Positive WIC experience...

[JamesMama]

...I finally had to bite the bullet and sign us up for WIC...it's not much but the milk and stuff is a help.

Anyway, they were going through the pregnancy part...asked if I was planning on breastfeeding I said "Of course. I nursed him (James) for over 2 years, I fully intend to do the same with this one."

The woman looked at me and said "2 years?" I said "Yes." she was just in shock (good shock) she said "Wow, thats just fantastic. Good for you. Thats wonderful." then we were talking later and I mentioned limiting James dairy due to concerns that it raises the diabetes risk, considering DH is diabetic. And she said she understood, but I need to get him calcium (blah blah blah) and I said he gets enough, then she said that the milk concern is probably formula because formula is so unnatural that it causes all sorts of issues.

I told her I 100% agreed and that I read it was because of the high amounts of bovine insulin in cows milk that at risk babies develop an immune response to it (blah blah blah) and she went on for a while about how right I was and that breastfeeding is so much better and I've done so much good for James by nursing.

It was awesome. I'd always heard WIC pushes formula but this woman was practically knocking herself out congratulating me about bf'ing and then going all 'lactivist' mode on me! She said she wished she could get the benefits of bf'ing through the heads of the other moms she sees.

Then she says "I'm glad we won't have that issue with you. Lucky kids, you've got there." :

It was awesome

[MidwifeErika]

I have had really positive experiences with the WIC here as well. They haven't even raised an eyebrow when my 3 year old nursed while we were there. I only got positive feedback about the fact that both my younger children are still breastfeeding.

[jimblejamble]

Wooh!

[amandaleigh37]

Good to hear!

Our WIC is very pro-BF (aren't they all supposed to be? us BF mamas cost them a lot less than formula...), the director is still nursing her 2 year old. At my last visit they gave me a pamphlet about 6-12 months for my son and she said "Sadly we don't give many of these out..." I assume she meant because not many moms BF past 6 months...

[ErikaLeigh]

Yay!!

[guitarmama]

I work as a breastfeeding peer counselor at my local WIC. We are VERY pro BF! We aren't even allowed to have any artificial baby milk ads visible to participants. All the nutritionists do a great job encouraging moms to bf. There are 2 of us peer counselors and an IBCLC on staff. The woman who heads our program bfed both her kids for 2 years. I'm sure offices vary in their commitment to bfing, but I think that nationally wic has a mandate to support bfing.

[JamesMama]

It was so refreshing to see a 'medical' type person so PRO-breastfeeding (sad as that sounds) James' (old) doctor said it's not needed after 9 months the other one said I didn't 'need to do that anymore' when I took him to his 18 month check up. This woman thought it was fantastic that I nursed for 2 years, she said she's never had a mom go that long...and that was kind of sad to her. YEA.

But then she says "Unfortunatly you can only get breastfeeding mom benefits for 1 year..."

[earthmommy2]

My WIC meetings have always been BF supportive!! That makes me happy...I hate to have to use WIC, but so thankful because money does get tight...

[BJewels79]

The people who work with our WIC program were very pro BF also. In fact, she asked if I had a pump and I told her that I do have a (cheap) electric from DS #1. So she gave me a medela manual pump and also several sets of cloth nursing pads. I was pretty impressed with it!

[Naless]

I am also receiving WIC and at my appointment last week I was given Medela Pump in Style since I mentioned I might need to return to work sooner than I planed and was using a manual pump. The staff member told me that they are available to all mothers who are breastfeeding 100% and the electric single pump to mothers who are breastfeeding at least 50% also Medela.

[KJoslyn78]

Originally Posted by JamesMama

It was so refreshing to see a 'medical' type person so PRO-breastfeeding (sad as that sounds) James' (old) doctor said it's not needed after 9 months the other one said I didn't 'need to do that anymore' when I took him to his 18 month check up. This woman thought it was fantastic that I nursed for 2 years, she said she's never had a mom go that long...and that was kind of sad to her. YEA.

But then she says "Unfortunatly you can only get breastfeeding mom benefits for 1 year..."

did she mean that WIC has no food package benefit for past 1 yr BFing moms? I know i just "years out" of WIC since ds is now 1 - even though we are still BFing. Unfortunatly ds does NOT drink milk products yet - so all those whole milk checks are of no use....

[3daughters]

Originally Posted by KJoslyn78

did she mean that WIC has no food package benefit for past 1 yr BFing moms? I know i just "years out" of WIC since ds is now 1 - even though we are still BFing. Unfortunatly ds does NOT drink milk products yet - so all those whole milk checks are of no use....

Yes

[BJewels79]

Yeah, I was disappointed to hear that nothing is offered to BF moms past one year. But I do think the items that a 1 yr old gets goes up as far as you then get milk (I suppose vs formula for FF moms), more juice, cheese, etc.

[~PurityLake~]

[quote=JamesMama;8527303 I'd always heard WIC pushes formula but this woman was practically knocking herself out congratulating me about bf'ing and then going all 'lactivist' mode on me! She said she wished she could get the benefits of bf'ing through the heads of the other moms she sees.
[/quote]

In my experience, the WIC office has strongly supported breastfeeding. In fact, they have several lactation consultants in their office, and they rent out breastpumps to working moms, or moms needing help increasing milk flow. I consider Helen one of my best friends, the greatest help to me when I first had Abigail and had so many problems getting started breastfeeding. She constantly encouraged me, taught me techniques to improve latch, how to treat blisters, and when my ducts got clogged, told me to put cabbage leaves on my breasts to reduce the swelling, and it worked. She believes in child - led weaning. She has given me so much support and all the ladies at the WIC office are just as supportive. I had no idea there were WIC folks who were NOT supportive of breastfeeding.
To this day, Helen checks in with me by phone, provides moral support and compliments me effusively on my parenting skills. She has seen me through some really rough patches in my life (stuff I'm not comfortable discussing on this board). Through it all, she has praised me for breastfeeding, pointed out to me my strengths, complimented my choices in how I raise my daughters with gentle discipline, (she has been a source of info for gentle discipline techniques), she has praised me for being such a great stepmother to my stepson (and she has met him on many occassions in person). Helen gives me such wonderful positive reinforcement.

She is the one I called when my pediatrician tried to 'make' me take Sophia to the lab for a blood draw from her arm for an iron test, when the pediatrician told me my milk wasn't good enough anymore and told me I needed to supplement with formula. After leaving the office, refusing to follow pediatrician's orders, I called Helen and she was just as livid as I was at the pediatrician and totally supported my choices.