I had no idea how difficult breastfeeding could be, despite hearing personal stories from many friends and acquaintances regarding their own struggles to feed their newborn babies. The Saturday morning after our son was born, I was still dealing with the after-effects of my c-section; nausea, dry heaves, itching, dizziness as well as exhaustion from trying unsuccessfully to nurse my baby. My RN consulted the lactation specialist, and Angela arrived promptly with a warm smile and compassion oozing from her pores. She skillfully and carefully assessed my baby and me, providing strategies to help us succeed with nursing. She came twice that day and on her second visit, informed me that she would not be there on Sunday, but gave me her cell phone number to text her if I was stills struggling, saying she lived nearby and would be happy to come in to assist. I was surprised and grateful for her gesture but didn't want to bother her on her day off, a decision I later regretted! That Saturday night and Sunday were overwhelmingly difficult, and I hit my lowest point that Sunday evening, as my baby continued to lose weight and all the techniques I was trying were only intermittently successful.
Monday morning Angela arrived first thing, full of warmth, expertise and kindness. I desperately wanted to discharge home that day, but everything hinged on my ability to feed my baby with some measure of reliability. Angela taught my husband and me a technique that worked and we were able to reproduce it when she returned the next two times to nurse that morning and early afternoon. Because of her, I was able to discharge home that day with confidence rather than stay another night in the hospital.
I will never forget Angela telling me, "Other than my own children, this (being a lactation consultant) is why I'm here on this earth!". Not only did she care for me in the hospital, she provided me with contact information for another lactation consultant who could come to my house after I discharged, whom I notified and who saw me the following day. Angela also texted me a couple of days after I returned home to check on how we were doing, and when I returned to work three months later, she remembered me, asking to see photos of my son, and genuinely cared about me as a person.
I am convinced I would not have been successful with breastfeeding had it not been for the skill and caring of Angela Lober. Countless times I have thought about her over the past few months and the significant role she played not only in my hospital experience-her care was about so much more than breastfeeding itself-her care transcended my stay to help shape my entire experience as a new mother with her darling baby boy.