Monday, November 3, 2008

Welcome to La Leche League of the Illinois Valley


Welcome to La Leche League of the Illinois Valley!
For those of you unfamiliar with La Leche League (pronounced “lay-chay”), our Mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother. (From LLLI Policies and Standing Rules Notebook, May 89; rev Apr 93)



Our Series Meetings consist of four topics that rotate over & over again. The four topics are:
1) The Advantages of Breastfeeding
2) The Family & the Breastfed Baby
3) Avoiding/Overcoming Difficulties
4) Nutrition & Weaning
However, please know that we are not limited to the scheduled topic - we can discuss any breastfeeding issues that you may have at the time. Also, if you have any immediate breastfeeding questions or concerns, please don’t wait until a meeting for assistance. Our Accredited Leader, Mary, can be contacted at 815-894-3303 or e-mail us at ivlllgroup@gmail.com.


All mothers who have an interest in breastfeeding are invited to attend La Leche League meetings and are accepted with open arms: mothers of all races and religions, single mothers, working mothers, and mothers whose philosophy on various aspects of infant care and childrearing may differ from La Leche League's. Each mother is encouraged to take from La Leche League's philosophy & the other mothers’ experiences what seems sensible and helpful to her. The ideal time to begin attending is during pregnancy, because the information received in advance may prove to be vital to a mother when her baby arrives.


We currently have an AM & PM meeting the 3rd Thursday of each month, based in the Peru-area (but anyone is welcome to attend from the outlying areas), as well as occasional LLL sponsored events & fundraisers (such as picnics, open-house, World Breastfeeding Week Events, etc.). As at all LLL functions, babies in arms and small children who would be unhappy away from their parents are welcome (but they must be supervised by you). We greatly appreciate those who open their homes to our meetings!

Meeting Information
Since the meetings are held in our members' homes, we do not publish the locations on-line.

Day Meeting

The 3rd Thursday of the month from 10:00-11:30 a.m. and 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Ladd, IL.
Please call 815-894-3303 or e-mail ivlllgroup@gmail.com for exact location & directions.


We are trying to keep our "official" meeting time to about an hour of breastfeeding discussion, followed by a 1/2 hour of open discussion/socializing.