LLL Buddies

(Sally, wearing Aurthur and towing Adah and Truman.)

I've been going to the St. Cloud La Leche League since we moved to Princeton when Truman was about 4 months old. I remember he was just starting to sit on his own at the first meeting. Now he's usually discovering all the outlets, light switches and doors in the library meeting rooms.

The breastfeeding support has been great, but what has been most valuable about the meetings is observing other women mothering, asking questions about any parenting problem and gaining acceptance and validation by sharing stories with a peer group.

I'm lucky enough to be part of a group of LLL friends with similarly aged children that have been going to the meetings for almost two years. Now the fun continues after meetings in playdates and group adventures.

What I have learned from these women has been invaluable. Having a peer group that shares my values has encouraged my confidence as a mother and helped my trust my own instincts.

Today we headed to Sally and Aurthur's house where we cooked a meal (Indian-spiced rice with great northern beans, broccoli, green beans, zucchini and swiss chard), explored and dined in her backyard, played with water, then headed to the park with another friend.

At the park, the wind ready for Aurthur's kite.










Truman and Adah saw a plane.




And Truman rode (then fell off) a big-boy swing for the first time.




There was also this strange older kid at the park walking around muttering that he hated everything. Sally asked if he liked raisins, after Truman dumped an entire bag in the grass and we were scrambling to salvage the clean ones. He said "no."

Five minutes later we'd walked away to fly the kite. I glanced back and the boy was gobbling what was left of the raisin pile. It reminded me of Nopey.