How soon do you attend La Leche League meetings

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, my maternity leave will be short so I know i'll need a lot of breastfeeding help and support. How early in your pregnancy do you start attending meetings. Are the meetings helpful or do the members make you feel awful if you cannot exclusively breastfeed? I plan to both breast and bottle feed.

[Anonymous]

I have not been to a class, but I have a couple friends who have said the La Leche League is a little intense. You should also check out the classes at your hospital, they probably have a breast feeding class and or support group. You could go to all of the options and pick the one that works best for you

[Anonymous]

Agreed with the PP. La Leches are a militant bunch. I had a two week maternity leave and managed it--I read up a bit, went to the hospital classes, and then called them a few times when issues came up (had a clogged duct, etc.).

Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend taking a breastfeeding class before the baby comes. Sibley offers a two-hour class that I found very helpful; it explained proper latch, positioning, etc., and really gave me confidence about breastfeeding. From day one, I knew what to look for and when to seek help. If your leave is short, I'm not sure I'd want to try to shoe-horn LLL meetings into an already crazed schedule with a newborn. Prep ahead of time and have the name and number of a good LC. Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

I really liked the LLL book - The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. It covers every possible situation and is a good reference guide. I think LLL is pretty pro-EBF from what I have heard from friends who have gone. I think they might look at you funny if you brought a bottle

[Anonymous]

I've heard good things about the Breastfeeding center in DC. I plan on taking a free class from them in Sept/Aug before the baby arrives. I'm like you - I plan to breast and bottle feed. I tried to EBF my first but lasted 18 days. I think knowing that I'm not going to put pressure on myself to pump so DH can feed the baby I will last longer with BF. I guess what I'm saying is I'm mostly going to try to BF but won't get upset when DH gives formula.