Tue, 20 May 1997 18:31:54 -0400
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Hi Kathy! I'm sure there will be a ton of posts on this, but I'm caught up
so here goes... Usually you see the baby move from a sleep state into quiet
alert; they will root, open mouth, suck whatever goes in the mouth. I very
much like to point this out to parents so they can "read" their babies -
many have no clue what a baby "says". I also point out that when the "tank
is empty", the hands are tight-fisted & near the mouth. When the "tank is
full" the arms relax & the hands open like flower blooming. (Think I got
that neat ditty here!)
I also point out that crying is the last resort signal & results in a baby
that finally gets into moms arms, says AHHHHHHHHH..., then goes to sleep
often with little or no suckling. My case for rooming in! As a newborn
nursery nurse (in my former life) I sadly relied on crying as the "go out to
mom" signal for those non-rooming in babies. So many feeding opportunities
were missed. How else can a VERY busy nurse with 20 or so babies see all
those quiet signals. But that's another thread...& a case against the
central nursery!
Debbie Shinskie RN CES IBCLC in Millersburg, PA, USA
[log in to unmask]
http://www.epix.net/~shinskie/
"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea."
-Isak Dinesen
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