Dear all:

My comments about sleep training were meant to be general, not specific to the particular case that sparked the thread.  

We all meet those unusual babies and mothers who have routines that are not the "average".  I recently saw one baby who had me so concerned I was afraid he had some hidden problem I wasn't detecting.  From birth he had to be nudged to eat 6 times.  Every time I saw him, he would eat about 10 ml at a time and fall asleep and with poking and prodding he would eat some more.  Yet he was gaining.  I ALWAYS saw him in the morning.  He really just wanted to snooze his way through the morning.  Somehow and at some point during the day he was clearly eating more.  There was no forcing him to eat 8 times per 24 hours.  He is now delightful -- rolly polly and eating well and hovers between 5-6 feeds per day.  

So, my comments were about the GENERAL impact of excessive sleep training and the advice against against cosleeping as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  

Yet,  even when a baby does fine on a particularly unusual pattern, it does not always mean that mom's supply does well.  I saw a mother of multiples a while back whose babies drifted into this 10 hour pattern of sleep as well and she just couldn't keep up the supply with that pattern even though the babies were completely fine with it.  When that sort of pattern happens, if the mother really doesn't want to wake the babies to pull the supply back up, or if waking the babies would cause enormous logistical challenges such as in the case of a mother of multiples, I've found mothers sometimes do well with using the pump just before bed to help their OWN oxytocin levels so that the mother sleeps a deeper sleep and her breasts go a shorter stretch between drainage than they would following the baby's rhythms.  

As always, we must look at the big picture and tailor the specifics to the individual situations.

Best, Susan Burger

             ***********************************************

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