I am pretty sure that I do not need a lactation consultant. Claire has a perfectly good latch. I do not have any supply issues. I am comfortable in different breastfeeding positions. I have read La Leche League's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding front to back, and am always visiting breastfeeding support forums, so I am certainly informed. What I do have is an impatient and lazy suckler. One out of every five times, she will take from my breast and drink for a good 10+ minutes straight. It is only the other four out of five times that she will only suck for a minute or two, tire of it (because it's more work than drinking from a bottle), then proceed to start screaming. And the...

"Do you still want more kids, seeing how hard it's been so far?" I asked J yesterday. "Of course," he replied. "It may be hard now, but the rewards will be worth it." "Well, I don't want any more kids," I told him. "I can't imagine going through this again, especially if we have another child to take care of. Claire can be an only child." J didn't say anything back, but I could tell what he was thinking: 'She'll change her mind.' It has now been 4.5 weeks since Claire was born, and I can honestly say that motherhood is the hardest thing I've ever experienced in my life. And I have it easy: my in-laws come over almost every day so that...