In a message dated 11/13/01 8:58:55 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<<  I guess I'm asking, at what point does one say,
ok, I've done all I can do and X amount of time has gone by and this is all
I'm going to produce for this baby? >>


Mary,
In my experience, nothing is quite this simple. I have a friend who had this
problem and could not meet the full needs of her first baby, but continued to
nurse while primarily bottle-feeding. She did not get off to a good start and
I always felt this made a difference. After her second (tandem nursed), she
was very much on top of bf'ing--latched correctly right from the start, used
herbs sooner, had no separation at all, etc. This time, she made a lot more
milk. The last time we spoke about it, the baby was only requiring one
supplemental bottle per day and possibly would son dispense w/ that one as
well. There is so much more to bf'ing than hormones, breast tissue, latch,
etc. I have seen moms with severe pituitary trauma, moms with completely
severed milk ducts and moms w/ every impediment thrown at them exclusively
bf. There is synergy, there is a complex whole that is far more than the sum
of its parts, there is motherlove, and there is a mystery that I find so very
fascinating. While the individuality of every bf dyad can be frustrating at
times, it can also renew us, reminding us that every baby is a new
opportunity for each one of us to learn to trust this awesone process, and to
trust that only the mother can know when she has done enough.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

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