The answer is PEOPLE, people

TW: World Breastfeeding Week, National Breastfeeding Month

Hey All.

Jennifer here.

Like some of you, I have a few complicated feelings about August due to the fanfare associated with “World Breastfeeding Week” and “National Breastfeeding Month.”

You might be able to tell by the fact that this lactation consultant has been rather obviously quiet about it again this year.  And further evidenced by the TW at the top of this post.

But it turns out I DO have something to say this time around before August is in the rearview mirror for another year. 

Frankly, I’m surprised, too.

But there’s some intensity brewing here, and with it a couple of invitations.

Yes, it’s all for YOU.  I’m showing up visible and vocally vulnerable (again) today.  That’s my role in this season, and I’m here for it.

Many of you know that I have three children, and I nursed them all for varying lengths of time.  I share these non-specific facts about myself often.

But precious few of you know that I spent about 8.5 years of my life lactating. 

Yup, you read that right.  8.5 years.

I truly loved that I got to nurse my babies and provide them with my milk.  For me, it is a source of pride (not to mention stubbornness / hyperfocus that knows no bounds) that none of my three got a single drop of anything other than my milk until they started their exploration into solid foods.

It’s EXTREMELY squirmy for me to write that out and contemplate broadcasting it to the world.

I’ve never shared that before in front of ya’ll.

Why? 

Because I would NEVER want anyone who didn’t do the same to wonder if I look down on you.

For the record, I hope you can hear me : I don’t think ANY less of you, no matter if your reality was by choice or by necessity.

But for me personally, learning how to mother through breastfeeding was incredibly impactful to my parenting path.

I persevered through a boatload of tough stuff on my lactation journeys NOT because I was amazing – I absolutely wasn’t. 

And it certainly wasn’t because my babies were perfect little feeders (haha, that’s hilarious). 

In reality, it was because I had help and solidarity and safety from OTHER PEOPLE.

Peers who had walked the same path I now found myself on. 

Folks who were pressing forward toward similar goals to my own, all while running into barriers and challenges and sharing them out loud.

People who gave me the strength and the support to determine what felt right to ME and run after THAT.

The saying goes, “friends are the family you find along the way,” and nowhere have I found this to be quite as true as in my relationships with other mothers.  A particular few shared their feeding triumphs and challenges with me – and (rather surprisingly, to be honest) I with them.

Our bonds were forged in and through extreme vulnerability. 

Sore nipples. 

Aching bodies. 

Desperate sleep deprivation.

Triggers tripped again and again as we took turns feeling like we were failing for one reason or … many. 

Milk supply struggles, both low and high.

Appointments with healthcare providers that tore us down more than built us up. 

Monumental life decisions.

Mental health struggles.

Worry for our bear cubs and for ourselves.

But side by side we journeyed … each muddling our way toward a blurry vision of success that slowly came into clearer focus as we each discovered more and more of our own selves and wisdom for our individual families.

This. 

This, was what it meant to be empowered.  To be lifted up by others who sometimes knew me better than I knew myself.  Who held space, literally and figuratively, as I struggled … and as I persevered … and as I stretched and grew and let the tears fall.

There is much strength to be found in vulnerability, but that’s really only true with the right community of individuals surrounding you.

And so, Mama Bear Family Care exists.

My own process of BECOMING, which continues to this day, allows me to facilitate and hold space for it to happen for you, too.

And it’s RIDICULOUSLY important work that my team and I do, day in and day out.  We feel honored by it, AND we often feel the heaviness of it, too.

You know.  You’ve been here, in all kinds of capacities.

So what’s the real answer to the needs families have surrounding breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, infant feeding in general?  It’s not discount codes for material stuff, it’s not empty platitudes, and it’s not even awareness that “support is best” with a week/month to spotlight it.

It’s PEOPLE. Significantly, the RIGHT people. 

The ones who are unconditionally on #TeamYou.

This is the Mama Bear ethos and what my team does day in and day out. 

We continue to take extra time to sit with every person who crosses paths with us, bringing our authentic selves truly present, wide open to meeting you exactly where you are, delivering our expertise with humility while building you up and believing for you as you learn to believe for yourself.

We’re honored to serve:

• Mothers who have trauma and grief associated with birth, breastfeeding, and parenting, whether fresh or past experiences.
• Dads who need society to see them and create welcoming spaces for them, too. 
• Babies who have been treated like and with numbers, rather than as the individuals they are with unique needs that they have.
• And more.

We will continue to hold space for your family to be and become whatever it is you need to be and become TODAY.  And next week that might be different.  We’re here for that, too.

If this matters to you, and you have capacity to contribute toward this vision, here’s the vulnerable truth : we need your help!

Since we set up our donation page, we’ve been thrilled to notice more folks inquiring about our services who could benefit from some financial assistance.

So … you’re invited to please consider making a financial contribution toward the Mama Bear mission.  It will go toward things like monthly rent at our building, paying our staff so we don’t burn out but can keep our numerous free support spaces FREE, and – of course – covering services for families who desperately need them but don’t have access without your donation.

It’s about helping parents and parents-to-be get themselves connected with the RIGHT people. 

With your generosity in donating, you get to be part of providing that GIFT to someone else.

THANK YOU, friends, for paying this forward and making our community better in the process.  We are so grateful for your partnership!

Jennifer & The Mama Bear Team