The Breastfeeding in the Park event went great. We gathered at 11, sat around and ate and chatted, latched on the babes at noon, talked to the news crew and reporters, chased the toddlers around and oohed and aahed at the littler babies, then cleaned up. I saw some old, good friends and made some new ones, which is always awesome. We had 25 babies/children nursing, and many more people came to show their support.Mad props to my fave store Giggle, and to my beloved Stamford Hospital lactation consultants, for showing up to support.
Something one of the reporters said made me realize that some people think La Leche League is about pressuring moms to breastfeed. It's not. It's about supporting moms who want to breastfeed- because believe me, we need support (my husband asked me to elaborate: many things can challenge the breastfeeding relationship- painful latches that need to be corrected, decreased supply after an illness of baby or mom, preemie having trouble nursing, the stress of pumping at work, being given a really crappy place to pump at work, bad advice from others). The mission statement says it all: "Our Mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother." Speaking for myself, I do not feel it is my business how any other individual mother feeds her kid; rather, I want to be able to feed mine how I want, and the support and advocacy of La Leche League makes that possible. LLL is how I knew exactly what my pumping rights at work were, and how I know that I don't have to automatically believe my pediatrician when he tells me that age one is a good time to wean, or that after age one, you can't count breastmilk toward their nutrition or calorie needs. (How is that even logical?)
LLL, as far as I can see, is not about guilt-tripping parents who use formula (as the News 12 reporter Gillian Neff seemed to be trying really hard to make it seem in her 5pm segment- more on that later), but about educating society in general about breastfeeding, and thereby making it easier for women who want to breastfeed to do so. Nursing in public is one easy way to show that breastfeeding is a normal, natural, non-freaky act. I know that for me, seeing my sister nurse gave me the idea that it was a good thing to do- other than that, I'd never seen another person nurse a kid. I do not care if individual people breastfeed or use formula- plenty of my best mom friends do both. I do want people to know though, that nursing can be a very cool thing, and to try it if you're interested, and to get help if you need it from LLL or Stamford Hospital lactation (not your pediatrician, for goodness' sake, not your coworker or sister- get real help, and it's free!!!).
I probably used to have a stereotype of LLL as a bunch of hippies who are sticking their nose in people's business, pressuring them to breastfeed and trash-talking parents who formula-feed. I am sure there are some people in the organization like that, but not in this chapter. And anyone who acts like that is not following the philosophy of LLL in a positive way. LLL is about helping moms and babies, and that's why I am so pleased to be a part of it.
Plus I've just met some really cool people through it.
