Sorry if I offended anyone with my recent post about getting "tired of hearing 
about Michael Phelps."  I wrote in a flurry and after re-reading, realized it 
could be offensive and hurtful.  I only meant that I felt we had gotten a little 
off track discussing whether or not he had been breastfed, etc.  I feel there is 
soooo much for us to do at the beginning of life, who has time/energy for 
conjecture about whether or not an individual had been breastfed?  And what 
might have been?  Perhaps it's because I'm in a solo practice (and definitely 
feel like the "swimming upstream" analogy) and feel all the energy I have 
should be placed in helping the babies and moms in front of me NOW.  THAT is 
something I can do something about.  I can do nothing about the fact my 
sister and I weren't breastfed and we both have chronic issues, needed 
braces, etc., etc.  the only thing I could do was stop the cycle and 
breastfeed my own babies, meet their needs as best I could and help other 
mommies do the same.

It's  an interesting discussion for sure--whether or not these athletes had the 
benefits of mother's milk.  But sometimes people become great BECAUSE they 
didn't have the best start in life and they simply had a lot to overcome.  I, for 
one, am learning to thank my parents for the way they raised me.  I rebelled 
and raised my kids in a completely different way.  I was determined to birth 
naturally, breastfeed, not spank, and sleep with them if that's what they 
needed.  AND I feel I'm healthier and more health concious because I had to 
work harder to be healthy.  Weird, I know.  So... maybe a retrospective study 
wouldn't really prove much!  

One thing we do know for sure--Mr Phelps had/has an amazing mom!

Humbly,

Renee

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome