Magda Sachs quoted an earlier post (on something off topic, TIC)

".....The baby also gets to suck on a few drops of wine as part of the
ceremony when it is over, which often seems to help them sleep a bit."

She added:
"This means that the baby has ended then, if not before, the period of
exclusive breastfeeding."

I think it means merely that the baby has tasted something other than breast
milk for the first time, comparable to a baby who may be given paracetamol
syrup following casting for club feet, when acute pain is at its height.  I
don't think Jewish boy babies who are ritually subjected to an off topic
procedure continue to get drops of wine at regular intervals from that
moment on.  Conjecture on my part, I admit, and I stand prepared to be
corrected by those in the know.

Of course, both substances will have a quantifiable effect on the gut
mucosa, on the taste buds, and on the life experiences of the babies.  It
just seems a bit drastic to me to call it the end of 'the period of
exclusive breastfeeding'.

Incidentally, my ward now gives babies 2-5 ml of 30 percent glucose solution
by syringe a couple of minutes before they have blood drawn by heel stick,
for PKU tests, bilirubin measurements, even blood sugars.  It does reduce
crying, according to the staff.  This started after I went on leave to my
new job.  My reservations about this treatment have to do with the effects
on gut mucosa, though I am very much in favor of taking the baby's comfort
into account when performing any kind of procedure about which the baby has
no choice.  I have not viewed these babies as having 'ended... the period of
exclusive breastfeeding.'  Should I?  What do you all think?

wondering
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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