I recall the original post focusing on *occasional* bottles of *EBM*,
given *after* milk production is established.  While we can inform
the parents of the complications this may cause (a la nipple
preference, extra work, possible overfeeding when bottles flow faster
than BF and satiety cues may not keep up), we can also praise the
parents for using EBM instead of the competition.  We can praise them
for understanding the importance of establishing the milk supply
before any elective interventions are attempted.

However inappropriate and unnecessary we may regard particular
interventions, we must inform the parents of the FACTS, and they will
make their own decisions.  As hard as it may be for some of us to
accept that some parents don't want the *commitment* of a baby for 24
hours, 7 days a week, these parents may take comfort in knowing that
they can step away from the situation for a couple of hours if they
need to.  The baby's nutrition needs will be taken care of, and
hopefully the caregiver will cuddle the baby, too.

If we give parents the impression that they have to live up to *our*
standards, otherwise it doesn't count, we promote an elitist "The
few, the proud, the nursers" (my apologies to the US Marine Corps for
adapting their recruiting slogan).  We must be able to separate our
own feelings from the facts and accept parents at their individual
levels of understanding.  Any amount of BF is to be commended, and
total BF must be cherished, even if it isn't in exactly the same
manner WE would do it.

Diana Hatch, MS, LLLL
Manhattan, Kansas