In a message dated 8/11/01 10:12:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> My baby is 3 weeks old and I pump 3 times/day. So my
> husband can feed the baby the expressed milk in bottles. I am glad I am
> pumping, because it gives my husband and our other children a chance to
>
Maybe our society is still equating food with love.
Marie Davis, RN, IBCLC


You may be right, Marie. I hear this regularly when new moms in the hospital
ask about the best pump to buy. I also seem to hear that the mom wants to
sleep thru the night. Recently, I had a grandmother purchase a pump for her
daughter whose baby was 2 days old. The grandmother seemed to think that she
could help her daughter rest by having the daughter pump & grandmother would
feed the baby by bottle. While I had both of them there I explained how milk
production works and that mom needs to nap during the day & night, but I
don't know if they got it. The grandmother also told her daughter to have the
baby fed in the nursery during the night so that she could sleep!

I think that Americans believe that napping or sleeping late is a sign of
laziness. We sleep at night & get up early in the morning so that we are
productive during the day. So many seem to think that we should go to sleep
at 9pm & get up at 5am. I, personally, do best when I go to sleep at 1am &
get up at 9 am. I get my 8 hrs of sleep & have a very productive afternoon &
evening. I don't do mornings! Many people have given me grief about this over
the years. I used to love working the 3-11pm shift. Lets hear it for
diversity & individuality. I encourage the couples that I work with to
recognize their own infants' individuality. Rigid rules don't work (as in
Baby Wise)-one needs to be flexible.

You certainly gave me some food for thought, Marie, as you often do. I need
to stop with this snack before it becomes a banquet!

Laura Hart
Winter Park, FL

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html