I had a mother and daughter in the WIC clinic several years ago who
confided in me that they had been "cross-feeding" (their words) their
babies.  The babies were about a month apart in age.  Both women needed to
work and they couldn't afford daycare. One got a day job and the other got
a evening job.  They fed both infants when they were on "daycare" duty and
only their own when both were available.  Neither infant had been given
ABM.  I asked if the babies cared which mom they got when both were
available and both mom's said you bet-they want their own mom when she is
there.  These kids were over six months old when I had this conversation
with these women.  The younger Mom was 18 and the Grandma was 38.  They
said they don't usually tell people that they do this, I felt honored that
they trusted me with this information.  I would have never been able to
suggest this arrangement to them within the constraints of the Public
Health Department, but I had a big smile on my face as they revealed their
solution to their problem.   I have a peer counselor who "helped" out an
aunt temporarily in the same way.  She said that she had never revealed
this to any of her "regular" friends but the peer counselor group is so
supportive she thought they could handle it.  I guess it's good to be
irregular in this instance.  I think there is more of this going on out
there than we may realize.

Linda Inglis BS IBCLC