Thursday, October 20, 2005
A little bit of panic yesterday on hearing that the lactation consultant I went to a few weeks ago, Dawn Frank, is closing her practice to take a job at a hospital. Dawn’s name came up often in our breastfeeding group and I went to her when the appearance of Little Big Man’s first tooth changed the whole breastfeeding dynamic, in a very sharp and cutting way. She questioned me closely for more than an hour, then had me strip to my bra and watched me breastfeed. “You need to make a nipple sandwich,” she said, showing me how to shove as much of my breast as possible into LBM’s mouth. After that, breastfeeding got a lot easier – so much so that I wished I had gone to Dawn eight months ago. It was worth her $165 fee.
And the best thing about Dawn is that you can call her on the phone, and she’ll call you back and answer all your panicked questions. I’ve called her twice since seeing her. A friend from the group whose baby had a tough time gaining weight called her every day. Many, many others have used her to successfully breastfeed. And yesterday, I got a cute little certificate in the mail from her congratulating me on following through on breastfeeding. So it totally stinks that she’s not going to be available to us breastfeeding moms after the end of the month. I still miss Rose Marie, the wise, no-nonsense lady who used to run our breastfeeding support group and retired over the summer.
Part of my panic has to do with the fact that I’m going to have to wean LBM before long. When we took him in for a checkup and some shots Tuesday, the doctor seemed slightly stunned when I told her I wanted to continue breastfeeding beyond his first birthday. “We recommend that you don’t,” she said. “Why?” I asked. “There are issues with his teeth, and he’ll be grabbing you in public. It’s harder to wean when they get older.” She looked at me. “Most mothers want to wean by a year.”
I hate the idea of giving up breastfeeding. It’s warm and it’s wonderful and it’s the one thing I know I can do that will always calm him down. I, a born multitasker, have to sit still for a few minutes while he eats. We snuggle and cuddle. Weaning means that my son will no longer need me in that elemental way.
It’s healthy too. The American Academy of Pediatrics says you should breastfeed for a year, and then as long as mutually desired. Dawn says that beyond a year, even twice-day feedings are good because they pass on immunities.
So in my passive way, I’m hoping LBM will make the decision for me. Maybe one day he’ll wake up and decide he’s done with the boob. Then it’s on to chicken fingers.
And the best thing about Dawn is that you can call her on the phone, and she’ll call you back and answer all your panicked questions. I’ve called her twice since seeing her. A friend from the group whose baby had a tough time gaining weight called her every day. Many, many others have used her to successfully breastfeed. And yesterday, I got a cute little certificate in the mail from her congratulating me on following through on breastfeeding. So it totally stinks that she’s not going to be available to us breastfeeding moms after the end of the month. I still miss Rose Marie, the wise, no-nonsense lady who used to run our breastfeeding support group and retired over the summer.
Part of my panic has to do with the fact that I’m going to have to wean LBM before long. When we took him in for a checkup and some shots Tuesday, the doctor seemed slightly stunned when I told her I wanted to continue breastfeeding beyond his first birthday. “We recommend that you don’t,” she said. “Why?” I asked. “There are issues with his teeth, and he’ll be grabbing you in public. It’s harder to wean when they get older.” She looked at me. “Most mothers want to wean by a year.”
I hate the idea of giving up breastfeeding. It’s warm and it’s wonderful and it’s the one thing I know I can do that will always calm him down. I, a born multitasker, have to sit still for a few minutes while he eats. We snuggle and cuddle. Weaning means that my son will no longer need me in that elemental way.
It’s healthy too. The American Academy of Pediatrics says you should breastfeed for a year, and then as long as mutually desired. Dawn says that beyond a year, even twice-day feedings are good because they pass on immunities.
So in my passive way, I’m hoping LBM will make the decision for me. Maybe one day he’ll wake up and decide he’s done with the boob. Then it’s on to chicken fingers.
