Someone mentioned the baby not really being "hungry" again in 20 min.  I
don't think
they are necessarily "hungry" either, but I do think there could be a clever
little device acting on the baby's behalf.

My house is all male but me.  One night when we 4 were having pizza, I added
another piece to my plate before I'd finished the one I was eating.  "Why
did you do that?" my husband asked.  I had to think about it.  "I think I
was assuring my future food supply in an uncertain situation," I answered.

Mightn't babies be doing the same thing?  To wait until their stomachs are
completely empty is to court disaster, if something happens that prevents
them from eating *soon*.  By cruising the middle ground - never stuffed, but
never really hunger either - they're less likely ever to become dangerously
hungry.

Our family talks about being "mouth hungry" vs "stomach hungry".  When we're
mouth hungry, we go looking for some potato chips, or a cookie, or (I'm just
putting this in for the nutritionists among us) a piece of fruit.  Not to
fill up, just to make our mouths happy.  I think by nursing when they're
"mouth hungry", babies ensure that they never get dangerously "stomach
hungry."

Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL  Ithaca, NY

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