Why Livin’ the Breast Life?

Before I started nursing my first child, I would spend hours online just researching the different things that I may need to know. I would look up lactation, breastfeeding, sore nipples, clogged ducts, and the list goes on. I also would search for breastfeeding classes and a support person. Once she was born and we were struggling, I found a single place for assistance, however I couldn’t afford the services.

I went to Facebook to find out if there was a low income provider not associated with the hospital or a provider’s office. There was La Leche League, and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), but no CLC (certified lactation counselor) or IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) within an hour who served privately and accepted insurances. This was very disappointing, but not unexpected as this was something that was still seen as taboo in some areas of the United States. It was around this time that I saw the need in the area, but no idea of how I could fill it.

Throughout the next two years, I would counsel other moms/parents on Facebook and in my personal life using my self-taught knowledge of breastfeeding. If I didn’t already know, I wouldn’t stop researching until I found the information. When I was online, if I saw information that was false, I would correct the people with the links and proper knowledge (Yeah, I am that person). Eventually, I was even helping in person for latches and telling other families what is working and what they can do to fix what isn’t. I was then offered the opportunity to work for WIC as their breastfeeding peer counselor. I had found my niche, I had found my passion.

Slowly I realized that I was ready to fill that need that I saw years before. I can do this on my own, I had spent five years breastfeeding my own kids. I had also learned more about breastfeeding than most will ever know, I helped more families through WIC than most have the opportunity to help. I knew I needed to do more, not just for low income families, but for all families.

I came up with a business plan, I figured out how I would go about things, but I could not think of a name for this amazing business that I was creating. Talking to a great friend one day I complained that my whole life is about breasts. I am either breastfeeding, looking at breastfeeding, thinking about breastfeeding, or helping someone breastfeed. She joked that I am “living the breast life” and that is how Livin’ the Breast Life, LLC was born. It is my life, it is my passion, I am Livin’ the Breast Life.

Llama and Mitchell