March 11, 2021 • 31 mins
As we all know, being a new mom is tough. There are no two ways about it. Trying to figure out how to care for a newborn or multiple babies while staying sane, semi-clean, and at least slightly human is something almost all of us have had to grapple with. But for a certain very special group of women, trying to figure out the nuances of motherhood has its own unique set of challenges.
So my question for today is: How do you balance the active-duty of being a new mom when you’re literally on active duty?
Today we’ll take a walk in the shoes of one woman who can tell us exactly what it’s like to care for a newborn when you’re in the military. Join us and our special guest, Krystal Wallace, an former active duty and current Reservist with the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Assistant Education Director for Mom 2 Mom Global, a worldwide network of breastfeeding support and advocacy resources for military families.
We look forward to having you join us!
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Episode Transcript
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Amanda Gorman (00:00):
[Intro] Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Welcome. Welcome. Welcome mamasand mamas-to-be. A podcast
dedicated to helping momsnavigate their way through the
tricky world of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
(00:22):
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Hello, mamas and mamas-to-be.
Welcome to today's podcast. I amyour host Amanda Gorman of Nest
Collaborative. And this week'sepisode is very near and dear to
my heart. As we all know, beinga new mom is pretty tough.
There's no two ways about it.
(00:43):
Trying to figure out how to carefor a newborn or multiple babies
while staying sane, semi clean,and at least slightly human, is
something almost all of us havehad to grapple with. But for a
certain very special group ofwomen, trying to figure out the
nuances of motherhood has itsown unique set of challenges. So
my question for today is, how doyou balance the active duty of
(01:04):
being a new mom when you'reliterally on active duty? Today,
we'll take a walk in the shoesof one woman who can actually
tell us what it's like to carefor a newborn when you're in the
military. Just thinking about itseems almost impossible to me.
And not just because women inthe military are a major
minority. According to theDefense Department, women now
make up 20% of the Air Force,19% of the Navy, 15% of the
(01:29):
Army, 15% of the Coast Guard,and almost 9% of the Marine
Corps. Even though those numbersare a lot more impressive than
they were just a few decadesago, the military's still widely
considered a man's domain. Sowhat is it like to be a woman,
and more importantly, a new momin the military, how to military
moms get the support they needto care for their babies while
(01:50):
still being at the ready tofight for our freedom. I have so
many questions, and I'm sure youdo too. So let's get right to it
and welcome our guest. With metoday is the incomparable
Krystal Wallace, the AssistantEducation Director for Mom2Mom
Global, a worldwide network ofbreastfeeding support and
advocacy resources for militaryfamilies. Krystal is a certified
(02:11):
lactation consultant, and LaLeche League leader who holds a
master's degree from UnionInstitute & University in Health
and Wellness with aspecialization in Human
Lactation. What's probably mostimpressive is that Krystal's be-
given birth and breastfed as anactive duty officer in the Coast
Guard and the Reservists. Shestill currently serves in the
(02:33):
Coast Guard Reserve and ismarried to an active duty Coast
Guard officer. Krystal, welcome.
And let me start by saying thankyou so much for your service.
Krystal Wallace (02:42):
Oh, thank you for having me. I'm very excited
about this.
Amanda Gorman (02:46):
Awesome. Let me just start really by saying that
being a mom in the militaryseems almost unfathomable. So
can we just start by talking alittle bit about how this all
happened for you?
Krystal Wallace (02:57):
Oh, wow. So let me just start by saying that I
had a super privilegedexperience that not all military
moms are fortunate enough tohave. My husband and I decided
to start having children,probably about a year before I
(03:17):
was my, my service time was up,and maybe a little less than
that. And he was currently inflight school. I was commuting
an hour to work in mobile, whichdoesn't sound privileged, but my
mom was four hours away. Soshe'll play back into this. We
got pregnant, I had my baby inearly December. I had 42 days of
(03:42):
leave. And then I took anadditional. I took additional
time off probably like anadditional month out of my
personal leave stash justbecause I wasn't ready to go
back to work. I was panickinglike any new mom about going
back to work. And fortunatelyfor my husband and I things kind
(04:04):
of worked out. I was I wasnervous because I worked an hour
away from where we lived.
My husband was in flight school.
