Nothing can prepare you for parenthood. I believe my husband and I understood that it would be difficult. However, we could not have fully understood the extent of it until we were in it. In those first few days as new parents, we were in such a vulnerable state. Still processing the shock of an unexpected and urgent cesarean section, we suddenly had to keep this tiny human alive. 

I was most struck by how, immediately after surgery, I had to learn how to sustain my baby entirely with my body through breastfeeding. It did not come easily. My nurse in the recovery room told me, "don't give up yet." Throughout the night and the next day, our nurses helped us hand-express colostrum and syringe-feed our baby because we could not get her to latch well. I felt so lost and terrified to go home, thinking I would be leaving, not knowing how to feed my child. 

Then on our second night at the hospital, we met Chelle. Chelle changed everything for us. We shared with her that I struggled to breastfeed, and she offered to help. I remember my husband, discouraged, saying, "We've had several people try but sure, go for it." Chelle swiftly adjusted the hospital bed, propped up pillows around me, and like magic, got my baby to latch and energetically feed for what felt like forever. She made it look so easy. She said, "See? Your baby knows what to do." I will never forget the relief and the joy I felt at that moment. My husband and I were close to tears. It had felt like such an impossible task up until that point, and Chelle showed us that my body and my baby were, in fact, capable of breastfeeding. Knowing it was possible, we had the hope and belief to persist in our breastfeeding journey.

Chelle's confidence, expertise, and patience completely altered our experience. I will forever feel indebted to her for her important role in our story. I don't want to think about what might have happened had we not crossed paths with Chelle. New parenthood is challenging enough, and she gave us something so special--she gracefully met us where we were and enabled us to go home with one less thing to worry about.

I am so grateful to Chelle for giving me the invaluable peace of mind of knowing that I could leave the hospital assured that I would be able to feed my baby. We are over two months into exclusively breastfeeding, and although it has had its challenges along the way, I believe we would not have made it this far without Chelle's support and guidance in those first days. Chelle has indeed found her calling, and we are all so lucky.