<If only I had known 20 years ago what I know now, I might have been a
much better mother and
have less heartache and mourning for what might have been. It was my
personal experiences that set me on the road to becoming an IBCLC. I am
only too aware of the practical differences between bottle feeding and
breastfeeding and still grieve for my own lost opportunities every day.>

Hilary, I empathize strongly with your feelings even 4+ decades later. I
was finally able to go on to a long successful nursing relationship with
my 4th and 5th children. I abandoned my previous attempts at 5 days each
because I couldn't stand the pain, and I didn't know "where to go from
there".

The feeling I remember most strongly was that "someone gypped me out of
something" with my first 3 children. The breastfeeding experience changed
me as a person, a mother, a wife and a nurse.

In retrospect, I can see that without that pain I experienced, and the
feeling of acute loss I became aware of, I personally would never have
had the keen appreciation of how vitally important it is that a mother
receive knowledgeable support.

And I would not have had the determination to find ways to give that
support that led me to the IBCLC pathway and to where I am today.

Jean
******
K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, Ohio USA

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html