OK - this is my last post for the day - and it's only noon Pacific Time! I, like Pam, thought of this situation in a positive way. As much as I wanted and was able to breastfeed my three and stay home so they did not have anyone else but me, I don't think we want to say that this is not "right" for this baby! Baby already lost his mother - NOTHING is "right" about that! However - in many cultures and families - for generations and centuries - babies have been cared for by loving family members. My own sister in law (the 7th child) was breastfed - but she also had 6 older siblings that did just about everything else! When I worked in Puerto Rico I met a young couple (well, PRETTY young - he had put in 20 years in the Navy and was retired) who had just had their first baby - and lived on a boat - they traveled from place to place where dad would get a job as a Captain for tourist boats or take fishermen out on his boat. Their son was to be raised on-board, home-schooled (thanks to the Internet) and moving from place to place in the Caribbean and along the South American coast... Would this child be, as an adult, a "normal" child? No...his experiences would be totally foreign to what we are used to - but would this be BAD for him? Even the way we raised OUR kids can be thought of as "abnormal" - we lived in 5 different states as the kids grew up - and my mother lived with us and moved along with us...whereas my husband's family and mine both stayed in the same neighborhood throughout our childhood and even after we graduated from college. I think we need to be very careful that we don't imply that the ONLY way to raise a child is the way we have seen from studies based on American/European standards. Let's not get sucked in to making proclamations that this or that is the ONLY way to do things - or we'll fall into the trap similar to those who think that the only way to care for a premature baby is in an incubator or the only way for a child to sleep is alone in a room. Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, PHN, IBCLC California, USA (Where I've seen LOTS of different home environments - but none like the one described in that article!) *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome