B+C+B+C+B+C: heLLLping

Monday, July 16, 2012

heLLLping

I just returned from a profoundly wonderful experience.
One that brought me back to a time I've almost forgotten because it's so fuzzy it my memory.

Nearly 2 years ago, I was that new mother of twins, sitting on my couch semi-helpless with two tinytiny babies needing me constantly, a toddler running around, a husband working long hours, no family living near, receiving help from amazingly awesome friends and neighbors. I was sore and exhausted and overwhelmed. I never felt like I properly thanked the dear friends who helped us so much during that time.
But now at least I feel like I'm paying it forward.
I received an email last night, as a La Leche League Leader, from a new mother of twins in SLC. She was having a really rough time with her 4 wk old nurslings. It was amazing how much we happened to have in common - kids the same age, same birth experiences, similar family situations....I could relate to her situation 100%. Except that she was having some serious breastfeeding troubles due to some bad advice. Myself and another leader went to her house for 3 hours, helped her get the babies positioned better, latched better, and she was amazed - the pain was gone. I helped her learn how to put both babies in her Moby wrap - which she hadn't even taken out of the package - and go for a walk outside. We stayed there and answered all her questions, showed her different techniques, made a plan to wean off the artificial milk supplements, and left when she felt comfortable.
I'm still on a Lactation Helper's High - it feels awesome to make a difference like this for someone in such a crucial part of their life. And getting to hold and smell and enjoy those precious, precious little infant twins... ohmyword. It sent me right back and I could've just cried, thinking about my own tiny babies, not too long ago.
Doing this makes me feel so much better about those many thank-you notes I never got around to writing. I love being a La Leche League Leader!

7 comments:

Sally Jackson said...: This post made me SO happy!! I love that you can feel the high of helping Mamas and babies-it is truly wonderful and you are doing a wonderful job! I haven't been to your blog in a while, either, and it has been sorely missed! I love keeping up on your thoughts and adventures. There is always a positive, motivating feeling here. xoxox; July 16, 2012 at 10:56 PM
Carolyn Quebe Williams said...: I want twins so BAD!; July 17, 2012 at 3:32 AM
summer said...: Paying it forward is one of the greatest ways we can show & give thanks - you are absolutely right! What an incredible experience that you were there to help during this mom's low - my sister gave up nursing with both of her kiddos because it was too hard, and other complications. I wish she had found a LLL like you that could have helped her out! Way to go!; July 17, 2012 at 8:20 AM
Unknown said...: You are a wealth of knowledge ohmy! What an amazing service you provide!; July 18, 2012 at 11:28 AM
Megan Smith said...: I haven't taken my Moby wrap out of the package either. I was actually considering returning it. I guess I should give it a try.; July 18, 2012 at 7:41 PM
Chelsea and Cody said...: Go you~ I love my MOBY! Love it...but never did 2 babies in it. Now they are 10 and 11 breastfed pounds:) Not sure if they will fit...!; July 19, 2012 at 8:47 PM
Mary said...: What a wonderful experience!; July 21, 2012 at 8:22 AM

Quotes I want to remember

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain."
- Neal A. Maxwell

"It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men's theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother's influence."
-Ezra Taft Benson

“Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
-Jeffrey R. Holland

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."
-Neil L. Andersen

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
-Neil L. Andersen

President Hinckley admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, ‘How much more beautiful would be the society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord.’ ”
-Susan W. Tanner

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former U.S. president George Bush, spoke wisely: 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' "
-Gordon B. Hinckley

“I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion.”
-Henry B. Eyring

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.”
-Margaret S. Lifferth

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
- M. Russell Ballard

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’?”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things.”
-Kent D. Watson

Monday, July 16, 2012

heLLLping

7 comments:

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