> And her babies gained just fine on 5 feeds a day.  Whether she had a
> huge storage capacity or 30 cal/ounce milk, I don't know.  But that's the way
> it was.
>
I like to say to mothers that no one thing, in isolation, necessarily
makes a *negative* difference, but a combination can. On the other hand,
small things can make a significant *positive* difference.

In other words, you can say, "usually .... is best." (fill in the blank
with nursing 10 to 12 times a day, at minimum, breastfeeding as soon as
possible after birth, developing a carefully-honed asymmetrical latch
(which requires practice), keeping baby close 24 hours a day, avoid use
of pacifiers, offer both sides every feed in the beginning, etc.)

If any of these things are missing, it doesn't necessarily cause a
problem. However, starting to do it can make a huge difference. The
example I usually give is eating well. I say that a mother's diet is not
going to affect the quality and quantity of her milk unless it is
extreme in its deficiencies, but making a small step towards a better
diet (reducing caffeine, eating more garden vegetables) can make you
feel so much healthier and more energetic that *everything* goes better.
So just "sneaking in another feeding or two", as I put it, can help if
there's a problem (assessed by weight gain, development / behaviour,
fullness, etc.)

Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes, back from lurking, but a long way from catching up!



             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html