Finding support during your lactation and parenthood journey can have a really beautiful impact on your family. This week on the blog, we’re sharing some La Leche League impact stories from our New Beginnings Facebook community.
Jessica L. shared that she went to her first LLL meeting just a month ago and had a really good experience. “I went into the meeting during my haze of postpartum depression. The room was loud, full of parents and kids, and it felt so welcoming. I’d spent the month prior exclusively pumping and trying to latch my baby. We had just figured out breastfeeding when I went to the meeting. It was so magical to spend the day practicing breastfeeding and making friends. Attending my local La Leche League Group Meeting was exactly what I needed.”
Kylie P. first participated in La Leche League when she was pregnant with her second child. “I remember that I had joined a Facebook group for my local LLL. I had enjoyed learning from the questions posted there but never attended a meeting when my first child was born and we were figuring out nursing. I went to my first meeting when I was about seven months pregnant with my second child, and my then-toddler was still nursing. I felt really unprepared about the possibility of tandem nursing and thought that if anyone could explain it to me, it would happen there. Sure enough, a more experienced parent shared her story with me about tandem nursing and really encouraged me. I found the magic of peer support with that experience. When my second child was born, I went through the accreditation process and became a La Leche League Leader and it has been a very rewarding experience. I feel so grateful for the support LLL gave me and so honored to be able to provide that support now as a Leader.”
Shelli F. described what her first La Leche League meeting was like. “I went to my first La Leche League meeting in June 2005. My daughter was less than a week old and was struggling to gain weight, and I was struggling to nurse. My nipples were purple and sore. I cried at everything and felt so overwhelmed. I was miserable. The moms and the LLL Leader (who to this day remains a close friend) wrapped their arms around me both literally and figuratively. I felt seen and cared for in ways I had not since my daughter had been born (a traumatic C Section). I will never forget that day or those moms. Now that baby is a sophomore in college. She went on to nurse until she was four, and I have since become a La Leche League Leader myself!”
Véronique L. was indirectly invited to a La Leche League meeting when her third child had already started eating solids. “One Sunday, my mother-in-law told me that one of her friends’ daughters was organizing ‘a meeting for people like you who breastfeed a lot.’ The afternoon of the meeting, I packed my three kids and went to see what it was about. It was the first LLL meeting in my town, under the guidance of two Leaders from another town an hour away. Even though I didn’t know any of the other people at the meeting, I immediately felt comfortable and welcome. I was so happy to have found a group of people for whom breastfeeding was truly part of their parenting journey that I immediately marked my calendar to be sure I would not miss the following meetings. Given that until then breastfeeding had been a rather lonely adventure, I accepted at once when the meeting’s organizer (who had become a Leader) invited me to consider becoming a Leader myself: this was a way for me to help other people not feel lonely as they try to figure out how to nurse, for how long, etc.”
Linda A. was desperate to find support for her nursing issues after struggling for several days postpartum. “Nothing was working for us like I had read in the books. My friends told me to just give him a bottle. I am so grateful to this day for that LLL Leader who picked me up and drove me to my first meeting. After seeing others nursing and receiving their good vibes that day, everything changed. I came home more calm and relaxed, and my baby latched and nursed for the first time. I’m a believer in the unique encouragement and support that LLL provides by bringing parents together in person.”
We’d love to hear your stories of how LLL supported you, too. Send your stories to Kylie at [email protected].
Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always
Please consider donating to La Leche League USA.
Your gift helps support this blog and the website!
Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. Thank you!
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Last Updated: January 1, 2025 by Yael Breimer
La Leche League’s Impact on Me
Finding support during your lactation and parenthood journey can have a really beautiful impact on your family. This week on the blog, we’re sharing some La Leche League impact stories from our New Beginnings Facebook community.
Kylie P. first participated in La Leche League when she was pregnant with her second child. “I remember that I had joined a Facebook group for my local LLL. I had enjoyed learning from the questions posted there but never attended a meeting when my first child was born and we were figuring out nursing. I went to my first meeting when I was about seven months pregnant with my second child, and my then-toddler was still nursing. I felt really unprepared about the possibility of tandem nursing and thought that if anyone could explain it to me, it would happen there. Sure enough, a more experienced parent shared her story with me about tandem nursing and really encouraged me. I found the magic of peer support with that experience. When my second child was born, I went through the accreditation process and became a La Leche League Leader and it has been a very rewarding experience. I feel so grateful for the support LLL gave me and so honored to be able to provide that support now as a Leader.”
Shelli F. described what her first La Leche League meeting was like. “I went to my first La Leche League meeting in June 2005. My daughter was less than a week old and was struggling to gain weight, and I was struggling to nurse. My nipples were purple and sore. I cried at everything and felt so overwhelmed. I was miserable. The moms and the LLL Leader (who to this day remains a close friend) wrapped their arms around me both literally and figuratively. I felt seen and cared for in ways I had not since my daughter had been born (a traumatic C Section). I will never forget that day or those moms. Now that baby is a sophomore in college. She went on to nurse until she was four, and I have since become a La Leche League Leader myself!”
Véronique L. was indirectly invited to a La Leche League meeting when her third child had already started eating solids. “One Sunday, my mother-in-law told me that one of her friends’ daughters was organizing ‘a meeting for people like you who breastfeed a lot.’ The afternoon of the meeting, I packed my three kids and went to see what it was about. It was the first LLL meeting in my town, under the guidance of two Leaders from another town an hour away. Even though I didn’t know any of the other people at the meeting, I immediately felt comfortable and welcome. I was so happy to have found a group of people for whom breastfeeding was truly part of their parenting journey that I immediately marked my calendar to be sure I would not miss the following meetings. Given that until then breastfeeding had been a rather lonely adventure, I accepted at once when the meeting’s organizer (who had become a Leader) invited me to consider becoming a Leader myself: this was a way for me to help other people not feel lonely as they try to figure out how to nurse, for how long, etc.”
Linda A. was desperate to find support for her nursing issues after struggling for several days postpartum. “Nothing was working for us like I had read in the books. My friends told me to just give him a bottle. I am so grateful to this day for that LLL Leader who picked me up and drove me to my first meeting. After seeing others nursing and receiving their good vibes that day, everything changed. I came home more calm and relaxed, and my baby latched and nursed for the first time. I’m a believer in the unique encouragement and support that LLL provides by bringing parents together in person.”
We’d love to hear your stories of how LLL supported you, too. Send your stories to Kylie at [email protected].
Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always
Please consider donating to La Leche League USA.
Your gift helps support this blog and the website!
Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. Thank you!
Follow us on:
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Category: Grateful For LLL USA
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