from: Becky b

Pardee,
I hope you don't give up shocking your nursing students.  Maybe you can
do it in a gentle way like telling them that the world average is 41/2 years,
then telling them about your bf 6 year old. As far as personal experiences,
I consider mine an asset to my job and am constantly "dipping into my personl
bag of tricks" for ideas to help each mom.  My latest favorite is to tell
new moms not to plan any projects that can't be accomplished in 45 second
blocks of time.  They seem to get the picture.  When I tell moms I have
been nursing constantly for 8 years and I have five children 8 and under
including an infant they seem to take what I have to say much more
seriously than someone who just learned it in a class or read it in
a book.  Then I tell them that 3 of my five children have never been
on antibiotics and they really listen.

How are people supposed to know that it is normal to nurse toddlers and
small children if everyone is afraid to admit it.  I think people need
to be shocked on a regular basis.  How about this...During my father's
last few days on this earth when he was dying of pancreatic cancer, I
expressed my own milk and put it on his oatmeal in the morning.  It seemed
to help his stomach pain and energy level.  It made me feel like I
was helping anyway.  Shock time over,  someone else can have the soap
box now.

Becky Behre,
Idaho

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