LLL Meeting Flustrations...
I am all in a fluster over tonights LLL meeting. It's even more upsetting as usually I feel so much better after a meeting. It just feels good, in general, to be around other breastfeeding mamas.
But.
Tonight's topic was "Overcoming Challenges and Problems," or something like that. There was a mama there experiencing supply problems . One leader told her she is probably not really having supply problems. (Maybe. Maybe not. I wouldn't venture to guess, but if I were diagnosed with supply problems and had it all to do over again, I will tell you; I'd attack with guns blazing as soon as possible!)
Another leader poo-poo'd me when I recommended a lactation consultant. "We are available too, and we are free." (Yes, you are free. You are an UNPAID VOLUNTEER. Bless you! Bless you! Really! But for a mama who is having serious problems, if she can afford it, a lactation consultant can be really helpful. They are *professionals* who are trained to look for problems that a layperson might not pick up on. Lactation consultants in hospitals are also often lower paid or not paid at all. If you're in real trouble, invest the $100 or so to see an IBCLC. It's cheaper than formula!*)
People kept saying that if you just nurse on demand, just pump a lot, your supply would be ok. I really hate the attitude that if you just do everything JUST RIGHT, everything will turn out fine! This is true most of the time, but not all of the time, and there I was sitting there saying, "Yes, I did everything right and it didn't turn out fine! And it is still worth it!"
And, just in general, the other problems other mamas have seem so small in comparison to my own. Not to belittle their experiences, but thrush and mastitis, while *horrible* to go through, can be overcome. My problem really has no end in sight.
It would've been nice to be acknowledged at all, I guess, to have even one leader say "It is great that you are still nursing even with low milk supply!" I mean I *know* it is, but I felt very blown off.
Now I'm all cranky, my poor husband! I don't know how he puts up with me.
*I hope I don't come off as being down on LLL or the leaders. I love them both! They do such amazing work and I am constantly posting their meetings all over the internet and encouraging moms to go. No one is perfect and I needed a vent. I also do believe that for more serious problems or harder to figure out problems, LC's are absolutely necessary. I hope that's clear!