I got a surprising number of private responses about my post about dogs and
babies.

It is funny, isn't it, how people can feel so connected to their animals and
disconnected from human relationships?  I think it's because the animals are
so non-threatening and non-judgemental.  I heard a very damaged woman once
say that she re-connected to the idea of a Higher Power by imagining that
God loved her the same way her dog did.  This helped her replace the image
of a judging diety with a nurturing one.  I  must meet people where they
are.  The very type-A couple I met with was essentially afraid that their
baby would introduce chaos theory into their formerly controllable life.
Pointing out that that spontineity was exactly what they LOVED about their
dogs, gave them some sense that they could also grow to love that about
their baby.  One reason I love breastfeeding so much is that if the mom gets
off to a good start, I know the activity itself will so protect the bonding
that, soon, she will become besotted with her baby.  But it can too easily
be thrown off track in the early days by obsessive scheduling.  So
reassuring parents that they CAN deal with the intensity of early baby care
is an important counseling strategy.  I often say:  "These newborns are very
high-intensity "pets".  But think about the last time you were in a
restuarant with a couple whose child has just learned to crawl or walk.  You
can't MAKE those kids stay on someone's lap.  So this phase of constant
in-arms care is short." Everyone has seen a parent wrestling to contain a
newly mobile child, so this image is vivid and convincing.    I like
reassuring parents that they can rise to the task of not only taking good
care of their child, but of enjoying the experience.

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
LactNews Press
www.lactnews.com

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html