One of the best exercises I've seen for convincing moms that such precise
pronouncements of scheduling are not in the best interest of bf comes from a
session Linda Smith did at the ILCA conference in 1992 (I think--I didn't go,
but have listened to the tape) on teaching breastfeeding classes. She goes
through a "Feeding Patterns Game" that is wonderful, and can be used both in the
group setting as she suggests, and I've also used it a lot in a simpler version
one on one with moms. A condensed version is as follows:

Ask moms to write down the times they have put anything in their mouths, be it
meal, snack, sip of water, coffee break, etc in a 24 hour period that represents
a day with free access to kitchen or snacks. Have them record how long the meals
or snacks were, and then average the interval. Have them draw the size of a
newborn's stomach, write what their weight would be doubled (this can be done in
a corner so they can fold it over and hide it!!), and name a prize they'd like
to win.

In the discussion that follows, Linda notes that 90 min seems to be a universal
average for ADULTS between meals. Some meals are longer than others, reasons
included such things as socializing, hunger, boredom, etc. Tell moms they can
win the prize they listed if they can double their weight in five months--how
would they do it?  Ask them if skipping a meal "teaches" them to go longer
between meals [my favorite!] and how they feel if they are truly hungry and not
allowed to eat. A variation on this is to walk up to someone who is obviously
still writing and taking up her paper and announce she is "through eating!"

This is such a powerful exercise because it puts mom in her baby's shoes
(diaper?). Not only does that help her empathize with her baby's needs, it also
drives home the point that she is far more capable of understanding what her
baby needs than some mythical schedule.

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC
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