Hodge Podge

Suddenly she was here.  And I was no longer pregnant; I was a mother. I never believed in miracles before. -Ellen Greene

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one. -Leo J. Burke

Every morning I woke up tired and angry until I realized that sleep, as I knew it, no longer existed. Now, I only wake up tired. -Nancy Ison

Insomnia: a contagious disease often transmitted from babies to parents. -Shannon Fife

There is nothing more absorbing than a baby, nothing more intoxicating. -Mary Gordon

Think always that, having the child at your breast, and having it in your arms, you have God’s blessing there. -Elizabeth Clinton

Some of my best ideas come to me while I’m nursing my baby. -Joyce Willaford

Now the thing about having a baby – and I can’t be the first person to have noticed this – is that thereafter  you have it. -Jean Kerr

A babe at the breast is as much pleasure as the bearing is pain. -Marion Zimmer Bradley

Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. -John W. Whitehead

Babies are always more trouble than you thought – and more wonderful. -Charles Osgood

I actually remember feeling delight, at two o’ clock in the morning, when the baby woke for his feed, because I so longed to have another look at him. -Margaret Drabble

In the sheltered simplicity of the first days after baby is born, one sees again the magical closed circle, the miraculous sense of two people existing only for each other. -Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Infancy conforms to nobody; all conform to it. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Loving a child is a circular business…the more you give, the more you get, the more you get, the more you want to give. -Penelope Leach

When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments: tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become. -Louis Pasteur

Who is getting more pleasure from this rocking, the baby or me? -Nancy Thayer

There never was a child so lovely but that his mother was glad to get him asleep. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

A child is fed with milk and praise. -Mary Lamb

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother. -Lin Yutang

It’s not easy being a mother.  If it were, fathers would do it. -Dorothy, “The Golden Girls”

Reasoning with a two year old is about as productive as changing seats on the Titanic - Robert Scotellaro

Read this cute article...  Thinking of having kids?

There is no Peace so profound,  
No Joy so complete;  
No Love so enduring,  
As that of a mother  
With a baby at her breast. 
                 -Kaye Lowman

Formula Costs - December 2001 San Diego, CA

Sources: RiteAid and Vons Supermarket
Based on approximately 900 ounces per month, approx. 30 ounces per day, approx. Six 5 oz feeding/24 hrs
Ready to feed formula ranges from: $99 to $333 /month and $1,188 to 3,996 /year
Concentrated formula ranges from: $99 to $234/month and $1,188 to $2,808 /year
Powdered formula ranges from: $54 to $198/month and $648 to $2,376 /year

Reflections on Weaning

      I was fighting the very thought of weaning my son, Anthony, even as it was happening naturally. When I had to accept the end of that magical connection, I cried.  And cried some more.  But why?

     The answer came to me as I sat watching him sleep.  I’ll miss the utter peace that I felt while nursing.  Breastfeeding was a demanding job, to be sure.  But it was somehow delightfully straightforward: both uniquely female and remarkably uncomplicated.  I can’t say that about many aspects of my life.  Nursing was a focal point, whether managed in the midst of chaos or savored behind closed doors.  In those moments, I felt centered, capable, supremely confident that however I was doing it, I was doing it right.

    What a wonderful feeling!  I’d like to bottle it up for when my kids are teenager.  (I suspect that moments of such clarity are all too rare for parents.) But I’m ready for the next step.  I’ll do my best to give my children all the emotional nourishment I can.  And maybe, once in a while, I’ll rediscover that comforting feeling, the one that says I know what I’m doing – and I’m doing just fine.

-Kate Holland, Chapel Hill, NC 

The Breast Stroke

There was a competition to cross the English Channel doing only the breaststroke. The three women who entered the race were a brunette, a redhead and a blonde.
After approximately 14 hours, the brunette staggered up on the shore and was declared the fastest breast stroker. About 40 minutes later, the redhead crawled up on the shore and was declared the second place finisher. Nearly 4 hours after that, the blonde finally came ashore and promptly collapsed in front of the worried onlookers. When the reporters asked why it took her so long to complete the race, she replied, "I don't want to sound like I'm a sore loser, but I think those two other girls were using their arms..."

