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Date: | Tue, 27 Aug 1996 10:27:52 -0500 |
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It's unfortunate that the writers of said parenting literature saw only
their own breastfeeding experience and called it superior. We all know that
milk composition differs from mother to mother and that it is just right for
a given mother's baby. One baby can thrive on feeding 15 mins. every 4+
hours while sleeping through the night. (In my naivete I tried to wake some
of these babies to feed often, as newborns are "supposed" to, and they were
"mean"! I finally learned.) Another baby needs to feed as often as every 2
hours for a long time even though she is feeding very well. There are
individual differences and heredity, etc. The appeal of this method is
puzzling, and I weep for all of the caring families who are forcing
themselves and their babies to follow standards which do not fit their
physical make up. They must conclude that something is wrong with themselves
and/or their baby and artificially manufactured baby food is preferred over
what they make themselves. You all know that moment of confidence and joy
when we looked at our 2-3 month old infant and said "My body provided all
that you needed for your growth." The mothers who "fail" to meet the
misguided standards set by these authors will never have that experience.
Some wise person said, "Man invented Time, then made himself slave to it."
Babies were around long before clocks.
Why do people listen to emotionally deprived, control-centered, fear-based
authors/teachers more readily than those who trust in natural creation?
Have any of you read Emmett Holt? He wrote in the 1920's of the dangers of
rocking babies (shakes up their brains!), holding them more than minimally,
"enjoying" them, answering their cries, etc. I found THE HAPPY BABY at an
estate sale and it is fascinating (scary too). "Never, under any
circumstance give a child what he is crying for." "A happy baby is a
trained baby." Here's one I love, "At night the windows of the nursery shoud
be open unless the outside temperature is below twenty degrees. (!!!)
This man had great influence on well-read American parents. He was the
expert of the day.
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Pat Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee
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