>I would guess that the "token" or comfort nursings
>would be briefer in general and the baby would still get a lower dose of
>a medication than when nursing from hunger.

Alicia: I never did figure out how to tell whether my babies were nursing from hunger or other needs. All I
know is that a transfer of milk took place whenever they nursed. I got into hot water after birthing my
second when the nurse asked how long and how often Abby had nursed that day - I had no idea! I remembered
that the last nursing had lasted about 3 mins tops and the one before that had gone on well over an hour.
That poor nurse was very frustrated because I really messed up her charts. I did all the "wrong" things.  I
refused to wear a bra (which was supposed to prevent engorgement!), I nursed while writing up my birth notes
and talking to my Mum in England (on the phone!), and I fell asleep with the baby in bed with me. I'm sorry
to say that I never did reform these "bad" habits and continued to nurse well past the "accepted" time.

To get back to your question, I think that one can generalize that as babies take more solids, fewer calories
come from milk. Have any studied been done to measure the amount of milk taken in by older babies or
toddlers? Is such a thing feasable with organic rather than token nursing patterns?


Norma Ritter, IBCLC, LLLL   "If not now, when? If not us, who?"

E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Date: 10/31/95
Time: 09:53:09