Hello,
I am so glad to be back on Lactnet! It is so heartening to see such
knowledge, wisdom, and general good sense.  How I wish there were more of
this in the world.
I am Laurie Wheeler. I am an RN, certified in neonatal intensive care nsg
(many yrs experience in NICU level III), have a master's degree in
parent-child health nsg, and am IBCLC.  Currently I am working VERY part-time
now and am mostly home mothering my nursing toddler and kindergartener.  I
was on Lactnet for awhile, (and parent-l too for that matter) - but the
volume got to be too much for me, what with the demands of the little ones.
 I am hoping to participate and keep up this time, as the nap times and sleep
times of the littlest one are more predictable now.
I love seeing the doctors on lactnet - I feel having them in our corners
makes SUCH a BIG difference.
I want to state that in regards to the thread about paid maternity leave: I
agree that I would rather pay for extended leave than for other social
programs that result when children are short-changed.  Come on, most of us
can agree that prevention is the way to go in health care.  I also feel that
SOME mothers (families) choose to go back to work because - how can I say
this w/o offending anyone? - they like or have become used to a higher
standard of living.  And because it is so acceptable in society to do this.
 In my humble opinion, many mothers and/or fathers could be staying home more
or working less and giving more time and energy to parenting.  Believe me, I
know there are MANY families where both incomes are needed or it is a single
parent family. I really encourage families to take an extended
maternity/paternity leave whenever possible and make whatever reasonable
adjustments to their budget and sacrifice some expensive perks during those
early years.

Thanks for listening,
Laurie Wheeler, rnc, mn, ibclc
violet louisiana