<< Baby is happy and content, "as long as she gets her food."  She won't be
 put off, and is very definite about eating when she wants to eat, and
quitting
 when she's done.  I had her in today, we did an ac/pc weight just for fun --
 within 5 or 6 minutes, punkin took 1.9 ounces and quit.  Refused any more.
 Perfectly happy and content.  According to my calculations, she "needs"
 about 30 ounces a day to maintain her weight -- well, at 1.5 to 2 ounce
 increments, she needs to bf about 15-18 times a day.  Its as though her
 tummy simply won't hold any more at one feed.... >>

I tried to go by the book with my first baby, encouraging long sessions on
the couch during which I did nothing but nurse and - once I gained some
coordination - read.

With my second, I was busy chasing a high-intensity 3 year old, and 40
minutes on the couch was not an option.  Out of curiosity one day I kept
track - we were averaging a few minutes of nursing several times an hour.
Even tho I often took him off because *I* needed to so something else, he
gained weight faster than his older brother had, and my previous fussy
baby/overactive let-down problems didn't develop.

It was only later that I discovered what a normal pattern this is in much
of the world.  And I think I know why.  It's not just infant physiology;
you **get more done** when you don't have to stay pinned to the sofa.  I
could interrupt a task briefly, and be right back at it within a couple
minutes, and I also felt free to interrupt a nursing briefly in order to
finish a task.  Total nursing time in a day is, at least according to De
Carvalho, the same for lengthy feeds at lengthy intervals or short feeds at
short intervals.  But for efficiency in an always-moving household?  Give
me the frequent-feed kid any time!  The only catch was I had to carry him
around with me - a most un-American concept that any intelligent baby would
applaud.

You can reassure this mother that - as long as she totes the baby around
with her in some low-key fashion that allows quick access - her days will
begin to have a much more even and easier flow to them than those of the
woman who has to build her life around immobilizing and protracted "feeds".
And, of course, she'll end up with a smart and well-adjusted baby :-)

I wonder:  if smokers were forced to spend 40 minutes at a time smoking,
every few hours, instead of taking just a few minutes out here and there,
how many would have the time to do it?

Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL  Ithaca, NY