I have permission from mom to post - she is so proud of her baby. He is 14 months now and had open heart at 6 months for an ASD, VSD and pulmonary stenosis. He came thru his surgery with flying colors and mom was very impressed with the docs and nursing staff because when he was ready to start oral feedings again post-op, they told mom to just go ahead and resume breast because baby was doing so well. Mom went to the hospital prepared to pump and her baby taking a bottle wasn't a real issue although he clearly preferred breast. She was willing to do whatever was recommended, so was very surprised and pleased when they told her in her baby's case they were waiving standard protocol. She was also told by the 1st cardiologist she saw after birth that she would have to supplement the baby because he would be expending too many calories breastfeeding. Wrong! Baby gained weight slowly but steadily up to the time of his surgery strictly on breast. This mom is also a very vocal advocate for not only her baby but also for herself, which may have helped in her situation. Maybe with some support, your mom could be encouraged to speak up for her baby and herself? Pam Hirsch, RN,BSN,CLC Clinical Lead, Lactation Services Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Barrington, IL USA *********************************************** 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(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html