My name is Leeann, and I have been a nurse in Whitecourt for a long time. A lot of you second (or more!) time around moms may recognize me from working as a clinic obstetrics nurse for a number of years. When I had my first baby, everything that could go wrong, did. Well, almost. But feeding him was easy. I didn’t know anything about breastfeeding, and was “just going to try it”. Turns out, it was easy….that time. I had a ton of milk, he had a great latch, and before you know it we had gone 16 months.
Things were not so easy with my second baby. I couldn’t figure out why I was having so much trouble; it was so easy the first time around. I saw the wonderful nurses in public health. I traveled to see an IBCLC because there was no one available locally. My supply dwindled because I wasn’t managing breastfeeding in a sustainable way. By the time he was 4 months old, I had nothing left, damaged nipples and a broken heart. I felt like I had failed him.
Fast forward to 2012…I started working with the beautiful parents-to-be of Whitecourt. I heard over and over stories of no milk, no support, no where to turn when they needed help, and they were often worried they wouldn’t be able to breast feed the baby they were pregnant with. I started to realize that my “failure” wasn’t my own, and that there was something bigger going on. I decided that I could be the person that I wish was here when I needed help.
Years went by, I volunteered with a mother to mother breastfeeding support organization. I kept seeing moms who were struggling, both professionally and as a volunteer, but it wasn’t enough. There was still a piece missing. So I perused becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the rest, as they say, is history.
My goal is to empower parents to meet their breastfeeding goals through education, support and detailed care.