Jay -

Thanks for keeping us so up-to-date on your friend with the twins! I find
myself thinking about them at night & other odd times, wondering how they
are doing, etc. I have such a soft spot for twins and their mamas! And, BTW,
for whatever it's worth I think you made a sound decision re: the
wet-nursing thing. But boy, I know the feeling! I can't tell you how many
times, when I worked as a hosp. OB nurse, I just wanted to pop one of those
silly little babies right on there & show them how it was done! (Can you
imagine the scene at the hosp. if I had ever even *mentioned* such a
thing?!)

Re: your other mom, in hospital for surgery, worried about her supply &
pumping: I might suggest that she use a heavier-duty pump, a medical-grade
one. Probably the hospital has one she could use, although some hosps. won't
let it off the OB floor; if that's too much hassle, you could help her rent
one. I bet this situation will work out just fine - as long as the baby will
still nurse well when she has the chance, and she keeps pumping when the
baby's not available to nurse, my experience is that the baby will zoom her
supply right up when she gets back to regular nsg. (Sounds like she didn't
have any supply probs. before, so everything in place & working just right.)
Being in the hospital, the stress of upcoming surgery, etc., all combine
with separation of the baby to drop her supply a bit, as you suggested -
also, she may be not eating much or at all, either because she's sick/in
pain or because of hosp-imposed diet (or yucky food!). She will overcome
this in no time flat.

Here's my big warning on this mom, though: prepare her for the fact that her
doctors, anesthesiologists, etc. will probably be overly-cautious about a
pump-&-dump routine post-op. As long as you are working with her, you can
strengthen her in her commitment to BF and help to keep her from getting
discouraged. But there's a big tendency towards ignorance on the part of
most medical people about BFing, and (as we all know) a tendency to be
willing to junk the BFing rather than find out the facts.

Good luck to all! Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC