This isn't exactly lactation, but since others have chimed in, I
decided to ding. Since my kids are "older" (22, 19 and 16), at my
stage of mothering I'm more concerned with "letting go" issues.
But. Everyone, it never really ends. Like I told Martha in a
private post, there is a saying in Hebrew that goes "Little kids,
little problems, big kids, big problems". I can even outdo Linda
Smith's story of her 19 yr old lifeguard son. My 21 year old,
nursing student daughter had hemoglobin suddenly drop by 4 gr,
iron stores went almost to zip. She insisted on going to our
family physician by herself (well, she WAS 21 and a nursing
student and embarrassed with mumsy going to the doctor with her
still). The doctor just let it ride for months, no treatment, no
followup, no further testing as to WHY. When her eyes started
protruding so much that her friends (and not just Crazy Mom)
starting asking questions, I finally corralled a doc from my
department to take blood for thyroid testing. She had severe
Graves disease (hyperthyroidism) and Graves ophthalmopathy
(treated, but the eye damage is probably permanent). If she had
let me go with her to our doctor, *I* would have had the nerve to
ask her to pursue the cause of the anemia instead of ignoring it.
'Taint easy being a parent of an older child. On the one hand,
you must let go, let them have their independence, and yes, let
them make their own mistakes sometimes. On the other hand, you'll
always be their mother, and always be their advocate. You will
also have more experience than they for quite a long time. Trick
comes in knowing when to do what. Would my peers like to comment
on similar experiences? I'd love to hear them. Regards, Judy
Knopf in Beer Sheva, Israel