Lakeshore Baby Love - Breastfeeding Statement

I never thought toddler breastfeeding was for me...until her <3 td="">

Ok - I'm hoping that coming up with a title for this post is going to be the hardest part. If you're not into breastfeeding, then really you can scroll and find another post, because this post is all about boobs and how they are used to feed babies and toddlers.

I am often asked if there is a Manitowoc/Two Rivers area LaLeche League group. Let me start by saying there is not. The previous group disbanded when the leader moved away and no one stepped up to take on that role. I considered it - I really did! I prayed about it, discussed it with friends, family, my husband, etc... because I love breastfeeding, sharing the love of breastfeeding, and helping women feel empowered when it comes to caring for their babies. So it seems pretty dumb that I didn't step up, right?

Well....the LaLeche League has a lot of rules. I totally "get it" - it's a cover your ass kind of world. I don't think they'd like me very much, and being an official LLL leader I wouldn't be able to follow my heart and my gut in certain situations. I wouldn't be able to tell a new mom that it's okay to throw in the towel. I wouldn't be able to say things like "fed is best" or "why don't you just give her a bottle? it doesn't make you any less of a mom"

I've said all those things and I will say them again I'm certain. I do not think that breastfeeding is the ONLY way to feed a baby. I think it's convenient and it works for me now...but there was a time when I was working too many hours, traveling, my employer only allowed pumping in a restroom, I was ashamed to feed my baby in public, etc... and I fed my baby with formula. Guess what happened? They didn't die. In fact, they are now old enough to drive me crazy and they even drink soda - - - GASP!

Lakeshore Baby Love as a group is about loving babies which means loving the family units who care for them. This means no shaming, and making a mom feel guilty because she stopped breastfeeding or never attempted it, doesn't fit the mold of who we are as a group or who I am as a human. So - if you are interested in being supported and loved through your breastfeeding journey, and you wish their was a LaLeche League on the Lakeshore, you've come to the right place. Lakeshore Baby Love is going to love you right through that journey - no matter what it looks like. We are going to love you through those engorged breasts, sore nipples, sleepless nights, and we will keep on loving you once breastfeeding gets easy...the days when you get to run out of the house without worrying about measuring things, clean bottles, water, etc...

So, in closing I want to give you the same advice I give myself in the third trimester of my pregnancies: "Hold yourself to a standard of Grace and not Perfection" and what that means to me is we will enter into motherhood without expectations. We will love our bodies as much as our babies. We will love our babies however they need to be loved (that may mean bottles or disposable diapers, breasts, or fluffy butts). It's pretty tough to love another human when you always feel like you've failed, so be gentle with yourself and just BE. Be the mother that your baby needs. Live in the moment. Love fully. Ask for help.

See you at our next meet up and be sure to join our Facebook Group to stay up on current "stuff"

xoxoxo
Crystal

Crystal is a secretary and musician at her church, birth mother, babywearing cloth diapering mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin with her husband, four young children (Carmen 10, Andre 9, Breccan 3, Delphine 2, and baby Eudora due this fall), two dogs, two rabbits, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff here, and at WOW! Women on Writing - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade!