Hi Everyone – Ashley here. I am letting Jeff take a break from posting and am here to fill you in on our latest adventure in pre-parenthood. Tonight we took a class on breastfeeding. Yes, I did say “class” and more importantly – I did say “we”. As I learned this evening, it is extremely important for the husband to not only be supportive of breastfeeding – but knowledgeable as well. The instructor strongly encourages husbands to attend the class with their wives – so much so that she offers beer and cookies to keep the men happy! Okay, maybe the cookies were for for the pregnant women…

In any case I was skeptical that the teacher would have enough to say to fill a 3-hour class, but there was so much information – I think she could have easily gone on for longer. I don’t think I will ever look at boobs in the same way again. It’s amazing that something so “natural” can be so difficult for women to master. I tried all the various “baby holding positions” – but it was a little tough trying to maneuver a rubber doll. The “football hold” seems like a god one…but who knows! I am hoping that when it comes to a real life baby, I’ll have an easier time figuring out what to do.

Luckily – if you are one of the many women who doesn’t immediately figure out how to breastfeed perfectly, help is not far away. There are scores of women in Los Angeles who make their entire living as lactation consultants. Our insurance covers up to a certain number of visits, so I hope to take advantage of these services. While I can’t predict how easy/difficult breastfeeding will be for me, it’s comforting to know that I have Jeff with me. He is an excellent coach. It’s a shame that men can’t breastfeed…because I think Jeff would be a natural!