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Natural Birth
Texas77again
member
LLL meetings (la leche league)
Texas77again
member
do you go to meetings?
if not, why?
if yes, what kinds of things did you learn?
overall did you find it to be a positive experience?
were there like-minded moms there?
any other thoughts about it?
i am thinking of starting a meeting in my area and wanted other's thoughts. TIA!
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Re: LLL meetings (la leche league)
I'm not sure what ive learned since I started going after the birth of our second child so really nothing we discuss is really new to me. I Just really enjoy getting out with my kids, offering and receiving support from other moms and just getting to know others in the area since we are relatively new. Oh wait, I did learn (although through phone calls with one of the leaders not in a meeting) about methods to try to deal with my ever abundant supply (block feeding, etc).
I like how our meeting follow the 4 week cycle LLL sets forward but we only use 1/2 our time discussing those topics because they naturally segway into other issues/questions. We even allot ourselves about 15-20 minutes at the very end to just sit and chat with other attendees before we're rushed out of our meeting spot (a library). Those last few minutes are great to talk to those people you feel some sort of connection with or to offer more support to someone in a situation you've dealt with before.
So all that to say that I love our LLL meetings and highly recommend them to any pregnant or new mom.
Yes, I went to a couple meetings while pregnant and plan to go to some more with my baby.
It was surprisingly fun - I went to my first one totally telling myself if I was uncomfortable I could leave after half an hour. I stayed for a full two hours. It was great just to hear moms talk about their breastfeeding experiences, and parenting experiences in general. It was really encouraging to hear about the struggles they had had and what the solutions were.
There were a variety of moms, from the expected "super crunchy granola co-sleeping" type to the "higher maintenance look-at-my-baby's-wardrobe" type. It wasn't just one homogeneous group, which made it easier to feel like I could belong. And every meeting starts with the "you'll probably hear some things you don't agree with - take what you like and leave the rest behind" disclaimer.
It was really helpful in making me more comfortable with breastfeeding. I have emailed a Leader with a question, and it was nice to just get some reassurance.
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I have been in contact with the leader in my area, and I am headed to my first class next month! I'm a FTM, so I'm happy to be able to make it to one meeting before my LO gets here (sometime in July).
I went when my first was born (my first meeting was when she was 5 weeks old). I ended up only going to a few meetings because the local LLL schedule changed and meetings were on a day that I worked (I worked p/t).
I honestly don't remember what I learned. I should have called when DD was a few days old and we were struggling with latch issues, but I felt weird calling when I'd never been to a meeting. By the time I went to a meeting, that had been worked out, but it was still good to be around other BFing moms. I had heard all the stereotypes about LLL being super-crunchy and hard core AP and I could see where the stereotype came from, but definitely didn't feel like every mom there was that way.
I attended meetings regularly before we moved. I liked having a place to ask questions, and it was honestly the only place where I wasn't the crazy/hippie one.
I would still be going in our new town, except the meeting is during one of my most favorite playgroups/my closest friends.
There's one main reason I'm not trying harder to go to LLL anymore (technically I could go to a less convenient location on another day): I feel like one meeting a month doesn't really make me any friends. Everyone is very nice, but unless you hardcore click with someone (I haven't), none of those friendships translate to an every day kind of thing. I wish there were other LLL events/meetings during the month so you could actually get to know people.
Actually, right before I moved, my LLL group was going to start having those sorts of things (Tuesday Tea, a BWing fashion show, library story times, etc). I think things like that would be crucial for a group to really be close-knit.
Echoing this!
I attend the meetings most months.
I have learned about different ways to cope with some of the challenges of BFing, like sore nipples, thrush, etc. And also the more emotional aspects like being "touched out" and being solely responsible for the nourishment of a helpless little human.
Yes, always!
Yes, the moms are all very much like minded-at least about BFing. Most are also of a similar mind about nutrition, birth, just motherhood in general.
I enjoy having the community of support and seeing women nursing their 6 week olds and others with their two year olds. I enjoy being able to offer my experience to newer moms and get advice from more experienced moms. It's a really positive place.
I attend the LLL meetings in our area.
I love them! I was a FTM and had a hard time BF. MY DS was hospitalized for a week and I was only pumping around twice a day when he was there so my milk didn't come in quickly. I browsed the internet to find any information on BF and came across LLL and contacted my local leader. She was a ton of help. She was available through email, over the phone and even in person aside from the meetings. I didn't have any other support since almost all the mothers I knew didn't breastfeed. I don't think I would have breastfed my DS as long if I didn't go to the LLL meetings since my sisters and ILs would all say my DS is to big to be breastfeeding. I think it varies on the leader and thankfully we have a great leader in our area who isn't judgemental or biased.