Cluster feeding

Marjorie's giving us (mostly meaning Sam) a rough time lately: there have been more of those cluster-feeding incidents in which she decides that instead of even what usually passes for a civilized schedule for little babies, she wants dozens of frequent, short feedings over a period of maybe seven or eight hours. Unfortunately these bouts often happen in the middle of the night. The only saving grace is that she sleeps for as much as five or six hours straight once she's finished with her milk bender. We need to figure out some way to train her off of this behavior if it doesn't stop soon.

Sometimes it's possible to placate her for a while with a pacifier, but we've become extremely reluctant to use the pacifier because of all the claims that a pacifier eventually leads to earlier cessation of breastfeeding and more ear infections. My family is extremely prone to repeated ear infections in the toddler years (I've still got the scar tissue) and it would be nice if she can avoid that. I figure, though, that if the cluster feeding gets unbearable enough that Sam's on the verge of abandoning breastfeeding anyway (which she's not, yet—she has amazing reserves of toughness), the pacifier wouldn't be a bad thing to use. On the other hand, it probably wouldn't be anything more than a palliative.

...though, the advice about this I've been able to find about this cluster-feeding behavior is just along the lines of "it's normal, there's nothing you can do about it, hang in there for a few months." I just hope the period shifts to some time other than the wee hours of the morning.

Where Has All the Science Fiction Gone?

Recent Campbell award winner John Scalzi lectures on the state of science fiction in a refreshingly unpretentious manner at a library in Covington, Kentucky (streaming WMV video over an hour long). As he says in his post on the subject, he's a bit fidgety and says "you know" a lot, but it's a good introduction to all the "whither science fiction?" arguments of the past several years, suitable for a general audience. One thing I like about it is that he covers the bases without just lapsing into the usual death-of-the-genre or everything-sucks-now handwringing.