Hi all,

My name is Michelle and I am new here (duh or I wouldn't be writing
an introduction, huh?)  I am a LLL Leader and studying to one day be
an IBCLC (after all my kids are older which at this rate won't be for
*at least* 6 more years!)  I have 2 daughters and am due with our
third child in June.  I am still currently nursing Mary Elayne (29
months) although only about 1 time a day.  I breastfed Emily (now 5)
for 3 months.  I had a c/s (breech presentation) and was in recovery
a very long time as I couldn't get my temp regulated.  Before I could
get back to my room and nurse my baby she was given a pacifier and a
bottle of glucose water.  (I know that this practice no longer exists
at this hospital.)  I really think the start of all our problems
began there.   I refer to those 3 months as my 3 months of earthly
hell.  We had undiagnosed thrush and Emily had a slight clenching
problem.  There was no LLL where we were (rural Oregon) and the LC
that I was meeting with went out of town and her back up had the
opinion, "If it isn't working there is always the bottle."  We were
set on that miserable course of pumping supplementing, nipple
confusion and add a little PPD to the mixture.  (OK a LOT of PPD.)
At 2 weeks Emily was 3oz. shy of her birth weight and was diagnosed
FTT and I was sent home from the peds office with free ABM.  <sigh>
I had taken the "wonderful" bf class that the hospital offered at the
time and was told that all babies only need to nurse 10 min. each
side every 2 hours.  (All together - Yeah Right!)  Needless to say it
was miserable and I soon decided that it just wasn't working.  I had
no support and all my friends that had bf all had wonderful
experiences and just some slight "discomfort" the first few days.  (I
had called the ER on day 7 to ask if she could suck my nipple off!)

The fortunate thing in the whole experience is that I decided that
maybe *I* could have better educated myself instead of hoping the
medical community would do it for me.  (Although I do still blame
alot of what happened on the med. communnity - no offense to those on
here!)  I started reading everything I could get my hands on about bf
and newborns.  When we moved to Florida and I got pregnant with baby
number 2 I checked out LLL and did even more reading.  I had much
more confidence the second time not only in my bf abilities but in my
mothering abilities too.  I love assisting mothers and babies
establish a healthy bf relationship.

Before children I was an acquisitions librarian and worked editing
library bibliographic records.  Now I am a happy mommy who knows that
one day I will re-enter the workforce, but in a much more people
oriented career.

Just working harder each day for a better ideal for my children.


Michelle Leifur Reid
Mommy to Emily since 1992
Mommy to Mary Elayne since 1995
Baby #3 Due June, 1998!
Wife to Dan since 1988

-We have 18 years to teach our children independence.  Why try to do it all in the first year?-
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