Dear Diane,
I qualify to answer.  Oldest will turn 30 in July.
When I was first pregnant, one of the older (maybe 50 yo..well seemed old then) Deputy Sheriff I worked with
asked pretty outright if was going to breastfeed.  I said I was thinking about it...his
reply was "you know that's what they were made for, right?".  My first 'duh' moment.
My Lamaze class had some old versions of LLL News sitting around...I only glanced at them
as they were not available to take home.
The rest was luck.  My big girl (9#) nursed like a pro right from the start.  I had some
doubts about supply and found LLL and went to a couples meeting.  That Leader took
me aside and put her hand on my shoulder and whispered.."all your baby needs is YOU".
Second 'duh' moment.  I've had LLL in my life since that day.
Around 2 mos, ped suggested starting rice cereal...I knew that didn't sound right.  I asked
"do you think my 14# baby isn't getting enough with breastmilk?"
Asked my local Leader for a reference.  She said a friend of hers just started her Nurse Practitioner
practice with a new ped in Pasadena..he was very new, too..but this Nurse Practitioner was a LLL Leader and
the new ped was married to a Leader.  I am convinced now that that reference was one of my luckiest.
That nurse practitioner was Kittie Frantz!!!! (who to this day my adult children call "Dr. Kittie') 
And that brand new ped was William Sears!
Needless to say, I was in good hands.
Nursing lying down became a skill early because she was born during a hot summer.  I would put a cool
bedsheet down on the living room floor where it was coolest.  Shall I say, my breast anatomy allowed
me to nurse her without touching bodies.  Of course, not all feeds were that way.  The rest of nursing
lying down was at night because it was sooo easy to take care of her needs...but kept it a secret from the
grandparents for a long time.
Never hand expressed at all.  Only used a cylinder pump for the occasional times when I was away
more than 3-4 hrs...which hardly happened.  Learned hand-expression years later when I worked at the
Lactation Institute..but never was able to shoot it across the room like Chele could.
Thanks for the chance to recall those first fledgling days of parenting.
Renee'
North Hollywood, CA

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

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome