Hi, Lactnetters, I've been away for a couple of weeks, so am just getting caught up on reading my mail. Our computer was on the fritz. Did want to comment on the nutritive vs. non-nutritive sucking from my experience as a mom and perspective as an LC. The points that have already been made are interesting to ponder. There is so much left to learn about BF, it can be mind-boggling. My experience was with my 3rd BF child who is now 13 years. He was 4 years and still BF when I noticed a tender lump in my breast. The only other time this happened was shortly after I became pregnant with him and was still BF his older brother, who was 2 years at the time. I suspected that lump was a plugged duct, treated it as such and it resolved itself in a day or so. So, when a tender lump showed up the 2nd time, assuming it was another plugged duct, I treated it as such. However, this time, it didn't go away with the usual heat, rest and empty breast. After a couple days of this and trying to manually express, I tried the "old juice jar" method and was only able to express ONE drop of breastmilk. I was just sure there was more milk in there, but there wasn't! Now, I realize that there is a huge difference between a 4 yr. old BF and a newborn, but the situation has always intrigued me. If this kid was still nursing X number of times per day, why was there virtually no milk? I just assumed that as long as BF was taking place that there would be a certain volume of breastmilk. Maybe the type of suckling changes as the baby/child gets older. Does it change to strictly non-nutritive sucking or the more favorable term coined here "comfort sucking" as the child is getting closer to being completely weaned? This child did go on to BF until after his 5th birthday and mom encouraged the complete weaning due to the uncomfortable feeling in the breasts when he BF. Had always attributed this feeling to BFing on an "empty" breast. Wonder if this is nature's way of "natural mother-encouraged weaning". Does anyone have any thoughts or similar experiences? The lump?...it was discovered to be fibrocystic disease. And, boy, did the face of the surgeon who made the diagnosis ever turn red when I mentioned that my 4 yr. old was BF. He only said afterward that he wondered why the mammogram looked so different. Melody Engberg, IBCLC, LLLLeader Methodist Alliance Health Services Memphis, TN (Where the temperature was 67 degrees today, sunny and oh, so spring-like - last Friday we had an ice storm and an overnite record-breaking low of 4 degrees!!!)