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge . . . mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing helps. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's also a lousy beautician.
7) With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

 Just For This Day

Just for this morning
I am going to smile when I see your face, and laugh when I
feel like crying.

Just for this morning
I will let you wake up softly in your flannel p.j.'s and
hold you until you are ready to stir.

Just for this morning,
I will let you choose what you want to wear, and I will say
how beautiful you are.

Just for this morning
I will step over the laundry to pick you up, and take you
to the park to play

Just for this morning
I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me
how to put your puzzle together.

Just for this afternoon
I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and
sit with you in the garden blowing bubbles.

Just for this afternoon
I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you
scream and whine for the ice cream truck
and I will buy you one, if he comes by.

Just for this afternoon
I wont worry about what you are going to be when you grow up,
I will simply love you, for the joy you bring me

Just for this afternoon,
I will let you help me make cookies,
and I wont stand over you. . . trying to 'fix things.

Just for this afternoon,
I will take you to McDonalds and buy us both a 'Happy Meal'
So you can have two toys.

Just for this evening,
I will hold you in my arms and tell you the story of how you
were born, and how much we love you

Just for this evening,
I will let you splash in the bathtub,
and I wont get angry when you pour water over your sisters head.

Just for this evening
I will let you stay up late, while we sit on the porch swing
and count all the stars.

Just for this evening
I will bring you glasses of water,
and snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite t.v. show.

Just for this evening
when I kneel down to pray, I will simply be grateful for all
that I have, and not ask for anything,

Except
Just one more day.

c. 1999 Sally Meyer. (for Dhylan)

 

Child Investment

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up $160,140! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the money we could have banked if not for (insert your child's name here). For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless. But $160,140 is not so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere
$24.44 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice says don' t have children if you want to be " rich" . It is just the opposite.

What do your get for your $160,140?

Naming rights. First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God every day.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.

You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you' re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS!!!!!!!

Ain’t Love Grand?

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of four through eight year olds: “What does love mean?”

The answers went broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

1) “Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way.”
2) “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.”
3) “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.”
4) “Love is when a girl puts on perfumes and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.”
5) “Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired”.
6) “Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.”
7) “Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.”
8) “Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken.”
9) “Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
10) “I let my big sister pick on me because my mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her.
11) "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.”
12) “Love cards like Valentine’s cards say stuff on them that we’d like to say ourselves, but we wouldn’t be caught dead saying.”
13) “Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”
14) “Love is when you tell someone something bad about yourself and you’re scared they won’t love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still love you, they love you even more.”
15) “You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”

 This Year….Be Alive

Think freely…Practice patience…Smile often…Savor special moments…Make new friends…Rediscover old ones…Tell those you love that you do…Feel deeply…Forget troubles…Forgive an enemy…Hope…Grow…Be a little crazy….Count your blessings….Observe miracles…Make them happen…Discard worry…Give in…Trust enough to take…Pick some daisies…Share them…Keep a promise…Look for rainbows…Gaze at stars…See beauty everywhere…Work hard….Be wise…Try to understand….Take time for people…Make time for yourself…Laugh heartily….Spread joy…Take a chance….Reach out and let someone in…Try something new…Slow down…Be sometimes soft…Celebrate life…Believe in yourself…Trust others….See a sunrise…Listen to rain…Reminisce…Cry when you need to…Trust life…Have faith….Enjoy wisdom…Comfort a friend…Have good ideas…Learn from them…Explore the unknown…Hug a child.

 -Good advice for the new millennium  

Top Ten Baby Names for 1999

I thought it was interesting that out of these twenty names, I either have children or pets named after eight of them.  

Top names for babies in 1900: John, Mary, William, Helen, James, Anna, George, Margaret, Charles, and Ruth

Top names for babies in 2000: Emily, Jacob, Sarah, Michael, Brianna, Matthew, Samantha, Nicholas, Hailey, and Christopher. 

And God created woman…

          And God created woman and she had three breasts.  He then asked the woman, “Is there anything you’d like to have changed?”    She replied, “Yes, could you please get rid of this middle Breast?”  And so it was done, and it was good.   Then the woman exclaimed as she was holding the third breast in her hand, “What can be done with this useless boob?”

 And God created man.

 How TALL will your baby be?

