Breastfeeding Mayday on May Day

In the Celtic calendar, 5.01, May Day, marks the mid way point between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice.  According to Selena Fox  in her 1997 workshop ”…it is a time of divination and communion with Fairy Folk/Nature Spirits.”

May Day started for me with a tearful message left on my answering service.  This “Mayday call” signaled the distress of yet another new mother and the imminent end of her breastfeeding journey.  In spite of having hired several lactation experts, she had never had a successful latch until she had worked with me on the previous day.  Her confidence had been shaken by weeks of frustration and lack of progress.  She had been pumping and using gadgets (nipple shield, SNS) since her daughter’s birth and was discouraged from thinking she would ever be a successful breastfeeding mother.  She now knew it was possible.  However, she was truly at her wits end because she could not replicate the latch on her own. 

This mom, baby and her husband had embraced the principles of Conscious Breastfeeding but the habits of several weeks were hard to change overnight.  A lot of tears were shed.  Patience and consistency were required to teach her daughter the skill of breastfeeding.  Invoking my inner Irish and the energy of the day, we worked together as a team to rebuild this mom’s confidence and establish new Conscious Breastfeeding Connections.

May Day ended with a very different call from this now joyful breastfeeding mom.   With a nod to the Fairy Folk, the magical alchemy of nature, nurture and our combined intention had brought success.