Now before O was born I took a lot of classes to prepare me for labor, breast feeding and what to expect when I brought my little bundle of joy home. I felt prepared yet scared, I was not sure how I was going to take my new role in life, how I was going to be a mommy and be happy. I was not sure how I was going to be ok with staying home for maternity leave and then all summer but yet I knew I would not want to go back to work in the fall. So O was born and I was thrown in to this world of unsureness. Breastfeeding was hard and this is were I started my search for help. Now I had my mom, who by the way was a labor and delivery nurse, to help with with nursing but I just felt like I needed more. Not sure what I was going to do I made the decision to attend the breastfeed support group at the local hospital. This was the best decision of my mommy career. Not only did I get the help I needed that day or week but I found myself going back week after week and month after month. I was surrounding myself with other mommies who were in the same place as me or that were a head of me but could teach me the trick they already learned. I would have to say that this was the reason that I was able to nurse O for the first year of his life. Fast forward 3 years and in the world comes Little B and one of the first places I headed to was this support group. I needed a little help with latch but I needed the support of other mommies going through the same things as I. I also find myself enjoying giving the support back.
Another outcome from this support group was the friends that I made and the fact that we get together outside of this group. This leads me to the idea of the playgroup. Another important support group that got me to where I am now. With O I meet some mommies who were members of a local playgroup which I then joined myself. It was my way of getting out of the house and keeping busy. I was able to share stories ask for suggestions and opinions that became part of the way that I raise my boys. Now I still do talk to and hear from those women that I met with O but I will have to say we don't get together really and I have to blame that on the fact that I went back to work and my time became limited. Even with that said these women are a big part of who I am and the mom that I have become. Now knowing how important these relationships were to me when we made the decision that I was staying home with the birth of Little B I knew I would need to seek out a playgroup again. Well that is exactly what I did. Through my breastfeeding support group I have sought out some women and we have begun a playgroup.
One of the last groups that I have used to seek support is a stroller fitness class called Stroller Strides. This in another group that I can not say anything but positive things about. Not only do I feel good about the weight that I am loosing, but the support that I find from the other mommies in the group is wonderful. Again another way that I have found mommy friends that I can turn to with questions or just to vent when things are not going my way. The babies see other babies and I can get a chance to get in some exercise.
Support in my eyes is necessary to raising happy healthy kids. Seeking out support is what has made me the person who I am today and because of that I will return the favor to anyone who is looking for support. This is one reason that I still return to the breastfeeding support group with Little B who is not just days away from 11 months old. I feel that I need to pay back what was given to me, support! It is the reason I go to playgroups and Stroller Strides. It is what has gotten me through nursing my second child to almost a year now, and what has helped me to figure out cloth diapers. It is what has helped me find the right preschool for O and made me be a well balance mother. Support, I can't say enough about it!
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| These two boys can only benefit from it. |
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