 When both parents are in similar percentiles for their gender – that is, they’re both tall, short, or average – it’s possible to predict their child’s adult height.  When one parent is tall and the other one short, this formula is a little less accurate.

   FOR GIRLS:

Take the father’s height and subtract five inches.  Add that figure to the mother’s height and divide by two.

  FOR BOYS:

Take the mother’s height and add five inches.  Combine that figure with the father’s height and divide by two.  

For A Personal Consultation Click > 

When Your Child Switches Percentiles

 In the first two years, it’s not abnormal for a child to cross one percentile, say from the 50^th to the 25^th.  But crossing two percentiles or more may be cause for concern.  “If a child went from the 50^th percentile to the tenth over a three month period, I’d be concerned,” says Stephen Kemp, M.D., chief of pediatric endricrinology at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  Doctors evaluate a number of factors to determine the nature of the problem.  For example, a series of ear infections or other illnesses can temporarily halt growth.  When the illness clears up, the child usually has a growth spurt.  Gastrointestinal problems like reflux can also be the culprit, as can a chronic disease like cystic fibrosis. If a child’s growth accelerates, it could be that his birth size didn’t reflect his genetic makeup – if he was born prematurely, or to a tall father and a small mother.  In rare cases, a significant change in a child’s growth pattern (in either direction) may be due to a growth disorder.  If this is suspected, a pediatric endocrinologist will conduct a bone age scan (by doing an X-ray of the wrist) and take blood tests to determine whether hormone levels are normal.  If the child has a growth disorder, hormone injections can usually alleviate the problem.

    By the end of the first year, the average baby has tripled his birth weight and grown 8-10 inches.  The brain is just 25% of its adult weight at birth (much less than any other primate).  By the end of the first year it’s 66%.  What accounts for the increased weight is the connections made between the 100 billion brain cells your baby is born with.  Breastmilk is known to contain unique factors that promote brain growth and stimulate neurodevelopment.

On Being a Mother  

Liberation-

A strange word,

A strong word.

I think of horrible oppression,

Of chains and fetters,

Of prisons and solitary misery.

Yes. I too, am bound.

But my bonds are human bonds,

Eternal, enduring,

Woven by love into the very fabric of life.

It’s inexplicable

How my bonds have fulfilled me and set me free.

-Esther J. Leck

  Remember to do your monthly breast exam.

Early detection is the key as most women find lumps themselves.

For more information on breast self-exam and breast health go to
http://www.ama-assn.org/insight/h_focus/wom_hlth/brc.htm#p05

Will My Baby Look Like Me?  

    Every baby is shaped by a unique genetic blueprint. Many inborn characteristics are determined at the moment of conception, when egg and sperm combine to form a cell with 46 chromosomes to dictate traits from eye and hair color to the components of the heart and nervous system.

     By taking the following genetic quiz, you can learn what we can and can’t predict about your baby’s appearance.

     My husband and I both have brown eyes.  What color eyes could our baby have?

a.      brown eyes only

b.      brown, blue, or hazel eyes

c.       blue eyes only

The answer is b. Eye color is not controlled by a single dominant or recessive gene.  The pigment in the eyes is determined by the interaction of several genes, so two brown-eyed parents may have children with any eye color.

I have straight hair, and my husband has curly hair.  What kind of hair might our baby have?

a.      curly, straight, or wavy hair

b.      straight hair

c.       curly hair

     The answer is a.  The trait for curly hair tends to be dominant over straight                 

     hair, so it’s likely  that your baby will have curly hair- but it’s not a sure thing.

    I’m five feet tall, and my husband is five three.  We both wish we              were taller, and we’re concerned that our children will be even smaller than we are.  As adults, how tall are our children likely to be?

a.      even shorter than five feet

b.      somewhat taller

c.       of average height

The answer is b.  Chances are good that your children will be of below average height, but taller than you are.  This probability reflects a general tendency, called regression toward the mean, that also applies to very tall parents, whose offspring are generally taller than average but not as tall as the parents.  Similarly, the children of mentally slow or brilliant couples tend to turn out less dull or less brilliant than their parents.

Allergies From Rubber Pacifiers

 There are about 40,000 different consumer products made with rubber, ranging from gloves to condoms – including pacifiers.  About one in 100 people are allergic to latex. If your baby develops unexplained itching, swelling, sneezing, wheezing, or coughing, try switching to a silicone pacifier. 

