I talked last night with my cousin who is a nurse practitioner in Alaska
and nursing her first baby, a 6 month old.  Alice's role models have been
her Yupik (sp?) neighbors, who nurse, have family beds, and "delay" solids
as a matter of course.  In Alice's words:

"I don't think I've lost 20 minutes of sleep with this baby.  I've told my
neighbors that the best thing I've learned from them is sleeping with
babies."

"I was at a ladies' lunch last week, and Leah looked at me so hungrily
that I gave her a piece of smoked salmon.  She gummed it to death.  One of
the women watched for a while and then asked me, 'Don't you chew for your
baby?'  It seems like such a strange thing to do, but everyone here does,
so I probably will."

"On our visit to the lower 48 this summer, sometimes I felt a little
risquee nursing in public.  I dont' feel that way here.  In fact, I took
Leah on grand rounds with me last week and nobody thought anything about it.

"I'm really beginning to understand how we're shaped by our culture.  When
I was visiting friends in the lower 48, one  of them had tried several
different formulas and nipples, trying to find a combination that worked
for her baby.  She was dealing with colic and having a miserable time.
 I asked why she didn't just nurse, but she said they had just about
stopped doing that.  I wanted to say, 'Can't you see what your baby is
telling you he wants to do?'  I've encouraged breastfeeding before, but
after the wonderful experience I'm having, I'm *really* going to be an
advocate."

Medical training may have given her the facts, but the breastfeeding
culture around her brought it to life for her.  If I could just ship one
of last week's clients to Alaska for a couple weeks...

Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC  LLLL  Ithaca, NY  [log in to unmask]