Dear Alis, The twin cities of Mpls/St. Paul has a moderately large deaf population. I married a deaf man in 1985. We went to ASL classes while we were dating in '84 and finished up in '85. I am of stoic Swedish descent and the sign language has helped me become more expressive and open with giving and receiving emotions. The deaf do not hear the tone of your voice, so they focus on facial expressions; also things such as raising the eyebrows or frowning are part of some signs. This has helped me communicate with non-English speaking pts. as well, and to not be afraid of some pantomime for inquiring about pain, showing joy over the baby, maybe being a little bit funny. I carry a little doll in my lab coat pocket and use her, Petra, for a model with positioning; kind of talking with my hands. Marrying my dh was one of the best decisions I ever made! Our life may be a little different, such as no pillow talk in the dark. He doesn't hear the kids whine so he didn't discipline them for it; when one of our girls was 3 and whining for candy he thought he was so tough by giving her an oatmeal cookie instead - healthier choice! ha ha A dear colleague, older and wiser than me, has reminded me that unconditional love is more important than enforcing rules, she is right, and my hubby sure comes through on the love. Our three kids adore him. Alis, if you are so inclined, go for it with learning sign language and see where it takes you! Yes, it can make you a more effective breastfeeding supporter. Susan in Minn. rn ibclc *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html