Some days are worse than others, and the last week at my unit has been
depressing indeed for a breastfeeding enthusiast.  But recently I received
several gifts and they are too good to keep to myself.  These are what keep
me going when it seems like nothing is going right.  Enjoy.
1 - mother of twins, the fifth set born on our unit in a 10 day period, and
we have only 150 births/month.  All the other twins are being supplemented
with formula and some are getting no breastmilk at one week. These 2 full
size boys were born at term, and mother confides that she had to wean first
child at 18 months, to her great sadness, in order to start hormone
treatment to prepare for the IVF which was needed to conceive the twins.
She is very open to inviting her now 3 y/o daughter back to the breast, and
actually is hoping it will happen - encouraged by the daughter's tentative
tasting and saying 'mmmmm!'.
Best part: mother is a public health nurse herself - so the ring from this
pebble has great potential in the pond

2 - first time mother of term boy who seemed clueless and indifferent the
first couple of days, then became very jaundiced and was given phototherapy
for a few more, fed supplemental formula as mother's own production had
barely gotten started.  Mother insisted he be cup fed, which is the official
policy here but often circumvented by the bottle mafia at night.  ('Here,
you are exhausted, let us feed him while you sleep, he needs supplements
anyway so you can skip a feed or two and get some rest.')  This mother gave
all the feeds herself except those given by father.  Baby still having
difficulty at breast on day 8, and due to low census on the ward she was
'able' to stay that long to get BF sorted.  The risk of giving up completely
is huge with these mothers, as staff patience wears thin after about 4 days
of non-latching and they don't hesitate to let mothers know.  I think it was
oroboobular disproportion or some variant thereof.  She came back for follow
up as an outpatient three days after going home, had not been successful at
getting baby to latch at home, continued cup feeding and pumping so supply
is now approaching his needs.  Weight gain is normal.  Baby latched with
minimal assistance from mother in my office, latching well for the first
time in his life, and then drank his fill while mother seemed to float right
out of the chair.  He let go several times to smile at her, and even at me,
and then continued his meal, which was about 2 oz.  I wouldn't have weighed
him after feeding if I hadn't been confident he was really guzzling; he went
to breast in only a diaper just after we had done his net weight check so it
was simple.  The staff person who had been of most help to her was on duty
at the time and was invited in to see the results of her efforts last week,
and proceeded to heap praise on the mother for her persistence and
dedication - and I was thinking this was supposed to be a reward for the
staff person!  She neatly deflected all praise back onto the mother, without
seeming at all contrived, and then SHE floated a few cm over floor level for
the rest of the shift.

3 - SIL of a colleague sends message of thanks via colleague.  Her firstborn
is scheduled to have his first CLP repair surgery in the not so distant
future.  He comes eagerly and happily to the breast but is unable to
transfer milk, so is being fed expressed milk, which she has in abundance
thanks to a good start with double pumping from day 3.  She had been at a
pre-surgery course for parents of CLP babies and felt she had gotten
infinitely better info and support than any of the others there, who came
from other areas, which prompted her to send word to us.  I look forward to
getting the opportunity to help them on the next leg of their journey after
his surgery.

I am sure all of you have mothers in your mental albums who think warm
thoughts of you every time they feed their babies, for being there at the
crucial moment.  Treasure them.  These nuggets are what get us through
things like the shocking betrayal of BF mothers and his own colleagues
exhibited by a leader of the AAP in his letter to the Sec'y of HHS.  The
members of the breastfeeding section in the AAP are in a situation analogous
to that of the isolated (and frequently maligned) breastfeeding supporters
in many institutions.  Who among us does not have a debt of gratitude for
the work they (Gartner, Lawrence, many others) have done on all our behalfs?
It's time to come to their aid and write those letters.  Mothers and
children need it.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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