As someone who took her first nursing child to classes (as a student),
backpacking around Europe at age 10 months, to Africa to do research (15
months to 3 years), and then with her last nursing child to classes (as a
teacher), to office hours, to dissertation defenses, to parks and libraries
and grocery stores and friends' houses and on vacations, etc. etc. etc. -- I
always thought it was way more convenient NOT to have a schedule.  I learned
from Malian women to let my children nurse when they wanted -- whereever we
happened to be, to do 'pre-emptive nursing' if I needed to have some time
without them nursing (like "Come and nurse now, because then we have to
drive to Indianapolis" or "Come and nurse now, because I want to go to the
gym in a few minutes), to let them sleep when they were tired, wherever they
happened to be, as long as I was there, etc. etc. etc.

In contrast, I knew people who HAD to be available to nurse for a 20-30
minute stretch every 4 hours, regardless of what else they might need to be
doing at that time.  And who HAD to be at home at 10 am and 2 pm so their
children could take naps at home, in their own beds, because they wouldn't
sleep anywhere else, and would just go to sleep when tired, but got crankier
and crankier.  And kids who HAD to have their blankies, while my children
were happy to have *only* mom.

Thus, while schedules are often promoted as giving the mother more time and
being more convenient for her, I think they often are not, because then she
is tied to the schedule.

Kathy Dettwyler

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