Joy - thank you for your brilliant synopsis on how milk is synthesized, and
the rate of synthesis and the total amount - and how pumping can be better
than the baby if the baby is not taking much, etc. etc.

Peter Hartmann's work has certainly exploded more than a few myths, and I
use what he told us when he visited here all the time.  He said that one
mother could have produced and stored 750 ml of breastmilk in her breasts at
any one time, so her baby would only have needed to breastfeed once in 24
hours.  Other mothers might have to breastfeed 20 times in 24 hours in order
for their babies to "get enough". I find that mothers themselves are
fascinated with this information, and relieved.   It all "fits", and it all
makes such sense.

Still on milk synthesis, someone was talking recently about a pumping mom
noticing a reduction in the amount of milk obtained at 2 weeks, 6 weeks etc.
It occurred to me that these apparent drops in milk production could account
for the "growth spurts" which we usually attribute to the baby, i e they are
mother-driven, not baby-related.  Thoughts, anyone?

Pamela Morrison IBCLC, Zimbabwe