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Have a question for Dr. Bill or Martha?
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Dr. Bill and Martha Answer:
I have successfully breastfed my two oldest daughters with no problems at all (your book on Attachment parenting has helped tremendously!!). Imagine my surprise when, five years later, we added another beautiful daughter -- who I could not nurse at all! We (my lactation consultant and I) could not find one earthly reason that I could not nurse. It was painful to give her a bottle and admit defeat at nursing. (She is now 5 months old and we have bonded beautifully thanks to Attachment parenting.) Is this unusual or have others successfully nursed their first child and had problems with consecutive children for strange reasons? I am now pregnant with baby number four. What can I do to avoid problems with nursing him or her? Answer: Yes, you were able to "nurse" your infant, even though you could not breastfeed her. "Nursing" implies nurturing, whether by breast or bottle. Breastfeeding is just one of the six baby B's, along with birth bonding, bedsharing, babywearing, belief in the signal value of baby's cries and beware of baby trainers. You have given your baby the rest of the Attachment parenting package, and as a result, you and your new baby are connected. True, breastfeeding makes Attachment parenting easier, yet you did the best you could. That's all your baby will ever expect. Breastfeeding, like all systems of the body, sometimes doesn't work despite "doing everything right." Yet, you were wise enough to compensate for this by practicing the other styles of Attachment parenting. This could have been a quirk that won't happen with your next child. The main thing that you'll need to overcome with your next baby is the fear of failure, which itself may sabotage your breastfeeding relationship. With your next baby, be confident and try to put the past in the past. |
