Okay, I am studying to retake the exam for my 10 yr anniversary....I am  
calling it a celebration. Haha.  I know Hartman's research, heck, I bared a  
breast on stage just to see for myself.  But, still no matter how hard I  try to 
just accept it is so because Hartman says so, I am bugged a bit by the  idea 
that supply is set at 1 mo, and stays set through 6 months.  It seems  to me that 
we can 'increase a supply' after one month.  If we can't,  then if a mom 
comes to us with her 6 week old and a low  milk supply, why  are we bothering to 
do anything at all?  If in fact whatever her supply  happens to be is what it 
is and it won't increase, why bother adding more  expressing/nursing/herbs etc. 
 Then there is the information that a mom can  express or feed only 6 times a 
day (from Breastfeeding and Human Lactation)  without impacting supply once 
the supply is established.  This doesn't seem  to fit with what I 'see in real 
life' and it really doesn't jive with the  reality of the baby's capacity to 
hold an amount of milk just because a breast  can make it and store it.  Which 
would mean a mom only feeding 6 times a  day could easily end up with a lower 
supply and a slow gaining baby.  Then  there is the 'after solids milk supply 
diminishes'.  If a baby is to be  breastfed with solids 'complimenting' not 
replacing breastmilk for the first  year, it seems to me the amount of 
breastmilk should not decrease simply because  mother is offering solids.  If in fact 
the volume is the volume, and the  number of times a baby needs to remove milk 
to maintain the full supply is as  low as 6, why is it assumed the supply 
diminishes?  And does it really  diminish for all women or only those who use 
solid foods to replace a  breastfeeding as opposed to complimenting?  Which still 
takes me back to  the notion that supply is set at 1 month.  I know of far too 
many women who  have brought their supply up well after one month, far too 
many women who have  had a sick 2 year old bring them back to engorgement and a 
full supply of  milk.  Why is that we have all this 'evidence' and 'research' 
that doesn't  seem to fit with experience?  
 
I have to say this....taking the test the first time was soooooo much  
easier!  I knew only what I knew, what I studied, what I learned at  conferences, 
what I read, etc.  I didn't have 10 years of practical use of  the information 
to have to try to ignore as I answer questions based on  'evidence' and 
'research' that do not match up to reality of my experience with  breastfeeding 
dyads.  

I know whatever answers there are will only  add to my questioning. Haha.  
Just wanted to 
 
 

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