Diane noted,
<< Can we name every single time we ate/drank yesterday, even though we
weren't trying to gain weight? >>
I was just thinking about this (yet again) in relation to babies and
breastfeeding, and the dreaded (by the mothers) "snack" word. Recently I've
been telling mothers that babies are designed to breastfeed very often --
that's what is "normal" since bf is normal. However, our culture dictates
that babies eat a lot, no oftener than every three hours since that is how
bottle feeds work -- unless of course, you were brought up in the 40's-60's,
in which case, our culture dictated you ate no oftener than every 4 hours.
Or if you were a "Truby King" devotee, in which case you ate every 4 hours
(only), and never at night. So we tend to think that whatever culture
dictates (at the moment), is "normal" rather than what IS normal.
And then Diane's post piqued me again....this morning, as I ran out the door
to make rounds at the hospital, I had a few peanuts. When I came home a
couple of hours later, I had a few more peanuts, and went up to pack to go to
Memphis later this afternoon. Came downstairs and had a few more peanuts,
and ran back up to finish a few things I had forgotten. Came down and had a
few more peanuts while I finish this. Probably, not counting this early
morning foray into the peanuts, 3 or 4 little handfuls of peanuts in a 1 1/2
hour span of time. Now, I suppose I could have sat down and said, OK, I'm
going to now EAT PEANUTS. And had them all at once. But no, my sense of
desire, as well as my tummy wanted them in little bits. And, Lord knows, I
am NOT trying to gain weight!!
OK -- how do we get that concept across to mothers so that it sticks? I
discuss it with them -- I talk about food & drink -- and when I'm in the
hospital seeing them, I point out how long they took to eat breakfast (or
not), and that the hospital staff has kindly put a fresh pitcher of water on
their bedside stand -- that the snack cart with fresh fruit & bagels or
muffins will come around 1/2 way between breakfast & lunch....that I see
candy at their bedside....
But if the baby eats the way I just did, or the way most of the mothers do,
someone (if in the hospital, usually the nurse)tells her it is wrong -- the
baby probably isn't getting anything, and that she should just give a bit of
formula to top him off....and she does...
Sigh.
Anyone got a fool-proof way of communicating the needs of the breastfed baby
in the bottle feeding world?
Jan -- Queen of cabbage and Vegemite
www.bsccenter.org
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