La League of Extraordinary Women

I went on an adventure this past Wednesday evening. I attended my very first La Leche League meeting. I have been reading "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" and felt that it might do me some good to get out and meet real women who subscribe to the philosophy of La Leche.

I was a bit frightened by my recent reading. Like any group that is dedicated to a goal, the rhetoric used can be...umm...off-putting. I'm a convert to their camp, I believe in what they're saying but I am no evangelist and tent revivals don't do it for me. I like calm facts, studies and proven methods. I'm not very new-age when it comes to health and nutrition. Overwrought messages and a thousand plugs for their group and products make me want to dismiss them altogether. I'm guessing I might not be the totally typical reader for this book for a couple of reasons:

First off, there has never been a question on my mind of whether or not to breastfeed. I started practicing on my dolls at the age of five...'cause that's what mommies did with babies. Being little in the Mid-West in a church culture of stay-at-home-moms makes breastfeeding really normal. Everyone did it. I didn't even know there were other options until I hit high school health. So the debate portion of baby feeding has, for the most part, passed me by.

Second, all of my mommy friends in the past 2 years have chosen to breastfeed. I have a huge support group, it's very normal with all the moms I hang with. There is no fear of being looked at weird when we get together for Saturday BBQ's and the kid gets hungry. In fact, I'll be one of two currently breastfeeding moms when our little one makes the scene. Peer pressure to feed otherwise has been left out.

Or perhaps I am the correct reader, but they are also trying to attract a wider audience; attract those women who might be on the fence. Knowing that often it takes a bold statement of purpose to get to folks who otherwise wouldn't listen to the message at all, and knowing that what actually happens with real women vs. what the ideal presented in the book is, I decided that attending a meeting was a good idea for me. After all, the women at the meeting would be real moms, from the area and I could gauge what the group was actually about.

I have the list of meetings being held in the greater South Bay area and decided upon the evening meeting. The day meetings all clashed with my school schedule. I also figured that the evening meetings would bring working moms, and I thought that they might be even more practical in their approach to La Leche and breastfeeding in general. I was nervous at first. The meetings are held in someones home and I didn't call ahead or anything, I just showed up. That was fine. I was also the only one there who didn't actually have a kid breastfeeding. That was also fine. The children there that night ranged from age one month to four years. The moms were a mix across the South Bay ethnicity scale, which I thought was great, and they ranged in age across the childbearing board as well...but the mid thirties was a good median.

The first thing the leader said was that the group was not dedicated to one standard practice, and that not all methods or suggestions worked for all moms. They were there to help you in all you breastfeeding decisions, because the ultimate goal was to raise happy, healthy breastfed children. That put me at ease right away. There have been some suggestions in the book that I was not completely comfortable with, and I was wondering how much I'd have to buy into the philosophy to participate. Why go at all, the astute reader might ask. It has to do with my "learning style". I don't take advice from people I know very well, as well meaning and experienced as they are. I like to figure things out on my own, and I hate to admit ignorance. I really hate to admit ignorance and *gasp* ask questions about subjects I should just KNOW...like breastfeeding. It's a hang up, I deal with it by reading obsessively and having conversations (not inquisitions...my emphasis) with my friends. I thought that in a group of strangers I would be more comfortable sharing my lack of knowledge, and I would gain tips aimed at everyone there and not just suggestions aimed at me.

Wow. Are you guys learning a lot about me or what?

So, I ended up enjoying my experience a great deal. It was nice to hear about problems the moms of younger babies were having and the solutions offered by the group. Everyone helps out with suggestions and shares similar stories. It's nice to know that the process of bonding and feeding the baby is not always an automatic one, and that there can be problems, but those problems can be overcome. I also tend to push my self to be perfect,and if there are problems with my endeavors I crumble and want to just give up. I've gotten way better with this personality glitch over the course of the last couple of years...but my competitive side and my perfectionism side come out at the worst of times. I can just imagine what would happen if I didn't "get" breastfeeding right away. Without the knowledge I gained at that meeting, I would feel like a really bad mom.

I'm going back next month. There are usually four meetings in a series that cover a wide range of breastfeeding topics. I have about three more meetings before the little one arrives so I should be able to hit all the topics by his/her birth. Really, it was a good way to connect with some very nice, very supportive moms out in the community. I could see myself actually calling one of the leaders if problems come up, and heeding her advice.

I am also going to finish the book. Now that I have a better understanding of the women behind it, at least in my area, the tone and direction make more sense. They were all surprised when I shared that all my mommy friends breastfed. I guess it's not a common as I assumed it was. Which surprises me...I know it's good for the baby, but deep down in my darkest heart I'm really looking forward to that extra 500-600 calorie burn a day. Woo-hoo, I hope I have a hungry baby.