP to me anyway but I'm just curious about how some things might be different with adopted babies, like say, bottle feeding instead of breastfeeding. I know you can nurse adopted babies (something I'd love to do myself) but she doesn't think she wants to. So if you bottle feed do you "bottle feed with love" like Dr. Sears suggests or do you schedule? She's using a sling which is great but probably won't be nursing in it, unless she decides to try nursing! :) Even though I don't use a pacifier with my babies I know bottle babies need one so I guess you use the paci. like you would if you were nursing in the sling. (My babies nursed constantly in the sling in the early months.)

She's such a wonderful mom that she'll do a great job - her older kids are so well attached that you'd think they were breastfed for 3-4 years! She's really an example of a mom who bottlefeeds like she's breastfeeding, which I think is rare. She doesn't prop the bottle and she always used a Baby Bjorn a lot for her other babies, held them a lot, given them lots of attention, not over-relying on "baby buckets". (Which even many breastfeeding moms do.) She's trying out the sling for this one and I think I'll convert her! ;) I'm so happy for her - she and her husband really deserve this baby. They wanted to have as many kids as God would give them but so far haven't been able to have them on their own but who knows, maybe one day. Like she said, they wouldn't have been able to adopt these three children if they'd had their own already so maybe NOW God will give them birth babies to add to these other ones!

Anyway, if anyone has stories to share of APing adopted children, especially babies or resources you know of I'd love to pass it on to her. And I'd love to adopt one day in addition to having as many as God gives me of my own so I'd be interested in hearing for myself, as well.
Thanks :-)

[lenswyf]

Breastfeeding is ideal, but doing AP with a bottle-fed baby is totally possible. Taking the time to hold baby while feeding, taking care that baby is able to look into at your face while feeding, come to mind. Nothing else needs to be different. Wearing baby, co-sleeping, etc. can all happen with a bottle fed baby.

[Reva]

I'm an AP bottle feeder. ;) I physically *can't* bf (milk has never come in for any of my 3 pg :( ) but I do bottle feed w/ love. I have never propped a bottle, and as I feed them I look into their little eyes, talk to them, etc. So yeah, it's possible. And we cosleep (still! Dd is almost 5 :heart ) and bottle feeding has never really played a role in that. The only thing I don't do is wear my babies, but only b/c I can't get the hang of the sling. :( BUT I have a carrier on the way to me even as I speak, so I"m hoping both Matthew and I will both like it.

Good luck to your friend (and to you too, as you consider an adoption journey :heart ).

[mommyTay]

AP with a bottle fed baby can be a very special time too!
I did AP with my foster children. The youngest was 5 months. Then I taught the parents to AP, the transition back home has gone very well. I have even taught her to use a sling and she quit propping bottles. :tu

I am still hoping that we will be able to take in a little foster child and eventually adopt. I miss having a houseful of little ones. :sad2