The benefits of nursing your child continues long after the child stops nursing.  I see it in my six year old who I nursed for 2.5 yrs.  He stills loves to cuddle and be held. He is often still flopping in my lap for extra love. His generous hugs are complete with skin to skin contact with his face right against mine. And now I watch his adult teeth come in knowing that the pallet of his mouth is better engineered to welcome them (it takes 60% more energy for a breastfed baby to feed - resulting in a wider pallet and proper spacing of the teeth).

Not only does the benefits of nursing go beyond the beginning years of life, its long term effects permeates into our entire family. By nursing our children, it has prepared us for the next stages of our family unit - school aged years and the issues that come with growing up.

I nursed my children but my husband was there to get me pillows, make sure I was fed, took the kids when they weren't nursing so I had a break, and much more so I could continue to be supported and breastfeed. 

Even my oldest son grew more from me nursing his younger brother. For my oldest, it was accepting that at times his breastfeeding brother needed more attention so I could nurse - it was a lesson he had to learn and has benefited from it. It is a family effort to breastfeed. 

I am thankful that by nursing our children, we were given a strong foundation and nurturing tools to enter into the next stage of our family growth. Nursing gave us a stronger family foundation to step forward with.

Join me this month as we discuss how breastfeeding effects the family as a whole.

Many BLLLessings,

Erin Abrams
LLL Leader of Sturbridge, MA
Please forward this to any pregnant or nursing mothers that you may know. If you would like to opt out of this newsletter - just hit "reply" and put "remove" in the subject line. 

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LLL of Sturbridge Nighttime Meeting:
Date:  Oct. 20th (3rd Wed. of each month)
Time: 7-8:00PM
Topic: The Family and the Breastfed Baby (Your questions and concerns are top priority.)
Location:  Southbridge Savings Bank, Rt. 20 in Sturbridge
In the tradition of LLL, please join in the discussion and support our community.  All you have to bring is your experiences that you have encountered with breastfeeding or help support another mother that could use a bit of breastfeeding wisdom. ;)
Breastfeeding babies, toddlers, and breastfeeding children who would be unhappy away from their mothers are welcome. Click here for directions.

LLL of Worcester Daytime Meeting:
LLL of Worcester has daytime meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 551 Pleasant St in Worcester. In addition they are offering a Sat. morning meeting soon. Contact LLL Worcester Leader: Jenn Dziejma dziejen@yahoo.com  or visit http://www.llleus.org/web/WorcesterMA.html for more information.

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Items and events in this category are not associated with LLL and are listed here as a service to the community.  If you know of a community event, please email Erin at info@lllsturbridge.org by the first of the month.

Home Depot Craft day in Auburn, MA

1st Saturday of the month Home Depot brings out wonderful projects for kids to create and celebrate the season.  Drop in during the AM hours and earn a pin for your children's apron.

St. Anne’s and St. Patrick's Apple Festival and Bazaar
Date: 10/2/2010 - 10/3/2010
Location: 16 Church St. Fiskdale
Children’s Carnival, featuring a moonbounce, fun house, train rides, cotton candy, fried dough, and much more.
 

Destiny Africa Children's Choir Concert
Date: 10/8/2010 @ 7PM
Admission: Free
Location: Sturbridge Worship Center
Voices filled with hope. Faces bright with joy. Lives touched by love. Come witness their talent and passion. Be inspired by their transformed lives. The choir performs a Free Concert at Sturbridge Worship Center on Friday, October 8 at 7:00pm.

Harvest Days at OSV
Dates: 10/16/2010 - 10/17/2010
Location: Old Sturbridge Village
After a year's worth of work, come help us celebrate the harvest! Talk with costumed interpreters about the harvest and learn about methods of food preservation. Children of all ages can also be part of the harvest. Dig potatoes in the field, pull carrots in the garden, shell corn in the barn and thresh rye on the threshing floor!

Things That Go Bump In The Night
Date: 10/30/2010
Location: Old Sturbridge Village
Old Sturbridge Village is the perfect setting for a family Halloween event. Spooky storytelling, magic, creepy games, and trickor-treating around the Center Village.
Admission: $12/person

Brimfield Antique Auto Show
Date: 10/2/2010
Location: Heart-O-the-Mart Antique Show Grounds
Antique cars, muscle cars, classic trucks, street rods, custom cruisers, and classic imports are all welcome. There will be music, food, and entertainment at this special event benefitting Hitchcock Free Academy, a non-profit community center providing educational, recreational and cultural programming for residents of all ages from the towns of Brimfield, Holland, Wales, Sturbridge and the surrounding communities.
Admission: $5, free for seniors over 60 as well as children under 13, military and veterans.
Rain date: Saturday, October 9, 10am - 4pm

Town of Brookfield: Spooky Day at Elm Hill Center
Date: 10/23/2010 :  2pm-8pm
Location: Elm Hill Center, 26 East Main St. in Brookfield
A spooky day of fun for all ages. Costume parade and spookwalk start at dusk. Activities and food throughout the day - pumpkin painting, scarecrow making, games and activities. Little kids zone also available.
Admission: $5 for the spookwalk or $20 per family. Proceeds to support the animals at the farm that are used for therapeutic programs.