Breastfeeding, allergies linked

      Nursing infants exclusively for the first four months of life may protect against the development of allergies and asthma, according to a new study by Australian researchers.

      The findings, which were published in the British Medical Journal, are consistent with other studies that have pointed to a beneficial effect of breastfeeding in protecting against allergies and asthma.

   “Like others, we found that it was the age that other milk was introduced rather than the duration of breastfeeding that was associated with asthma or allergies”.

    The research team suggests that human milk may contain important nutritional, anti-inflammatory or other substances that could help develop of asthma and allergies.           

Hugs Ease Pain of Drawing Blood  

     A new study suggests that hugging their newborns during standard medical procedures such as immunizations or drawing blood can reduce baby’s pain.

     Baby’s heart rates were measured as blood was being drawn.  Those who were being hugged and experiencing skin-to-skin contact during the procedure cried and grimaced less and had a smaller heart-rate increase than their counterparts.

!If Men Got Pregnant!

1.     Maternity leave would last two years – with full pay.

2.     Men would stay in bed during the entire pregnancy.

3.     All methods of birth control would be 100% effective.

4.     Natural childbirth would be obsolete.

5.     Newborns would be kept in the hospital until toilet trained.

6.     There would be a cure for stretch marks.

7.     Morning sickness would rank as the nation’s #1 health problem.

8.     People wouldn’t think twins were so cute.

9.     Triplets would be subsidized by the federal government.

     10. Briefcases would be designed so they could double as diaper bags.

     11. Paternity suits would be a line of women’s apparel.

     12. All male children would have to be home by 10 pm.

     13. Zero population growth would be achieved overnight.

Nursing Lowers Cancer Risk (1999)

    Washington – Breastfed infants may have up to a 30% lower risk of developing some forms of childhood leukemia when compared with babies who are bottle-fed, according to a new study. 

     The findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, differ from some earlier, smaller studies that found no statistically significant support for the idea that breastfeeding protected against leukemia.

      The new study, by researchers at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, found that the longer babies were breastfed, the more they were protected.

                           Actress Gets Last Laugh on Doctors

    Actress Gilda Radner, who had plenty of contact with doctors while being treated for ovarian cancer, has gotten the last laugh in this poem published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.  

                    Doctors are whippersnappers in ironed white coats

                    Who spy up your rectums and look down your throats

                    And press you and poke you with specialized tools

                    And stab at solutions that pacify fools.

                    I used to revere them and do what they said

                    Till I learned what they learned on was already dead.

(this should not be interpreted in any way as ‘doctor bashing’.   However, any woman who has ever been flat on her back, legs splayed, with a male doctor minutely examining her genitals, can relate…)

   
“How can he be three months old when he was just born yesterday and we’ve had him forever?”  

Want to Lose Weight? Chew Gum or Drink Green Tea

   It may not be classy, but it seems chewing gum can help you lose weight.  It does so by increasing your metabolism by about 20%.  This means that if you chew gum all day – every day – you may lose about 11 lbs in a year.  You’ll have to decide for yourself if it’s worth it.  If you do, make sure the gum is sugar-free.

      Another surprising method of weight loss is drinking green tea.  Already known to protect against cancer by virtue of its high antioxidant concentration, green tea also may help you lose weight by increasing energy expenditure – just as chewing gum does.  Extracts of green tea have been observed to cause a 4% rise in the body’s daily energy output.  This probably is not due to the small amount of caffeine present but rather to the polyphenols in the tea, which make the body burn fat to generate heat.  (this appeared in Parade Magazine on  2/20/2000.  I passed it on because just about every new mother I know wants to lose weight, and I can’t imagine how chewing gum or drinking green tea could compromise breastfeeding in any way…)

Helping Deaf or Hearing Impaired Babies Early Aids Learning

    Spotting babies’ hearing problems very early in life appears to substantially improve their chances of having reasonably normal vocabularies, even though their speech may still be poor.

     New technology using electrodes or ear probes can quickly detect infant’s poor hearing.  27 states currently require this testing on newborns, and similar laws are in the works in several more. 

