Thanks to all of you who responded to me privately about the post from
last night.

By the time I signed off the internet last evening I had info from
archive searches on rebirthing, arching babies, suck retraining, and
several other intuitively picked topics.  What a wonderful resource!
I'm still waiting for Santa to bring my BAB and Tom Hales book should
arrive by Priority Post Thursday if I'm lucky!  My dream order (written
out today during lunch) to LLLI added up to $299, so I guess that has to
wait for a while.

And by the time I left the house this morning I'd stressed the time
limit getting all the wonderful suggestions that came in during the
night.  Thank goodness for printers, cuz I just opened posts and hit
print and brought them along for all the stoplights, etc.  (Don't tell
the safety patrol, I may have even read some lines while moving slowly
(2-5 mph) through the most congested part of my 17 mile drive.

Mother reported some difficulty in pumping, but no more lumpy plugged
ducts.

Pacifier is gone.  Baby was given lots to eat yesterday (5-6 oz q 2-3
hours), had greenish explosive stool in afternoon.  Fortunately I'd
cautioned them that baby could be overfeeding and this could lead to
gas, discomfort and greenish stools.

G'ma expressed concern that baby needed to suck more than he got from
bottle-feeding and we talked about the benefits of sucking, pacifier use
in ICN, vs nipple confusion and tongue thrusting behaviors.  Both M & G
agreed to try offering their finger to baby.  I demonstrated technique
and both verbalized the importance of not gagging infant when finger is
drawn back towards soft palate.  That we are trying to desensitize the
poor little fellow, etc was common theme.

I brought along an infant massage video and handbook, suggested that
both mom and g'ma give massage.  And that mom spend as much time as
possible skin to skin--even when pumping.  G'ma was concerned about how
they could possibly allow infant to co-sleep with all of his monitoring
equipment in place. Mom seemed to think that she could manage it.

Suggested co-bathing and allowing baby to work his way towards breast if
he desired.  Again g'ma was less certain of it than mom.

One question that came up today had to do with custody and visitation
issues when baby is getting breastmilk but not breastfeeding.  This is
one of mom's "hurries" in getting baby to go to full breastfeeding.  I
need references on that if anyone has them.

With New Year's holiday and all I won't see family again until next
Tuesday.  It almost feels like abandonment to say "I'm not working
tomorrow', so I went ahead and gave them my home phone number.  I have
one coworker who accuses me of co-dependent behavior now and then!

Thanks again to all of you who are here with your years of experience
and willingness to share with those of us who wish we could hire out as
apprentices.  Your ability to describe in such wonderful word pictures
what you would do and how you would go about it is invaluable!

Thanks,
Melinda Hoskins, MS, RN LC2B

Was it really 19 years ago that we told our friends we wouldn't be
joining them for the New Year's Eve bash the residents were having, 'cuz
baby #1 was making her appearance?