Here at Austin Moms Blog, we write about companies, we endorse an array of products, and we put our word behind people. We do this because we realize that word of mouth is gold and knowing someone who knows someone that tried something that worked, really does go a long way.

 

With that said, I love luv looove LOVE lurrrve <3 my lactation consultant!!! No seriously, I love her!

I had every intention of breastfeeding and Townsend and I were quickly a match made in heaven at the hospital. What I didn’t realize is that he wasn’t latching entirely correct and that it would take a few days for me to feel the effects and be in full-on full-blown horrific pain. I had open wounds, people; cracked, bleeding, and super painful lacerations. I used gel pads, Lanolin, warm wash cloths, cold wash cloths, pretty much any tip I found on Google and absolutely nothing was helping. I had the help of a lactation consultant provided to me at St. David’s in Georgetown and remembered she told me if I needed additional help in the lactation department after being released that there was a specialist in my area, Lakeway. I barely listened to her, because honestly, I didn’t think I would need any help. But by day 3 I was dreading feeding time, clinching the sheets, tensed up, and was barely able to breathe when he would latch. It was truly the worst pain ever; worse than a c-section, worse than labor, and totally unbearable. However, I was determined to KEEP AUSTIN BREASTFEEDING! By day 7 of barely surviving, I was in tears calling Ann Bennett, IBCLC, RLCit was 7 am and I was leaving a message practically begging for a call back.

Thank the Lord, she promptly called me back, told me to grab some Polysporin and immediately begin applying a pencil eraser size dot to the affected areas before and after every feeding, and was able to fit me in for an appointment that afternoon.

I took my sister to the appointment with me and I’m so glad I did, because she took notes, laughed with me, and helped me remember some breastfeeding pointers. Ann was funny, made me feel relaxed, had THE best analogies, made me laugh, was quirky, informative, patient, and above all else, gave me breastfeeding hope. I won’t go into all the details of what “fixed” our problem, but I was so close to throwing in the breastfeeding towel until my appointment with Ann. After our 4-5 pm appointment, Ann called me at 7 pm that night to see how the next feeding had gone and continued to call me for a full week to check in on me. If I didn’t answer {let’s face it, who has the time with a newborn}, she was also quick to respond to my texts. She would ask if I had any questions and always had a piece of advice with every call or text. She kind of became my “life coach” for the week. She reminded me of my Crockpot and even gave me some quick 2 ingredient recipes, talked to me about feeding my newest bundle 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 months down the road. She was a serious ball of information and I never went a day without looking forward to her call. I kinda missed her on Day 8 when the calls ended.

So I don’t know if there are any Mama’s or soon to be Mama’s out there that are in need of a lactation consultant, but I would drive to the moon and back to see Ann Bennett. She was worth every penny { you can later bill to insurance, by the way}, which in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t that much. 2-3 cans of formula would have paid for Ann. If you have any difficulties whatsoever with breastfeeding now or in the future, Ann is your person {and no, she didn’t pay me to say any of this}. I’m just THAT obsessed with her. She made me remember why I loved breastfeeding my first son so much and made breastfeeding my second possible and enjoyable.

**Funny story: when I was googling “lactation consultants Austin”, the fourth link on Google was to our website of a lactation consultant review/interview. Unfortunately/fortunately that specialist was no longer available so I went with Ann. I deem it appropriate to give Austin Mommies a new go-to person!!! Cool, huh?**

1 COMMENT

  1. Ann saved us, too! I nursed two children without a lactation consultant, but desperately needed help with baby number 3. Ann was great, and I loved the phone calls! I ended up calling her with another problem over a month later and she gave expert phone advice- just because I was a former client.

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