I've been following the discussion on how not to alienate mom's as we try and support sucessful breastfeeding. Often times, I fear the same as you all- I don't wish to "push" a mother but understand if I can get her through the difficult time her feeling of "self sucess" can be met. I recently received a email from one of my mom's that I'd like to share. At the time I worked with her, I felt like such a failure since I couldn't help her get past the difficulties she was experiencing. Her email let me know that the support was beneficial ( and really brightened my day)! I'd like to share it to remind us all that while we may not always succeed in our eyes, often moms gain more than we thought from our support. Dear Lisa: I gave birth to my oldest daughter---- Sept.3 2201. I had great difficulty breastfeeding her. I had sore nipples,blocked ducts,mastitis a couple of times, thrush, depression, I wasn't bonding with my baby, etc. Through it all you were a rock. You made yourself available to me 24 hours a day, you talked me through crying jags. At the 5 week point, I expressed doubts that I could continue but the guilt of deciding to stop was eating me alive. You told me how proud you were of me for all the effort I had given breastfeeding and that if I chose to stop that was my decision as a person and I should not feel guilty about it. I did stop at 8 weeks, I just couldn't go on. Nursing and pumping just became too stressful for me. But you have no idea how your advise and words of comfort have helped me, even 2 1/2 years later. I gave birth to my second daughter. Despite the fact that there were no lactation consultants at this hospital, I was able to breastfeed her. I had the same problems with engorgement, sore nipples, but no where near the problems I had with my first. I was able to work through the early problems easily. Every time I became frustrated, I would close my eyes and remember your voice , calmly explaining how I could adjust the latch or how to get through the difficulty and it worked. My second daughter is now 4 months and a happy,breastfed baby and I owe it all to you. If it wasn't for the non judgemental support you gave me 2 1/2 years ago, I would not have begun to breastfeed this new baby. I just wanted to thank you. I think of you often and wanted to personally let you know how important your support was to me. With much gratitude, *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html