Good Morning Everyone:
   In response to Heather's post wondering how it was that a mother of a 6
month old  or older baby could go for long intervals without feeding, and
still have milk available when the baby needed to nurse more frequently. And
then not get engorged or run into trouble when that older baby reduced the
frequency.
  For one thing, researchers study mostly the new mother. So we know more
about the biochemistry, milk synthesis, and hormonal activity for mothers of 1
week old babies and 1 month old babies. But not the mother of a toddler.
   I would bet that there is some exquisite hormonal/emotional/physical
feedback loop system in place because toddler nursing (I call it "suck and
run") has such variation in frequency, depending on the day, the baby's state
of health, etc.etc. This might have to do with how babies wean when left
alone. It might explain something about those women that always can express
milk, even when the last time they nursed was 20 years ago. And also about
those women who experience let-downs at the sight of a grandchild.
  So, Dr. Hartmann....and others, could you please examine the mothers of
nursing older babies and toddlers and children? Thanks. Warmly, Nikki Lee