Sometimes moms need extra coaching
First-time mom Genelle John said she was about to completely give up on breast feeding when she called La Leche League for help.
“I made contact with La Leche because breast feeding was very painful for me. People said it would be at first but to stick with it and it would get better. But it didn’t and basically I was at my wits end when I called. The pain had become excruciating,” she said.
Ms John said less than a week at home with her baby India, she was still having difficulty and decided as a last resort to call La Leche. She said the La Lache trainer trainer Jill was prompt to respond. “They take it so seriously,” said Ms John. “They understood the importance, that it was a person who needed to be fed. I was in her living room with India and Lionel (her partner) just a few hours after the call.”
And by the time she left Jill’s home, baby India had latched onto her mother’s breast and was feeding easily. Ms John said she was quickly taught a few techniques to get her daughter to open her mouth wide enough to properly feed. “The problem was that she was not getting my nipple in fully.”
After the initial lesson Ms John attended monthly meetings held by the group.
“They gave me as much help as I needed,” she said. “No matter what the problem, they were supportive.” And she said she made lasting friends as a result of those meetings.
“I attended regularly for about a year. I went for support to listen to other people’s difficulties,” she said. “It was good to meet with other moms. When you have a baby you’re out there all alone every day.”
After her initial hardship Ms John said she was very happy breast feeding. She began to wean India at six months giving her a combination of breast milk and formula.
“At ten months I stopped because she was biting me,” she said. “But she was doing that because I had allowed her to bite the nipple on the bottle. If she had not started biting me, I probably would still be breast feeding but I didn’t structure that. I am so glad that I did it for as long as I did.”
Breast feeding was much more cost effective and there was no cleaning up and packing.
“Formula is much more expensive and you have to get bottles, nipples and all the cleaning,” Ms John said. “I am so sick of washing bottles. I had not thought about it but right now I think — dishwasher,” she said.
“You don’t have to pack anything. You can get up and go. Most people keep diapers in the car but when you use formula you have to plan and get all that ready and pack it.”
Arguments that it is more socially acceptable to bottle feed were lost on Ms John when she was breast feeding.
“I did not know that there was any controversy about it until I saw a Dr. Phil show,” she said. “I would feed my daughter anywhere — in Gibbons Company, on the ferry, waiting in line somewhere. Her cry is so intense that my natural response is to feed my child,” she added.
Apart from the cost saving, Ms John said losing weight through breast feeding was another plus factor. “The pounds dropped off me,” she said. “I actually was five pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight. At the beginning I actually felt my stomach contracting while I was breast feeding.”
A strong advocate for breast feeding and the La Leche League, Ms John said she tried to make early contact with the group.
“I called them while I was pregnant but when I got an answering machine I hung up,” she said.
Ms John said La Leche League supported her every step of they way. “Even when I decided to stop breast feeding. There was no pressure from them to continue,” she said.
