6.11.2007

 

LLL

I went to my first La Leche League meeting this morning, and I have to say, they're not scary at all.

It's very important to me to breastfeed my baby, but I'm a little nervous about those first few weeks as he's learning to latch on, I'm establishing a good supply, and we're getting into the routine of nursing so that it becomes easier. I heard a not-so-great story about one of the lactation consultants at the hospital where I'll be giving birth, so I was eager to find more people in town who might be able to help if Kent and I have problems at first (and/or later on, I guess). The lactation consultant I work with might be fine, but this story really made me angry, so I want to make sure I have backup experts on breastfeeding to talk to. I've been reading the LLL book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (gotta love that title), and every third paragraph or so they like to remind the reader that she can always come to a meeting or contact a local LLL leader for help or questions, so I decided to take them up on this generous offer.

They meet every month in a comfy little room at a church about ten minutes from our house, and there's also a nighttime meeting some other time of the month at another place (though the morning meeting time will work better for me, I think). There were a bunch of moms with kids, some of whom are still nursing at age 2 or 3, which I think is great if it's working for the family, and they were all completely willing to open up and share advice, stories, etc., with me and the other newbies at the meeting. Several of them have teething babies, so they were commiserating on that and talking with each other about how to get through the biting stage. Ow. The advice I heard the most from the other moms was to trust my own instincts about nursing, since they might be counter to medical advice I receive but are coming from thousands of years of maternal intuition and human experience. They didn't just talk about nursing, either — there was much discussion of cloth diapers (and I found a brand called Fuzzi Bunz that I'm REALLY excited about), introducing solid foods, Gymboree classes, signing with babies, going back to work, etc. I got the impression that there's usually some kind of structured program, but one of the leaders suddenly wasn't able to come, so we all introduced ourselves, had some snacks, played with the kids, and just sat around and talked for almost two hours. One of the other newbies at the meeting has an 8-week-old daughter, and after we started talking, I found out that she's from Blacksburg (just like Jack) and went to Virginia Tech, where both of her parents still work. She and her husband had just moved to Baton Rouge when their daughter was born, and she didn't know many people in town yet so was looking to connect with other moms. This is one of my primary motives for having gone to the meeting as well, because I have friends in town, certainly, but most of them are years away from having kids. They've been very supportive of the pregnancy and are excited to get to know and babysit Kent, but I know they won't be able to offer the same kind of support that other parents can.

Anyway, the meeting was a success all around, and I'll definitely be back with an infant in my arms the next time, unless he's really late, in which case I'll just be grumpy and hot!

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Comments:

I'm SO HAPPY!!!
YAAAYY!!!!

I'm glad you found it and had a great time. I've heard a lot of good things about Fuzzi Bunz, too. ;-)
 
Just wanted to 2nd the cloth diaper rec---Fuzzi Bunz are cool because they have neat snap buttons so you don't have to deal with safety pins. Ouch!
 
Your diapers look so cool. I did cloth with Ben for a long time, but I used the old kind of cloth diaper with pins that I put a waterproof cover over. The cover used velcro, but the velcro got ratty and stuck to stuff in the wash, even when I fastened it to itself. I also have a friend who has been a long time member of LLL and she really enjoys the group.
 
Glad you liked it and met some good people for support / possible friends! I'm curious what this anger-inducing story about the lactation consultant is though...dun dun dunnnnn. Oh, and I LOVE the name "Fuzzi Bunz," that is hilarious. Maybe the cats need to get a fun new nickname (Fuzzi Bunz1 and 2 perhaps??) so they don't get sibling rivalry! :-)
 
Fuzzi Bunz, diapers have come a long way since Kent's dad was a baby. I'm betting on genetics. July 7th. Grandma A
 
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