Coach Smith here, musing out loud at Barbara's request - she asked me to
answer "how do you keep teaching without appearing wild-eyed and crazy?"
The answer is three ways: (1) practice, (2) practice and (3) more practice.
There are teeth marks on some of my pencils (from biting - pencils have
fewer nerve endings than my tongue). Heave lots of sighs. Call good friends
and rant, privately. But most of all, have an enormous reservoir of
persistence.

My first child was born 30 years ago. Fortunately, I had attended one LLL
meeting the month before his birth, and that made all the difference. I
quickly realized that there were two intersecting and interconnected kinds
of information I needed: mothering ideas, and medical/health stuff. My
doctor was a young, single man - good doc, but not a mother. My LLL Leader
was a mother of four - great mom, but not a doctor. My Leader guided me to
ask myself questions, find printed information (of which there was a dearth
in 1970) and trust my baby. The doc praised me for an obviously thriving
child and looked for anything my mothering instincts missed, and listened to
me when I reported a problem. The mixture was wonderful. I became a LLL
Leader in 1974 and a childbirth educator in 1977.

By 1985, I realized I was seeing the same BF problems as I saw in 1975, and
the answers were "out there" in LLL and other literature. Since then, I've
made it my goal to help change "the system." Here are my thoughts of the day
on things that have been successful:
1. Do your homework - read the lactation texts and stay up on new research.
2. Take the IBLCE exam and attend conferences/workshops.
3. Catch people doing something right, and as often as possible.
4. Assume that everyone is teachable if you approach them gently and
respectfully.
5. Share facts, not opinion. Make a strong effort to keep these clearly
separate.
6. You're gonna lose some - moms, professionals, reporters. Lick your wounds
in private.
7. Spend time on this work, whether or not you get paid, or paid what you
think you're worth.
8. Keep your eyes on the horizon, the big picture. Whether you're doing a
bit of advocacy, clinical support, politicking, or just talking positively
about BF - it all adds up in the right column.
9. Don't expect instant success every time. Life's not like that.
10. Be patient, persistent, and pleasant. Always.

Happy holidays to everyone on Lactnet!

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre www.bflrc.com
6540 Cedarview Ct., Dayton, OH 45459-1214 USA
(937) 438-9458 email [log in to unmask]

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