Hannah Kidd

My story begins as a baby. My mom found La Leche League back in the ’90s while they were stationed in Germany. She experienced several challenges and overcame them before finding LLL. She loved the mom connection at LLL! She nursed me until I self weaned at 4 years 2 months.  It is so specific because my parents actually found the note they had kept!! It has several dates crossed out with one remaining. I even used to “pump” for my baby doll so my dad could feed her when Mom and I went out.

As soon as I became pregnant my mom got me the book and told me I just had to go to meetings. I started going in my 3rd trimester. It was nice to get a feel for things and know some leaders instead of just calling up a stranger.

My son was born, and even though I had read so much, there was a disconnect. I couldn’t figure out how to put us tummy to tummy. I met with the lactation consultant at the hospital who said what I was doing was fine. I had been given a nipple shield as well, and I personally don’t believe it was necessary.

I was having pain the whole time, and it just hurt. Needless to say, what I was doing was not fine. My son was gaining splendidly but I was hurting.

I was having these challenges before the next scheduled meeting, so I called and spoke with another local leader. I didn’t want to wait for the meeting.

I have no idea, to this day, exactly what she said except she asked if she could send me a link to ‘the flipple’ as what I was describing sounded like a shallow latch. I felt calmed down and was confident I was getting assistance. The call made me feel good.

While I was on the phone my mom was there, and she made one suggestion. She suggested I position us like a plus sign. That suggestion combined with deepening the latch was what we needed!

We go regularly to our meetings, and he’s now 21 months. We will stop when he’s done. Weaning is a process, not an event, and if you think about it, he’s been weaning since 6 months when he devoured some apple.

Editor’s Note: In the first sentence, the “book” refers to The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

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