My sympathies to you, Diane, on the loss of your mother. You've had a rough time, and I imagine you can expect some hard months ahead. As we tell new mums, "hang in there, it WILL get easier." Your comment about changing your business was interesting, because I'm in exactly the same place. My youngest child went to school this year (into grade 7 after being educated at home), my LLL ACL position finished, I finished a position on the local childbirth association board, and NOW was the time to devote to my LC business. However, after analyzing the number of babies born in my area, I realized there simply aren't enough to keep me busy as an LC. So, I started thinking about what I really like to do besides breastfeeding work. I really like doing educational stuff and working with new parents postpartum, not just on the bf issues. I think many breastfeeding problems are just parenting/unrealistic expectation problems, anyway, which is why LLL is so effective with new parents--new parents need to be helped to gain a more realistic perspective on life with baby, and also know they are not the only ones not handling things as well as they'd like. Anyway, I'm now restructuring my business and am hoping to provide some prenatal and postpartum parentcraft classes (bathing, diapering, etc.) along with breastfeeding classes, and perhaps a series of postpartum classes with guest speakers, etc. I think that perhaps with increased rapport because of more contact, I may find myself busier with breastfeeding consults. But if not, I'm still working with new parents, and maybe even earning a living. I know I can't do that here doing just LC work. (We only have about 300 babies born within a 1 1/2 drive of my town, very few professional women who tend to be the ones renting pumps, and no high-risk babies--they are all flown out to Edmonton.) Good luck with your new business, Diane. Maybe we can chat further via e-mail, because I'd be very interested in where you're thinking of going. Leslie Ayre-Jaschke, BEd, IBCLC Peace River Breastfeeding Clinic Peace River Alberta, Canada