>As I read my lactnets-which, by the way, I have no hope of keeping up with
once I return to work-I have begun keeping a list of things I want to
respond to.  So this may all seem unrelated but they really are.  Also, I
don' t always get everone's name, so please forgive me!!
>        1-Anne-I know what you mean about the burnout issues!! I often feel
like I am swimming upstream.  I could really go on and on about this.  Maybe
we should email privately.  However,  I have this public info to share:  As
I've shared before, I have 5 children, 2 in college (one leaves for Israel
tomorrow for 10 months-and I'm having a hard time not crying!!)  and my
husband is unemployed.  I am on contract for my work which means I'm paid by
the hour and if I am not in work I don't get paid.  So I rarely take a day
off, except for religious holidays.  What I have discovered is that if I
don't take off a week or two once a year, I crash and have absolutely NO
PATIENCE for women who wean b/c of sore nipples or because their older kid
acts up when they feed the baby!!  Actually, I'm really looking forward to
going back to work and I was thinking of changing careers before vacation!!
We in helping/crisis related fields really need to learn to nurture ourselves.
>        2-My first baby slept 6-7 hours at night after 3 weeks (the only
easy thing she ever did-remember, Rita??).  My husband called her a "sucker
punch".  None of the other kids did until 3 or 4 years old-and they probably
didn't then either but were able to entertain themselves.  BUT-it was a
revelation to me when my next door neighbor, who never breastfed, and had a
couple of  babies after me, never slept either!!  She had a similar
parenting style also-so I wonder if that was contributory.  But why did my
first sleep so well??  I think it doesn't matter one way or the other, but
it really helps when you sleep with the kids.  At least you get some rest.
PS-now I am the one getting up at night to read or whatever and they ALL
sleep or at least don't need me at night>
>        3-I have found that my kids who had a learning by doing style of
learning and a hard time sitting still did really well in a Montessori
environment.  When my son went to "regular" school, we took him on a tour
before he began and told him that he would have a desk and chair in school
where he would sit and his response was "All day!!!??"  I thought we'd be in
big trouble but he's done ok.
>        4-Lastly-I see my mission as an LC as helping breastfeeding go well
so that women can make a choice about when to stop and not be forced to stop
because thing got all messed up.  In my work with the WIC agency, I feel
encouraged when breastfeeding has at least been initiated since when I began
there 3-4 years ago the bf initiation rate was about 10%.   I know how
frustrating it is to have all this early weaning, but I beleive in
empowering women to make choices even when I don't agree with them. I have
found that many women come to me and end up nursing longer because I don't
contribute to the guilt they feel when they wean.  Also, if bfing is a good
experience this time, it may last longer next time or at least they won't
walk around giving it bad press!
>         Now if anyone wants to provide support for a mom who's kid is
leaving for a year, email me privately.  You'd think it would get easier-my
older daughter did this too, but it doesn't seem to.
>        Thanks for the opportunity to ramble. I think I've learned more
from lactnet than from all the seminars I've attended over the years!!
>
Barbara Leshin-Zucker, BA, IBCLC
>
Highland Mills, NY
>PS-tried to send this yesterday but seem to be having problems sending
stuff.  This seems to be a  little dated now!!
>