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Subject:
From:
Melody Engberg <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 5 Mar 1996 17:02:20 -0600
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Dear Lactnetters,

I love the sweet, tender posts about children nursing their baby dolls.
It's so nice to get away from technical talk for a moment to reflect on the
preciousness of breastfeeding.  It's these such experiences/memories that
remind me of how much I miss breastfeeding.  My babies are 19, almost 16 and
13 YEARS!  It really wasn't that long ago that they were babies, was it?

I can remember all my children nursing their "babies" AND bringing their
"babies" to me to nurse.  My oldest, Christa, nursed her babies everywhere -
even while we were waiting in my OB's office for my prenatal visit when
pregnant with her brother, baby #2. She had no reservations about lifting up
her dress and walking around the waiting room nursing her baby.  We got many
very curious, disapproving looks. When I suggested maybe she might want to
wait to feed her baby in the car, smart mother she was, told me no, her baby
needed to nurse NOW!
I also have her on audio tape at 2 yrs. old asking me to nurse her baby
doll.  It went something like this...Mommy, my baby wants some "meme,
night-night" (her name for nursing.)  I said, O.K. and put the baby doll up
to my shirt/bra covered breast and pretended to nurse her as I had done so
many times before. Only this time that wouldn't do.  Christa's next response
was, "Do your bra, Mommy, do your bra."  Don't you love it?!

My boys, Brad (16 this month) and John (13) both played with dolls and lots
of stuffed animals - Brad more than John.  I/they mostly nursed their
stuffed animals, I guess because they had more of those than baby dolls.  It
didn't seem to matter when they were small if it was them of me who did the
nursing. What, I think, really matters is that they learned from a very
early age that this is the way we feed our babies.  I would always
encouraged them by telling them what good daddies they were and were going
to be when they grew up.  Now I tell them one of the first things they need
to talk about with any girl they might consider marrying is breastfeeding.
I tell them they can't marry the girl if she doesn't PROMISE to breastfeed
their children.  I really don't know what I'd do if one of my grandchildren
were NOT BF!  YIKES!!!! Talk about an interfering mother-in-law!!!

Oh, by the way, just to brag a little...Brad (sophomore in high school) was
just offered a 4 week summer scholarship to the Tennessee Governor's School
of the Sciences at U. of Tennessee, Knoxville!  We are so excited for him!!!
He wants to be a pilot for a commercial airline "when he grows up".  I guess
playing with dolls and BF them hasn't hurt him any!

I GOTTA go!!  Have been on here for 2 and 1/2 hours and my family is
fainting from hunger pains.
Till next time,

Melody Engberg, IBCLC, LLLL
Methodist Alliance Health Services
Memphis, TN

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