Dear Diane, and all:

My firstborn turned 26 in Nov. '08. 

How did you  learn to breastfeed effectively?  
My brother was born when I was 9 y.o. I not only remember my Mom nursing him, but also her nursing a sick baby at the town doctor's (my Godfather's) home. So, I learned nursing was normal and essential. I read Karen Pryor's, "Nursing Your Baby," when I was pregnant. My baby was strong and we just did our thing, despite my having had an emergency c-section -- milk was in before I left the hospital. My family practitioner shared a fond "mammary" of his wife having said one day, "Look what I can do!" and then squirting him in the face so again, my influences made nursing normal to me. Once home, my Mom tweaked my positioning (I vaguely remember this through the post-partum fog). Even so, my nipples hurt like everything when baby Jessica latched on but I persevered, having been told by someone that it was like getting a new pair of shoes you really liked, but they caused a blister. You just suffered through until a callous built up and then it was no
 problem. Then, I called a LLLL. Her name was Ruth Atnip (If anyone knows her or her family, tell them I'd love to get in touch!). In our first conversation, she had the most radical idea! She presented the notion that a baby could be raised and never have the first bottle (Mom had hand-expressed and worked as my Dad's dental hygienist, Dad being a dentist). Heck, I'd never even thought of baby never getting a bottle or never being seperated from it's mom. How cool was that?! So, w/o LLL's influence and glimpse into normal, I'd have been a much different parent.

How did you learn to  handexpress?  
Never learned to hand express because I didn't need to, but watched my Mom plenty and have taught others since with good success. Simple, really.

How did you learn to breastfeed lying down? 
Just happened, having had a c-section and not having any desire to sit up instead of sleeping at night. I don't really have a conscious "mammary" of that ever being an issue. 

Thanks, Diane, for this thread. Thanks, (I think it was Rachel) for the pun (memory/mammary). I love it! How appropriate.

 
The miracle is this--the more we share, the more we have.
--Leonard Nimoy
 
Liane Varnes
Lactivist
Peer Breastfeeding Counselor
White County WIC Program
 
May you be be happy; may you be healthy; may you be free from suffering; may you live with ease.




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