September 1, 2011 7:08 pm

My First LLL Meeting

I went to my first La Leche League meeting several weeks ago! I had been meaning to go for a while, but the nearest meetings are about an hour away so you really have to make a point of going.

I accidentally left about 30 minutes late because I couldn’t get Wesley ready to go fast enough, and then I had to stop to get gas and it was basically a whole big mess. Fortunately, nobody seemed to mind that I was late and despite being disoriented initially, I had a lot of fun. The moms were really nice and there was a wide range of babies there – everything from a 3-week-old and an 8-week-old to a couple five- or six-month-olds and then Wesley and a 14-month old. Wesley managed to ask to nurse three different times during the hour we were there, but I think that was more because he was ready for a nap than anything else.

The meeting was a lot more about general parenting than I would have expected. The leader passed around index cards with questions on them like, “How do you get a haircut?” and “How do you use a public restroom?” and we would chat for a bit about how we personally manage to get those things done.

After the meeting was over, I talked to the leader about the process of becoming a LLL leader myself. I am now working on a writing assignment that involves talking about each of the ten philosophies of LLL and what they mean to me. I am excited to eventually start some LLL meetings here, since we don’t even have a mother’s group or a breastfeeding group or anything like that and it would be nice to have some kind of support group for new mothers.

The next meeting is a week from today and I’m excited to go again. I have to complete a “series” of four meetings before I am eligible to become a leader applicant, and as I continue attending, I’m hoping to get a better feel for how the meetings are organized and what sort of things to discuss for when I hold my own meetings.

(Also, if anyone is curious about my breastfeeding woes, you will be pleased to hear that I began forcing the use of the nipple shield with every feeding and I am now completely healed. His latch is still dreadful, but using the shield avoids 99% of the pain involved. So I am tied to the shield, yes, but not bleeding and that is a compromise I am more than willing to make.)

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1 Comment

  • Hev says:

    Glad that you are getting to go to your meetings. You would do wonderful as a leader.

    As for the feeding woes, I am glad that you are healed. Bleeding is never good. I have been hoping that everything would work out. I am glad that you have gotten it healed & are still able to nurse Wesley.