Hi Kris
I am a bit behind in posts but wanted to comment on your 'bike' analogy. I
often use this line too ;-)
You asked about original authors. Well I don't know if this *the* original
author but I first picked this idea up from Sue Cox's book "Breastfeeding I
can do that" (1997). Sue is a well respected Aussie LC from Tasmania.

I have pasted the text (page 1)

"Did you learn how to ride a bike? Remember how you watched everyone else
with a bike just hop on and ride away and imagined that if only you could
have
a bike you could join them all, and you secretly said to yourself "Riding a
bike.
I can do that!" Along came your bike, maybe with trainer wheels which you
silently scoffed at, and you hopped on and whizzed up and down on any flat
surface you could find. After lots of coaxing a dear parent finally removed
the
trainer wheels and then suddenly as you landed in the bushes you found that
watching experienced riders had not really helped you to understand what to
do. But with practice you could keep the bike straight until one day you
hopped on the bike and away you went and wondered why you had found it
so difficult.
The same will follow for your early breastfeeding experiences. Hopefully,
you
have seen a woman breastfeed and she probably simply lifted up her shirt
and the baby popped on the breast easily. The mother sat and chatted to you,
occasionally looking down to smile or caress her baby but really did not
appear
to concentrate on helping the baby to attach or stay sucking.
So you have secretly said to yourself "Breastfeeding. I can do that!".
Now your baby is growing beautifully within you and you have cuddled
many babies and feel you are ready to take "the trainer wheels" off and
start
breastfeeding."

I also add another slant for my antenatal breastfeeding classes that goes
something like this (while I am demonstrating positioning etc with dolls and
they are 'practising' feeding their dolls)
 "can you imagine me showing books/magazines/videos on how to  ride a
bike......do you think you would know how to ride one first go, if I gave
you your bike after 'pretending' to ride one? (....No)....Well.... feeding a
baby is the same.....you can read lots of books, go to 'lessons' but until
you have got that baby in your arms, you really wont know how it *feels* to
do it........and just like riding that bike, you *will* have a few spills,
but you get right back on and before you know it *is* second nature....etc
etc etc

Love sharing those tips on how to get things across!
Cheers
Karen Clements RM IBCLC
Melb Aust

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