Intoducing myself

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I am Celina Dykstra, LLL Leader first accredited in 1985 and now, finally,

IBCLC- recently passing the BIG EXAM! I am totally excited about starting a PP

here, with the Small Business forms ready to go, in a State with very few PP

IBCLCs - perhaps because the great State of NH does not include IBCLCs as

" Professionals " ... well, we'll have to change that!

, my husband of 32 years, and I have 4 daughters - , 31 (Lab/Del nurse

in Calgary, Alta.), Jenn, 29 (NH resident and mother to our two grandchildren -

, almost 5 and Olivia, 10 mo. and both breastfed), , 26 (cardiac nurse

in Red Deer, Alta.) and Jill, 21 (nursing student in Kelowna, BC). As you have

probably deduced, we are expats (as of 1999) and are grateful for the

opportunities which have presented themselves since we have lived in central New

Hampshire. is a pianist with a private studio in Portsmouth, where he

teaches piano lessons and collaborates with composers and chamber music lovers

and does Bikram yoga faithfully. I have worked in EMS, volunteering with our

local Fire Dept. for 7 years (helping new moms is a tad less of an adrenaline

rush and much more my pace now!), retail sales at a plant nursery, and as a farm

stand attendant at a local pyo orchard and working farm. My " labor " jobs bring

me in contact with many young families and I have connected with numerous women

who have come to meetings as a result of talking to me while out and about with

their babies. The most amazing connection I've made is with a woman who was a

LLL Leader in Washington, DC in the 60's and 70's where she led three groups a

month averaging 20-30 women per meeting!!! She is one of my greatest advocates,

cheering me on and offering much support and encouragement (of course!) I will,

I am sure, keep at least one of these as a PT job just to get me outside and

moving around. I recently received a lovely tenor ukelele for my 54th birthday,

to help balance out my life and to keep my brain developing.

I decided to follow my 20+ year dream of becoming an IBCLC in 2007 when my

daughter gave birth to our grandson and experienced many difficulties with

breastfeeding and received some less than ideal information. It was a struggle

to have him drinking well at the breast but it happened with the help of Edith

Kernerman and Jack Newman via email and so I took Jan Riordan's Human Lactation

course via Wichita St. Univ., joined our Breastfeeding Task Force and

reaccredited as a LLL Leader, starting the Lakes Region LLL group in 2008.

Having had two home births and being an advocate of women's rights to birth

where they choose, and believing in seeing women in their home setting (thanks

to my LLL background), it was a natural step to choose PP over seeking work in a

medical practice. Even with the broader scope of LC practice, it is still

important for me to see breastfeeding as a natural process and to promote it as

such. This will be a major focus of my practice.

The opportunity to connect with other PP IBCLCs is a real pleasure for me and I

am so looking forward to learning from all of you and growing as an IBCLC!

Celina

[Guest guest]

Celina,

congratulations! We need more IBCLCs with such faith and trust in the process of

breastfeeding:)

Eve

northeastern MA

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I am Celina Dykstra, LLL Leader first accredited in 1985 and now, finally,

IBCLC- recently passing the BIG EXAM! I am totally excited about starting a PP

here, with the Small Business forms ready to go, in a State with very few PP

IBCLCs - perhaps because the great State of NH does not include IBCLCs as

" Professionals " ... well, we'll have to change that!

>

> , my husband of 32 years, and I have 4 daughters - , 31 (Lab/Del nurse

in Calgary, Alta.), Jenn, 29 (NH resident and mother to our two grandchildren -

, almost 5 and Olivia, 10 mo. and both breastfed), , 26 (cardiac nurse

in Red Deer, Alta.) and Jill, 21 (nursing student in Kelowna, BC). As you have

probably deduced, we are expats (as of 1999) and are grateful for the

opportunities which have presented themselves since we have lived in central New

Hampshire. is a pianist with a private studio in Portsmouth, where he

teaches piano lessons and collaborates with composers and chamber music lovers

and does Bikram yoga faithfully. I have worked in EMS, volunteering with our

local Fire Dept. for 7 years (helping new moms is a tad less of an adrenaline

rush and much more my pace now!), retail sales at a plant nursery, and as a farm

stand attendant at a local pyo orchard and working farm. My " labor " jobs bring

me in contact with many young families and I have connected with numerous women

who have come to meetings as a result of talking to me while out and about with

their babies. The most amazing connection I've made is with a woman who was a

LLL Leader in Washington, DC in the 60's and 70's where she led three groups a

month averaging 20-30 women per meeting!!! She is one of my greatest advocates,

cheering me on and offering much support and encouragement (of course!) I will,

I am sure, keep at least one of these as a PT job just to get me outside and

moving around. I recently received a lovely tenor ukelele for my 54th birthday,

to help balance out my life and to keep my brain developing.

>

> I decided to follow my 20+ year dream of becoming an IBCLC in 2007 when my

daughter gave birth to our grandson and experienced many difficulties with

breastfeeding and received some less than ideal information. It was a struggle

to have him drinking well at the breast but it happened with the help of Edith

Kernerman and Jack Newman via email and so I took Jan Riordan's Human Lactation

course via Wichita St. Univ., joined our Breastfeeding Task Force and

reaccredited as a LLL Leader, starting the Lakes Region LLL group in 2008.

>

> Having had two home births and being an advocate of women's rights to birth

where they choose, and believing in seeing women in their home setting (thanks

to my LLL background), it was a natural step to choose PP over seeking work in a

medical practice. Even with the broader scope of LC practice, it is still

important for me to see breastfeeding as a natural process and to promote it as

such. This will be a major focus of my practice.

>

> The opportunity to connect with other PP IBCLCs is a real pleasure for me and

I am so looking forward to learning from all of you and growing as an IBCLC!

>

> Celina

>