我的母乳喂养问题已经解决了，为什么还继续参加国际母乳会的聚会呢？

翻译：郝婉淇  审校：戎锦、Daisy

如果你曾经历过母乳喂养中的困难，如果你曾参加过国际母乳会的聚会，你就能体会到在那个房间里，这些母乳妈妈们带来的力量和重要性。

很多母乳妈妈在解决了含乳不佳、奶量问题，或者母乳喂养已经步入正轨，直至渐入佳境之后，就不再来参加国际母乳会的聚会了。

然而，在宝宝出生后头几周或头几个月之后继续参加国际母乳会的聚会，仍旧有益处。下面，就是即便妈妈的母乳喂养非常顺利的情况下，也仍会考虑参加聚会的原因：

1. 你可以在聚会中跟新妈妈分享你的经验，或许当初你面临和她一样的困难，可是这个困难被你解决了。让我们一起面对它。你在街角杂货店或者日托中心遇到的路人甲妈妈可能压根不理会你所给的，关于吸奶器喇叭口尺寸或者哪个牌子哺乳胸罩最好之类的建议；可是一位参加国际母乳会聚会的新妈妈很可能会感谢你分享的这些信息——而且，这些信息就是她在寻找的。占据在你大脑无价空间中的哺乳小诀窍和所有相关知识都分享到国际母乳会聚会里吧！
2. 对于遭遇障碍想要跨越过去的妈妈们来说，你就是一座灯塔。即使猛长期或者孩子长牙都有可能带来新的挑战，但是你可以证实你的宝宝可能一次睡眠可以超过一个小时了，或者含乳比以前更深了。你肯定还记得刚做妈妈的那些时刻，当你身处其中，好像觉得早期那些阶段永远都不会过去。看一眼宝宝六个月大的妈妈，和一位孩子六岁大的妈妈，你能看出来哪个是有更多休息时间的妈妈。你只要去参加聚会，哪怕就站在那儿，那些正在努力摸索如何平衡宝宝需求和自己需求的新手妈妈们就能够看到你，也就明白了，原来更好的日子在前面的希望。
3. 你会记得，在母乳喂养的道路上，你走了多久。在最初，你每天都睡眼惺忪呵欠连天，你觉得永远都无法掌握给小宝宝哺乳的窍门。“快别跟我说喂一年了，我连一个月，不，一天，不，一个小时都撑不下去了。”在聚会中，在那些新妈妈的面孔上，你或许就看到了当初的自己，也可能，用一种新的宽容，来看待当初那个“我”。

你看到了，在聚会中解决了自己母乳喂养问题之后继续来参加，不仅对新的妈妈们有帮助，同时对母乳喂养经验丰富的妈妈们来说，也会有意外的收获。

If you’ve ever experienced breastfeedingdifficulties and attended a La Leche League meeting, you know the importanceand power of room filled with other breastfeeding mothers.

Many nursing mothers stop attendingmeetings as soon as

• latching or supply issues are resolved.
• breastfeeding becomes more routine.
• breastfeeding feels like a dance with choreographythey have mastered.

However, there are benefits to attendingmeetings beyond the early weeks or months. Here are a few reasons to considerattending even after breastfeeding is going well.

1. You can offer your hard-earned wisdom tonew mothers who stand where you once stood. Let’s face it. The random motheryou meet in the grocery store or at the daycare center is probably notreceptive to your advice about the size of a breast pump flange or the bestnursing bra. A new mother at an LLL meeting will probably appreciate hearingwhat worked for you. She is someone who actually wants to know. It will be aplace to download nursing tips and trivia occupying your valuable brain space.
2. You can serve as a beacon to help herpast that obstacle. Even though growth spurts and teething may create new challenges,you can attest to the fact that your baby now sleeps more than an hour at atime or has an improved latch. As you remember those first moments ofmotherhood, the beginning stages can seem eternal when you are in the midst ofthem. It can really help to see how the mother of a six-month-old or asix-year-old looks when she has more rest. By simply showing up, new motherswho are still figuring out how to balance their own needs with the needs of aninfant will see you as a symbol of better days to come.
3. You can remember how far you have comeon your breastfeeding journey. In the bleary-eyed early days, you may havefelt like you would never get the hang of nursing your new little one.You may have wondered if you could make it another hour, much less a day, amonth, or a year. In the faces of brand new mothers, you will catch a glimpseof your own past and perhaps look at your past self with a new level ofcompassion.

Asyou can see, attending meetings when you’ve passed your own hour of need notonly benefits new mothers but also holds unexpected value for more experiencedmothers.