My name is Brittan Gotbeter and I have been a La Leche League Leader since the summer of 2007. We have 3 children. Thomas is 7 1/2, West is 5 and Hartley is nearly 2 1/2. Even as a little girl I knew I wanted to be a mommy and nurse my babies, I was intrigued! I began coming to LLL meetings when Thomas was just a few months old, my first meeting was at the West Ashley library, does anyone remember meetings there? I found out about LLL from a flyer at East Cooper Hospital when I was discharged. I called Elizabeth for some help with my allergy baby, not only was I hooked on LLL from then on, Elizabeth and I have been great friends! Finding LLL changed the whole course of my mothering and boy am I thankful!
Although I feel confident about helping women overcome their breastfeeding obstacles I have the most personal experience with my two allergy babies. Let me preface this by saying that literature supports the fact that most women can eat and drink anything under the sun without it harming their baby. Often times women blame normal baby fussiness, gassiness & baby acne with a food allergy and it honestly isn't the case at all. Babies are fussy, gassy and have acne.. For some babies though they do have a real issue and two of mine were those.. The 2nd time around I discounted it for so long knowing the odds were that it was NOT an allergy. Thomas was nursed for a year totally free of dairy, soy, nuts, citrus, anything from a cow and more! Hartley was nursed dairy free for the 1st year of her life after suffering from severe severe colic and relux, hospital grade testing and more.( both were nursed many years past one but we did the ED the first year) Thomas was diagnosed with Celiac Disease when he was 3, ironically gluten was the only thing I didn't eliminate and used to say it was the one thing I couldn't do! He chooses to avoid dairy now, I believe it did, and still does bother him, although a test won't say so, he avoids it on his on. What kid won't eat ice cream? Nursing a baby with allergies isn't hard once you get the hang of it. The Internet is a wealth of information these days including our Charleston LLL page, the LLL forums and so many more! Often times your family begins to eat healthier because of the challenge and that can be a good thing! It was for us...
I think what I love most about breastfeeding is, mothering through breastfeeding. Honestly after 7 1/2 years of constant nursing I wouldn't know how to parent without it! We like to joke in the meetings "When in doubt, whip it out!", we joke but it's really true, going back to the early days it builds a strong milk supply and later in the toddler years it solves nearly all boo boos, night wakings, separation issues, tantrums and more! I love that nursing for just a few minutes brings their litttle world back where it should be, they and you, can then go about your day! We've had children admitted to the hospital, break bones, have frequent night wakings, and epic tantrums, nursing can and has helped with all of these things.
Our family enjoys living in Charleston and have no plans on going anywhere. We love the summertime, the beach, the pool and all that Charleston has to offer. Outside of LLL we stay busy with the children's schools, year around swimming and are very involved in our church.
If I could encourage a new mom in one area it would be to trust herself and her baby.. Do not succumb to fear based parenting. This will work.Trust yourself.Trust your baby. You are not going to ruin your baby, you can't spoil them, they will wean one day, they will sleep on their own and through the night. The time with them in these formative years is so minimal compared to the rest of their lives and I honestly believe that paying dearly now will produce great results later on in their life. I've seen it with my own eyes! True independence only comes from complete dependence..
Myself and my fellow leaders are here to help you wherever you are on your breastfeeding journey! Hope to see you at a LLL meeting and around town!
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