I have been following this discussion with great interest, as I, too, get
these calls, and I faced the same dilemma with my children. While certain
"parenting" gurus would use this common nighttime dilemma as proof of an
erroneous parenting philosophy (demand feeding leads to demanding little
monsters), my mind goes elsewhere. I would like to believe that God does not
mess up so often as to have that many babies wanting to do the "wrong
thing." There must be more here.

The pattern I have noticed is that babies may sometimes start sleeping
longer periods after a couple of months of age, *until* teething begins.
Then, the sleep is often disrupted and the patterns erratic thereafter.
Nevertheless, things still feel "under control" until sometime after a year
of age, when suddenly the baby starts nursing more often again. THAT is when
the parental frustration really sets in.

It is my understanding that in Japanese culture, the mothers and babies
sleep together, possibly in a different room than dad. What I'd really like
to know is more about the norms of the breastfeeding and sleep experiences
of mothers and babies in other cultures, most especially more traditional
cultures. I'd like to get a better picture of a world-wide "norm," and also
of how parents in different settings both view the night times and deal with
them.

Kathy Dettwyler? Anyone else? Please share!

Lisa Marasco

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