Here is an interesting story for us all to think about in relation to what is happening out there in our modern society.
I was asked to see Annie, a first time mum to 15 week old baby Sophie. I drove to their home and was greeted at the door by 60 year old Granny who stood about 4 foot 6 inches tall and would have been lucky to weigh in at 45kgs. Close behind her was 5 foot tall, at a pinch, Annie, lucky to weigh in at 50kgs. She was holding beautifully fat Sophie, whose thighs will have her off to Weight Watchers if they remain this way into the future.
Sophie was born at term, a normal delivery, weighing 2820gm (the 25th percentile...just like her mum and Granny). She left hospital 4 days later at 2800gm. Yesterday she weighted 5320gm, (the 25th percentile....someone has to be there for the chart to make any sense!!). The baby had put on 160gm per week since birth on average, over 20gm a day when looking at the total weight gain. Her output was normal....lots of wet and dirty nappies....and Annie reported to me that she fed 7 or 8 times a day at 2 to 3 hourly intervals from one side per feed, then had a relatively long feed, taking both breasts in the late evening. She then slept until about midnight, fed, then went back to sleep until 5 or 6am. She is "great" at night but in the day only sleeps for 45 minutes at the most then wakes to feed, plays and then sleeps again for a while.
I watched Sophie feed. She went to the breast, "flutter" sucked for a while, fussed a bit and pulled on and off the breast for a minute. Then.....LET-DOWN!! Suck, swallow, suck, swallow, loud and gulping, for 5 minutes maximum, followed by more pulling on and off and fussing.....I suggested she had finished. Annie sat her up and Sophie then proceeded to join in the conversation for the next hour, smiling and "talking" to us on and off. A beautiful baby!!
SO, I hear you say....what is the problem?
Annie had read some books, names not mentioned here, early on, which had set her off on a path of "control". She felt then that things were not going as the book suggested and went to a special doctor....name again not mentioned, but suffice to say that he "guaranteed your baby to be sleeping through the night by 12 weeks of age...or your money back"!! Sophie was weighed by this doctor who said that the 180gm weight gain over the last two weeks was "dangerously low", the baby was "failing to thrive" and that this was an "emergency" (did he miss those thighs??). Annie was told to feed 10 minutes each side, then top up with a bottle of 60mls of EBM or formula after each feed.
I was asked to see Annie, a first time mum to 15 week old baby Sophie. I drove to their home and was greeted at the door by 60 year old Granny who stood about 4 foot 6 inches tall and would have been lucky to weigh in at 45kgs. Close behind her was 5 foot tall, at a pinch, Annie, lucky to weigh in at 50kgs. She was holding beautifully fat Sophie, whose thighs will have her off to Weight Watchers if they remain this way into the future.
Sophie was born at term, a normal delivery, weighing 2820gm (the 25th percentile...just like her mum and Granny). She left hospital 4 days later at 2800gm. Yesterday she weighted 5320gm, (the 25th percentile....someone has to be there for the chart to make any sense!!). The baby had put on 160gm per week since birth on average, over 20gm a day when looking at the total weight gain. Her output was normal....lots of wet and dirty nappies....and Annie reported to me that she fed 7 or 8 times a day at 2 to 3 hourly intervals from one side per feed, then had a relatively long feed, taking both breasts in the late evening. She then slept until about midnight, fed, then went back to sleep until 5 or 6am. She is "great" at night but in the day only sleeps for 45 minutes at the most then wakes to feed, plays and then sleeps again for a while.
I watched Sophie feed. She went to the breast, "flutter" sucked for a while, fussed a bit and pulled on and off the breast for a minute. Then.....LET-DOWN!! Suck, swallow, suck, swallow, loud and gulping, for 5 minutes maximum, followed by more pulling on and off and fussing.....I suggested she had finished. Annie sat her up and Sophie then proceeded to join in the conversation for the next hour, smiling and "talking" to us on and off. A beautiful baby!!
SO, I hear you say....what is the problem?
Annie had read some books, names not mentioned here, early on, which had set her off on a path of "control". She felt then that things were not going as the book suggested and went to a special doctor....name again not mentioned, but suffice to say that he "guaranteed your baby to be sleeping through the night by 12 weeks of age...or your money back"!! Sophie was weighed by this doctor who said that the 180gm weight gain over the last two weeks was "dangerously low", the baby was "failing to thrive" and that this was an "emergency" (did he miss those thighs??). Annie was told to feed 10 minutes each side, then top up with a bottle of 60mls of EBM or formula after each feed.
Annie tried in vain to stick to the "PLAN". The baby was not co-operating, would not feed longer than 5 minutes on one side, screamed blue murder when faced with the second side, spat out the bottle of EBM or formula, and continued to enjoy her life as above.
DING went a bell in this intelligent mother's head. RING went my phone.
Reassurance, reassurance, reassurance. Explanation of normal human mammalian baby behaviour, sleep cycles, normal breastfeeding and sleep patterns of a 15 week old baby, congratulations and felicitations re night time sleeping, exclamation at fat thighs on fat beautiful baby and a plea to watch your baby, read her mood, love her and be kind to her and to yourself.
It has become SOOOO HARD for mothers these days. Annie told me that the Gen Y wanted satisfaction and results and were basically a lazy generation. I disagreed and told her that in my opinion, Gen Y is simply confused....too much advice, too many books, too many people with too much to say about the normal natural process of breastfeeding and caring for an infant mammal.