And so a significant chapter comes to an end. 21 years ago I started learning a little about breastfeeding in readiness for becoming a mum. Like lots of new parents, I then found it wasn’t as simple as I’d imagined and was very grateful for some support I received over the phone. That same Breastfeeding Network supporter went on to train me 3 years later to be able to support other new parents. I couldn’t tell you how many, but in 17 years we’re talking many hundreds.
There is the National Breastfeeding Helpline, where as a volunteer I’d log on whenever I could. Not as often as I’d have liked sometimes, but it has included some Christmas Day calls, some that I’ve caught just before the line shut at 9.30pm, and many where I really felt I made a difference. The last few years we’ve been counting calls, so it’s 373 of those, with who knows how many before.
My local group moved location a couple of times in those two decades. I made some amazing connections there with other volunteers and with regular attendees, as well as those who just wanted us once.
I also was grateful to find paid work through the organisation. Several part time roles, in two different local projects, plus coordinating volunteers on the national helpline. Working on a maternity unit; hanging out at antenatal clinics; visiting new mums in their homes at such an important time in their lives; such a privilege to be alongside so many people at such a special but often challenging time. When the projects came to an end, I continued to supervise locally. Many, many friends made along the way.
And so it’s a big chapter to be turning the page on. I am currently needed elsewhere and so to find the headspace for that, am saying goodbye to this. Maybe it’s not the end. Sometimes in a story a theme comes back in a different way in a new chapter. But I’m leaving the organisation I’ve known nearly half my life (3 years out) so wanted to mark it well :)
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