>something that was   right for ME and MY CHILDREN (and fortunately my
>husband), and that >different children have different needs. This is
>not a contest--we don't get >good mother "points" for how many months
>or years we nurse--we do get "points" >for how well we meet the needs
>of our children.


Thanks Melissa for such wise counsel.  I rarely share my extended
nursing experience with couples, but rather say that "your breast
feeding, just as your choices in conception, pregnancy, birth, and
child rearing, is a love story within your _immediate_ family (often
this should be a love story between you and the baby, but fathers are
also part of the BF experience).  We need to empower families to tune
out societal, family, and alas commercial pressure to stop breast
feeding.

I teach childbirth classes.  Once with a class that I had bonded with
particularly well, I answered their direct question re. how long,
telling them that I had nursed my first for 4.5 years.  Simple
subtraction told them that yes I had tandem nursed.  I am still
nursing my 2 year old.  This did have a shocking effect on the class
and I regretted being so open.  Later I was assisting  one of the
couples  from this class with breast feeding immediately after birth;
both the mom and dad took great pains to tell me that BF for them was
short term.  They had no intention of "becoming fanatics."  Sometimes
I wonder if my openess led this baby to be prematurely weaned.  Oh
well, you can't live their life for them.  What did I say about
empowerment?

Intro:  I am new to the list.  My backgroud is maternal child nursing.
I am certified as a pediatric nurse (ANA) and as a childbirth educator
(ICEA).  I plan to sit for the IBCLC exam in July.    I currently do
inpatient lactation counseling on a part-time basis.  I homeschool my
6 year old, nurse my 2 year old, love and enjoy my husband and
children immensely.  I also have a home-base internet business listing
CE for healthcare professionals.  It appears that any extra free time
I have will be spent reading Lactnet.  Wow, what a busy list.  It is
great to have this resource.
------------------

Glenda Deahl
Editor
Metronome Online Press, Inc.
[log in to unmask]
FAX (210) 497-7033
voice mail (210) 497-5791