Hitchcock Academy Farmer's Market

Every Sat. from 9AM-2PM::Organic vegetables and plants, and more.  Changes weekly based on seasonal offerings.  Great local market right down Rt. 20. Website: www.hitchcockacademy.org

Joshua Hyde Library/Sturbridge

Children's Events: http://www.town.sturbridge.ma.us/Public_Documents/SturbridgeMA_LibCal/?FormID=158 

Jacob Edwards Library/Southbridge
508-764-5427
Charlton Children's Events:  http://www.charltonlibrary.org/charlton/children.asp 

Charlton Public Library
508-248-0452
Children's Events:
http://www.charltonlibrary.org/charlton/children.asp

 

2 Lincoln Street
Brookfield
 508-867-6339
Babytime: Wednesdays 11:00am – 12:00pm
Pre-School story time and singing with Ms. Coro: Fridays 11:30am – 12:00pm
Drop-in Arts & Crafts: Fridays 2:30pm – 4:30pm, all ages welcome to attend.
Yoga for kids: Thursdays 2:00pm.

Are you on Facebook? Then join LLL online!  Many of us have busy lives and can't connect during our meeting times.  Facebook allows you to post a question to fellow breastfeeding mothers and have an instant community when you need support.  We also use it to announce what we are doing that day and if any other like-minded moms want to join in.  Search for LLL of Sturbridge and ask to join!

Would you like to see our LLL group reach out to more mothers and bring more awareness to breastfeeding?  If you have ever thought of volunteering or giving back a small amount of your time while making an amazing shift in our area's thinking, I can not express how rewarding being a Leader is.  For me, it has given me the opportunity to connected with so many amazing mothers and families that they have made me a better mother and wife.  I am truly blessed to be in this community and help support it. If you would like to help support our community and would like to help lead our group, please contact me.

What is our purpose as LLL Leaders?  Leaders know the importance of one mother helping another to recognize and understand the needs of her child and to find the best means of fulfilling those needs. Leaders provide information and support so that each mother can make the decisions which are best for her family.

What does a Leader do? Most Leaders fulfill the basic responsibilities of leadership, which are:
• Helping mothers one-to-one by telephone, email, or in person.
• Planning and leading monthly Series Meetings.
• Supervising the management of the LLL Group.
• Keeping up-to-date on breastfeeding information.
• Upholding the LLL philosophy

LLL Philosophy

Mothering through breastfeeding is the most natural and effective way of understanding and satisfying the needs of the baby. Mother and baby need to be together early and often to establish a satisfying relationship and an adequate milk supply. In the early years, the baby has an intense need to be with his mother which is as basic as his need for food. Breast milk is the superior infant food. For the healthy, full-term baby, breast milk is the only food necessary until baby shows signs of needing solids, about the middle of the first year after birth. Ideally, the breastfeeding relationship will continue until the baby outgrows the need. Alert and active participation by the mother in childbirth is a help in getting breastfeeding off to a good start. Breastfeeding is enhanced and the nursing couple sustained by the loving support, help, and companionship of the baby’s father. A father’s unique relationship with his baby is an important element in the child’s development from early infancy. Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible. From infancy on, children need loving guidance which reflects acceptance of their capabilities and sensitivity to their feelings.

 

LLL of Worcester holds monthly meetings to help leaders become accredited.  Please email me if you are interested in attending and seeing if leadership is right for you.

 

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	You don't have to join LLL to come to our meetings but by joining LLL of Sturbridge you help support YOUR breastfeeding community.  The $40 LLL Regular Membership  includes a discount in the LLLI Online Store, a subscription to New Beginnings e-Magazine and much more.  To find out more benefits and other levels of membership, visit http://www.llli.org/membership.html.
	New Beginnings e-Magazine Free with a 1 year membership - LLL Online Bi-Monthly magazine is filled with valuable information on breastfeeding and mother-to-mother sharing.
Please mail it directly to our group as your money will be directly contributing to your local community.  You can send check made out to LLL of Sturbridge, MA and mail it to PO Box 523, Sturbridge, MA 01566.