In a message dated 3/6/04 10:36:36 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
I'm sure you know this but also just wanted to throw out that it's very
common for a baby to switch easily between breast and bottle early on,
but at  various stages to be prone to nursing strikes....4 mos is a
common time,   return of cycles is another time (probably b/c of the
decrease in supply just before bleeding starts).  I don't know how long
you wanted to nurse though, so those things might be okay with you;)

I'm usually dealing with mothers of twins or more and they are more likely
initially to be using some bottles because of getting off to a poor start.
MOT/MOM also seem more likely to have production issues and/or psychosocial issues
that result in long-term use of an occasional to daily complement or
supplement. (Most use EBM, some use ABM or mix of EBM/ABM  -- ABM use is usually
related to a production issue vs. preference.) Many get rid of the
complements/supplements once initial issues resolve; some intro them later even when early BF
goes OK due to other factors, and many start off and continue with them from
the start for a variety of reasons.

In my 26+ years of experience as the LLLL of a group solely for MOT/MOM, I've
found (and documented from the first edition of Mothering Multiples) that
nursing strikes appear to be more common than for mothers BF singletons; however,
most of the MOT attending our meetings or calling for phone help in the early
years of our group fully BF their twins for the first 4-6 months. In recent
years I've seen a change. I'm working with a greater number of MOT/MOM who work
through early preterm or sick babies' issues, hang in despite low initial
production, return to employment, etc., I'm still hearing of a fair number of BF
strikes but it does not appear to be higher than in the early years (when only
those who could fully BF their twins kept coming/calling). And almost all
work through a strike fairly quickly...

What working with these MOT/MOM has taught me is: 1. maternal patience and
persistence can overcome almost anything, 2. there's more than one road to a
goal and sometimes the detour ends up being the more feasible way for an
individual mother to handle her overall situation, 3. partial BF -- with bottle-fed
complements/supplements -- CAN often be done very successfully at all kinds of
levels for very long periods and it sure as h_ll beats no BF, and 4. what works
with MOT/MOM usually is translateable when helping mothers of singletons
achieve their individual goals. I'm not saying I always agree with mothers'
choices nor that I don't try like heck to "reframe" some mothers' goals. I'm merely
saying that a high number of infants, even those compromised at birth as a
high number of multiples are, can adapt very well to partial BF with bottle-fed
EBM or ABM complements/supplements -- and I believe it beats the alternative
that BF duration stats indicate many of these mothers go to -- complete weaning
from the breast.

Karen
www.karengromada.com

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