November, 2006

BLISS seemed to appear out of nowhere fast. It snuck up on me and turned gigantic before my eyes. Ever since I became a lactivist, I had been wanting to become a Lactation Consultant, but that involved hundreds and hundreds of hours of studying and volunteering. With three little boys and a business to take care of, it would have taken me years to complete the requirements.

I hadn't really considered starting my own breastfeeding support group. I believe the first time I thought about it was at 3:00 a.m. while nursing my littlest son in bed. More and more I had been listening to friends' frustrating stories of being discouraged from breastfeeding after giving birth in the hospital. The hospital staff really seemed to be pushing bottles of formula on the new moms, even after the moms insisted they didn't want formula. There was little to no support for the new babies with latching on. There was misinformation in regards to when the milk came in, how much the baby should be eating, how much weight the baby should be gaining, and especially, using formula as a solution to problems where it really had no place.

What could I do about this? The situation saddened and frustrated me, and I was determined to DO something!

A breastfeeding support and advocacy organization?
Me?
But why not?
I felt I was perfectly qualified, had a tonne of resources to share, and lots of experience and knowledge under my belt. If anyone could create and organize this, it could be me.

Ideas started swarming through my head. I could really do this! But first, I had to ask for alot of help. I had no idea how to set up a website, for one thing. I called on my many friends and acquaintances, and they stepped up to the plate! An amazing amount of people offered to help, including one awesome, awesome lady who took over the job of designing the BLISS website. I will be forever grateful for what she did for me. Other friends, who I will mention in later posts, kept me motivated and on my toes, making sure I got everything rolling in the right direction.

And so BLISS, Breastfeeding and Lactation Information and Support Source, was officially launched.

Over the course of this blog, I will post our ongoing advocacy projects, little and big. I will describe anything we're involved in that I feel represents BLISS. It is my goal to put breastfeeding in the public eye in a positive light, to normalize breastfeeding, and to make life easier for mom and baby breastfeeding teams.

Breast is best.

And one small step for breastfeeding is one giant leap for our children.