This is the first year of Rebecca and me being in business
for ourselves. It has been an eye
opening experience. We have gone through
so many different changes in the last 12 months which have taught me a lot
about myself, business, and the lactation world. This is my reflection.
When I get home my kids cling to me. Sometimes I haven't been gone long but if I'm
not home when they get home from school, to them, I’ve been gone all day. I miss my kids too! I miss them so much that I'm changing my
schedule so I can be at home more often. I think it's important for mothers to build a
bond with their children early so they can have great relationships with their
kids as they get older. That's why I
love breastfeeding because Moms are doing many things at one time, building a
great lifelong bond, nourishing baby, building the immune system, protecting
themselves from illnesses and that's only naming a few.
I thought I could balance career and home with no problem. Boy, was I wrong. I didn't realize how much my family depended
on me. I thought that my husband, who is
a musician and is at home writing, would just slide right in to my role. I was wrong again. Men are completely different than women and I
am learning how to work with my husband so we can both further our careers. He is very supportive in my endeavors and
sometimes he's the one approaching pregnant women in stores about
breastfeeding. He sees how important my
work is and he is on the frontline right there with me. He has really helped me be a better wife,
mother, and person. I really need to
give him more sex... LOL! I'm working on
it, but sometimes after a long day of work, children, housework, and more work
I don't have the energy to lift a finger, let alone have sex. I am learning how to let go of some things so
I have energy to do other things that are just as important or even more
important.
Sometimes, you gotta do what cha gotta do!
When Rebecca and I started The Monolatry Group, we were so
excited and we were ready to let everyone know, we are here! Anything dealing with breastfeeding we were
there. We were showing our face at
meetings all over the city and suburbs.
We were making our presence known on social media sites. Then, we wrote a grant and we kind of knew we
were not going to get it. What we were
proposing was new, innovative strategies and we were new on the lactation
scene. In 2011, the breastfeeding world
changed. The media was talking about breastfeeding all the time and there was
more money accessible for non-profits to promote. Rebecca and I were even more excited to work
with other established non-profits to work as a community to help women
breastfeed. That's what we thought but
we were naive in thinking that everyone in the breastfeeding community is
helping Moms to breastfeed, as well as to empower women.
This was the eye opening part of my year. As I reflect on this subject, I realize how
much I was hurt by women that I thought were advocates for women and
breastfeeding. I thought they were my
friends and women I can trust. I thought
that they would be bluntly honest with me and tell me the truth. But instead, I got shut doors, phone calls
unanswered, and just a firm hand in my face saying, “No, you can't come in
here. You are too loud, you ask too many
questions, and you are way too dynamic to be on our team.” Well, I was upset for a little while but now I
have my wits about me and I have put this in the past. 2012 is our year! I'm claiming it.
With all of the adversity I have been though personally and
professionally this year, I am glad that I have a great business partner,
Rebecca. She is honest, sometimes
brutally, she has my back (like I have hers) and she is a great friend. I have to thank the universe for placing her
in my life. We have learned a lot this
year and we know now who are friends are and who we need to keep our eye on. We've grown in the last year and in our growth
we have been successful.
We have our mommy group, The Abiyamo Omo Society, which meets
at 2 locations in Chicago hospitals, UIC Hospital and Jackson Park Hospital. We are helping to start the volunteer
Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program at UIC Hospital. We are instructing our first PC Class in February 2012 and because of the great response we got we are planning 2 more classes
in 2012 (check our website for details). We
started renting and selling Hygeia breast pumps that we call Pump Depot and delivery for free to
Chicago's Southside and South Suburbs. January
4, 2012 we’re starting our weekly talk show called “Milking It!” (on
www.VOKLE.com) and you can catch us on Facebook ("Like" The Monolatry Group & TheAbiyamo Omo Society pages) as well as Twitter @abiyamoomo.
We have given a number of presentations at area hospitals
and working on new connections everyday. With all that, we are working on 2
grants to help us sustain all the unpaid work we do. We understand what it takes to be a
successful and willing to stay up late and work when we have been up for hours.
We've had a great year and are very
thankful to everyone who has accepted us (and not). Last but not least, we wanted you to know we
are here to stay!
