Hi all,

Having successfully (I think) negotiated a flashsession AND saved on disk,
I'm feeling a bit more intelligent this morning.  Thank you Martha, O queen
of not-quite-everything-yet.  (But getting close).

With a couple of the moms I had, we made a sling out of wide stockinette for
the breast which effectively lifted it.  It went under the breast and then
around the neck.  There's a great picture of it in Bestfeeding, Getting
Breastfeeding Right for You.  (Can't claim the idea is original).  Worked
well, and the mom could concentrate on the football hold with the baby and
guiding the areola rather than holding the breast.

Joan Beck had a column in the Chicago Tribune today about the short stay:
 "The nexyt push - six-hour hospital stays after giving birth."  One of her
comments was excellent, and is a focus that I haven't seen anyone else say.
 "Feeding - either by breast or bottle - may not go smoothly at first and
should be established before the baby goes home to avoid risks of
dehydration."  Yeah!  Finally SOMEONE recognizes that babies are also at risk
if BOTTLE feeding isn't done correctly.  She's the first in the media to
suggest that perhaps bottle feeding also might not go smoothly, and stop
blaming everything on breastfeeding.  Wunderbar!

And a nice bit from "my" hospital this morning.  I was informed that as of
last week, the hospital had stopped requiring the 6 hour "first feed" of
water to check and make sure the baby could suck & swallow.  Breastfeeding
now counts!  (Must be observed by a nurse to make sure there are no color
changes - and since I am a nurse and observed this baby feeding, it
counted!!)  Oh happy day!  I was just telling the mom to refuse it when the
nurse told me that.  Finally, something good.

Jan B.