I have told my moms for years that the first night home is a fussy night,
but that the night before the milk comes in will often be a really cranky
night, with sore nipples and baby wanting to nurse all night, and that the
cranky night is the signal that the glucogen stores in the baby's liver are
being used up.  Luckily this usually coincides with the day the milk comes
in.

I always teach them how to cup feed a little water in the hospital, and send
one bottle home (w/out a nipple  : - ) so if it gets bad they don't feel
quite so desperate if the fussy time and the milk coming in don't quite
coincide.  Seems to work well, and less shifting to the bottle.  Also, they
have my phone # and sometimes call for a little reassurance... sometimes at
3 AM but, what the heck, it's only sleep.

Jude
V<>V<>V<>V<>V<>V<>V<>V
Jude Kurokawa, CNM, FNP
513 Dayton St.   Wolf Point, MT 59201  406-653-1608
Home and Hospital births on the Rez
The Coyote midwife sits by the hole and waits....
mailto:[log in to unmask]  HTTP://www.midrivers.com/~jkuro
V<>V<>V<>V<>V<>V<>V<>V<>V
-----Original Message-----
From: DAVISRNCLC <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, May 19, 1998 11:43 AM
Subject: Another sign that milk is *coming in*


>Several months ago I attended a lecture by Kittie Frantz where she said, in
>passing, that babies get really fussy the night before the *milk comes in.*
I
>am not sure if this is a given for LC's but it was a new concept to me.
>Since then I have been asking mothers (whose milk is *in*) if they noticed
>this fussiness. The answer is a universal yes. In fact, this fussiness
seems
>to lead to the first supplemental bottles. They often say: He acted like he
>was starving or I couldn't seem to satisfy him.
>We have decided that this is an important *fact* to add to our
breastfeeding
>contacts in the prenatal arena, on hospital rounds and in the Great Starts
>Clinic. I have been warning moms that this can occur and baby may marathon
>nurse.
>My guess is that there is some sort of physical or hormonal signaling going
>on.
>Sounds like a great topic for anybody needing a research project.
>Now that the word is out, the number of moms who start supplements because
of
>the fussiness has decreased dramatically.
>Marie Davis, RN, IBCLC
>Mail to: [log in to unmask]