     The test cost about $25.00, and seems to pay off, because the first six months seem to be the most important to language development.

     Early intervention is important – young children who are fitted with hearing aids and get other special attention as soon as possible develop close-to-normal vocabularies and understanding of grammar.

     Although their speech may not be as clear as children with normal hearing, ¾ of deaf or hard of hearing children can speak intelligibly by the time they reach school age.

     Research supports the existence of a critical period of language development in the first six months of life. 

    Among the findings:

-90% of children with bad hearing who are identified early develop vocabulary that is in the normal range in the first three years of life.

-Only ¼ of children identified later have vocabularies approaching the normal range. 

-Since screening began, 2 of every 1,000 babies were found to hear poorly in both ears; 1 in 1,000 heard poorly in one ear; 3 in 1,000 have temporary hearing problems.

    Without testing, poor hearing typically goes unnoticed until about age 2 ½. Before that time, hard-of-hearing babies may babble less, but otherwise they seem normal.  

    (This was an AP article out of Washington, DC in February, 2000.  I wanted to share it because even though the odds are that your baby will have normal hearing, 2-3 out of 1,000 is a pretty high percentage if your child is one of the ones affected.  Ask your doctor about this test – early intervention seems critical).

Baby-Care Book Could Be Dangerous

       One relatively new entry to the ranks of child-rearing books concerns us a great deal.  On Becoming Babywise, by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, M.D., contains information that is not only inaccurate but also has the potential to harm infants. 

     On Becoming Babywise, which has sold more than 200,000 copies since it was published in 1995, emphasizes the acquisition of important values such as kindness, honesty, and respect for others.  While we certainly agree with these childrearing goals, the author’s recommendations about how to achieve them are harsh and punitive. 

     For example, the “parent directed feeding plan” that they advocate calls for adherence to a strict feeding schedule.  If  your newborn  doesn’t finish what he’s given at one feeding, contends Ezzo, he shouldn’t be fed until three hours later – even if he displays signs of hunger – because “babies learn from natural consequences.”  Learning to be accountable for behavior is reasonable for older children, but it is absolutely inappropriate for infants.  At least one infant has been hospitalized for dehydration and malnutrition while on this regimen.

      Furthermore, the authors recommend spanking (with an instrument that is not too stiff) to punish certain behaviors.  (Their advice on chastisement, as they call it, reminds us of that dispensed by the Rev. John Robinson, who wrote in the early 1700s that “by the time a child is one year he must be taught to fear being beaten with a stick.  The unpleasant noise of crying will be rarely heard in the house and the family will live in as much quietness  as if there were not a child among them.”)  Ezzo’s suggestions for using physical punishment and other “parent-centered” methods of child-rearing are hardly likely to produce well-adjusted children.

     On Becoming Babywise  grew out of a course and accompanying work-book entitled “Growing Kids God’s Way” written and taught by Ezzo and his wife, Anne Marie.  The course has expanded to some 6,000 churches nationwide.  As a commonsense, loving, and parent-centered approach to raising a baby, the book might be attractive to parents who are unaware that some of the information and advice is physically and emotionally dangerous to children. Because the Ezzos appeal to widely held childrearing goals, the book may fool some parents. If  you have questions, we urge you to speak with your family physician or lactation consultant, or write to us in care of  Child, 375 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10017.  (You can also check the article on “Night Waking” on my website for more details about the Ezzo’s and their theories as they relate to breastfeeding.)

 (The authors are Dr. Barry Zuckerman and his wife, Dr. Pamela Zuckerman.  Barry is chairman of the department of pediatrics of Boston University School of Medicine.  His wife, Pamela, is a pediatrician in private practice) This article appeared in the august 1998 issue of Child Magazine.

     The AAP issued an official statement in 1998.  It states that “Newborns should be nursed whenever they show signs of hunger, such as increased alertness or activity, mouthing or rooting.  Crying is a late indicator of hunger.  Newborns should be nursed approximately 8-12 times every 24 hours until satiety…in the early weeks after birth, non-demanding babies should be aroused to feed if 4 hours have elapsed since the last nursing.”  (My personal recommendation is not to let more than 2-3 hours go by during the day, with a 4 hour stretch at night, during the first two weeks after birth, or until the baby has regained his birth weight…).