First Day Work: Wow!

Hey all - just thought I'd share some experience from this week, the most exciting being my new job. I am now the proud owner of the title "Lactation Consultant Assistant" for AmeriCorps (a division of Domestic PeaceCorp for the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Sacramento) - wow, that was a mouthful. My very first day we saw four moms in three hours and issued four breast pumps. One client of particular interest had just had all five of her children removed from the home by CPS (including her 17 day old daughter) and didn't know when they would be returned, but wanted to keep her milk supply up. Another Mom was in need of a breastpump because her son was born without the roof of his mouth intact and was on a special feeding device. The other Mom's new baby (youngest of six) was in the NICU pending the result of an abnormal kidney scan and needed to keep her milk supply up while her son recovered. It is going to be a very delicate balancing act to keep work and home separate. The adversity these women face is incredible, so just when I get upset about day, I think about the strength of these families, and I always end up feeling blessed. I also got my schedule today for my trainings and they include everything from peer breastfeeding counseling to leadership to cultural diversity courses to mandated child abuse reporting to community safety and disaster relief. WOW! It should be an exciting 11 months!