>  I wonder if a lot of the mothers who say something to the effect of, "I
> don't think he's EATING, I think he's just using me as a pacifier" (a
phrase that
> causes the little hairs on my neck to stand up and scream out loud....)
have
> not been touched a lot themselves as children.
>
> What do you all say when a mom says that to you?
>

Well, what I say is that no, a pacifier couldn't possibly be as good and as
comforting as being at the breast. At the breast, the baby gets the comfort
of sucking, the skin-to-skin contact that is so important, the sound of his
mother's heartbeat that he learned to know before he was born, the sound of
her voice, the smell of her, the security of being held in her arms. It's a
complete comfort.

A pacifier could only provide a little tiny part of that - just the sucking.
And not even the right kind of sucking.

So, no, he's not using you as a pacifier - you are giving him so much more
than a little piece of rubber ever could. At the breast, he gets a complete
feeling of security and love. And that's such an important foundation for
the rest of his life.

Teresa Pitman
Guelph, Ontario

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