I feel differently about pushing fluids than most of the posters seem to
be.  I find that if I use a general formula of 64 oz for mom, and 2-3 oz
 per pound per baby, that when, at my request, moms measure their fluid
intake, they are frequently at about half of what they "should" be.

They generally insist that they are drinking "gallons" and all day long,
but when we measure, they barely are drinking enough for their own
needs.
>
I believe that thirst is yet another of our body signals which has been
stifled to the point that people simply don't "hear" it.
For example: Beginning in elementary school, most kids experience a
significant drop in fluid intake because they simply don't have ready
access to drinks.  It's not unusual for a child to have one drink at
lunch and nothing else the entire school day, whereas, if they were
home, they would have been drinking far more than that.  When we, at
school or work, learn to go for extended periods without drinking
(sometimes to avoid potty breaks), we train ourselves not to heed our
sense of thirst, and stop hearing it.
>
I certainly don't want anyone getting water intoxication, but, in my
experience, the moms of multiples I work with, are very far from that
and lack of adequate hydration is just one more negative event which,
when combined with severe sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, (no time),
and very high stress levels, can cause some of "my" moms to have trouble
maintaining their supply.

--

Denny Rice, RN, IBCLC
Dallas Texas USA

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