Here We Go!

Welcome to Boob 101.

My goal is to have a blog filled with information about breastfeeding, tricks and tools to assist you, and personal stories to help you know that you're not alone!

A little about me before we get started:

My name's Melanie. I'll be honest with you and tell that I'm 21 years old; I've been married to my wonderful husband, Austin, for 4 years; we have an almost 4-year-old son, Liam, and an almost-2-year-old daughter, Fiona; Baby Alaina will make her grand appearance in April. I began my parenting journey when I was 17 and had Liam; before then, I did no research whatsoever, and it's quite amazing to me that he turned out as well as he has. ;) Once I got a hold of information sources, I've held on tight and continued to learn as much as possible.

I've been breastfeeding since April 30th, 2007, nursed Liam through my pregnancy with Fiona, and then tandem nursed them for 16 months, at which point, I was pregnant with #3, and Liam self-weaned. Fiona is happily nursing through this pregnancy, and will tandem nurse with her little sister until she's ready to stop.

Helping other mothers with breastfeeding has been a passion of mine for a while... I started out quite ignorant, just nursed because my older sister did... and because I was completely shocked at the price of formula. When Liam was a few months old, I became a lactivist, with overwhelming ideals and an in-your-face position. After I learned that that doesn't actually accomplish anything, I took a more laid-back stance, and only answered questions when asked; only offered help when someone was clearly struggling.

The impact that breastfeeding my children has had on my life and my parenting is immeasurable. My decisions are all fueled by research in order to give my kids the best start to their lives as possible, and that includes exclusive breastfeeding, healthy eating, and child-led weaning.

My goal is to become an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). I will be one by the time I'm 25-- just wait and see. I recently finished my certification to be a Lactation Educator-Counselor (CLEC), and I'm a leader of a mother-to-mother breastfeeding support group.

Though I am an activist and supporter for many things, I'm going to do my best to keep this blog about breastfeeding. Some things do cross into the realm of breastfeeding, and I'll very likely talk about them... but please, take what works for you, ask me to specify on things that you don't quite understand, and keep in mind that what I say might not be the most popular thing, or very mainstream, but it may be very worth it to give it a try.

Enjoy!