So his schedule was superrandom. I mean, we found out
sometimes at five o'clock atnight, what he was doing the
next day. And so I didn't knowwhat to do about childcare. I
had no idea. I was like, okay,well if I put my kid in
childcare where we live, and I'mat work and there's an
(04:27):
emergency, how am I going to getthere because I also was on the
road for my job. I was a MarineInspector so I would travel
anywhere from probably as far asPensa- Pensacola or a little
further out all the way toMississippi in a given day. So I
could be two hours away fromhome, I could be three hours
(04:48):
away from home and God forbid Iwould get a call that there was
an emergency. I didn't know howto deal with that. And my
husband could be flying and it'shard to get a hold of someone in
the air. So we were fortunateenough that I called my mother
who was living in Georgia at thetime and wasn't working. And I
begged her. I was like- and Ididn't have to beg that hard. I
(05:11):
was like, "Hey, can you comelive with me three weeks out of
every month until I get out ofthe Coast Guard?" And then my
mother-in-law would come relievemy mom for a week of every
month. So we had my mom forthree weeks, and my
mother-in-law for one week, andwe did this rotation until I got
off of active duty.
Amanda Gorman (05:34):
Talk about calling in the troops.
Krystal Wallace (05:36):
Yes, and I was, it was such a fortunate thing.
And forecasting, I'm so thankfulbecause my mom ended up passing
away a couple of years later. Soit was just amazing that she was
at least able to be thatsignificant role in my son's
life early on. But I can'timagine going through first time
(05:59):
motherhood without that supportnetwork. And so many military
moms do, because their family isjust, you know, their family may
not be there, they may not haveclose family ties, they may be
in another country. It's just-their family may still be
working. I mean, I just happento get lucky that my
mother-in-law was a per diemnurse. So she made her own
(06:20):
schedule, and that my momwasn't, wasn't working at that
time, it just all the starsaligned for me. You know, it
wasn't without its challenges.
Being a Marine Inspector,finding a- I worked in
shipyards, primarily doing boatinspections and new construction
for vessels, not the cleanestlocation in the world. So and
also being one of the fewfemales in the office, I often
(06:43):
had to pump in the gv with menin the car, because sometimes
the timing just worked out thatwe were still an hour from our
destination. And I was going toburst. And so I was like, "Hey,
guys, eyes forward, turn theradio up. I'm going to put this
cover on and I'm going to pump."
Amanda Gorman (07:03):
There's your training coming into into play.
Krystal Wallace (07:07):
Yeah.
Amanda Gorman (07:07):
Wow. That's, that's an amazing story to hear.
Tell us a little bit more aboutMom2Mom Global and and this
really wonderful network. Iimagine that having access to
breastfeeding res- resourcesthat are more specialized for
military families can be a hugerelief for new moms. But I do
(07:30):
know that they are at quite aminimum for most military
families. So tell us about whatyou all do at Mom2Mom.
Krystal Wallace (07:36):
So I am so impressed with this organization
every day. And I wish I hadfound it when I was going
through this. So Mom2Mom, we'rea global network of
breastfeeding support. We havechapters across the globe at
military installations. Andwe're volunteer based. We requir
(07:57):
that our volunteers, most of ouvolunteers have some form of
lactation credential, so thate can provide the best ca
e possible. And we're alson advocacy group. So we we help
o advocate for military famiy needs, military member needs.
We have people talking to peoplein Congress, we have people on
(08:18):
he US Breastfeeding Committee.
nd then we also, what's amazin, is we have mothers that will
call in and say here's my issuewith my unit. I don't know i
I'm explaining this right, ad we have members that will go
head and contact the unit and hlp a member explain their need
for breastfeeding. Explaithe regulations. So we do a l
t of advocacy work as well as drect breastfeeding sup
Amanda Gorman (08:45):
That's wonderful.
And, and so needed. I'd love toknow like what are the most
common questions that you getwhen you're working with
military moms, you know, outsideof their difficulties or
troubles you know, in theirworkspace, but just in doing
your your lactation support withthem. What do you find are the
most common concerns that theybring?
Krystal Wallace (09:08):
You know, it's very similar to most working
moms is- the biggest questionsare, you know, what should I do
about pumping? What should mypumping schedule be? How do I
bring my supply in? And it,that's what's interesting is
it's most of our questions arethe basic working mom questions.
(09:29):
Where we differ is the moreunique questions that come in
for, because- we have so manydifferent I guess you can say
like job fields. So we may havemoms calling about wearing
bulletproof vests or we havemoms calling about exposure to
(09:50):
jet fuel or moms come in aboutlead exposure because they're
working on ships. So that'swhere it gets unique, but our
common questions are honestlythe questions that most working
moms might have.
Amanda Gorman (10:01):
Thats's interesting. Bulletproof vests.
I was just worrying aboutnursing balls. So talk to me a
little bit about how childcaregenerally works in a military
environment. I mean, you spokeabout your own, you know,
resources, which sound amazing.
But what are the options on basefor most military families?
Krystal Wallace (10:25):
So a lot of big bases will have what we call
Child Development Centers, whichare great options. For military
families, this, they're usuallyadjacent to the base, or they
are on the base. So that's, youknow, a lot of people's first
option for childcare. But now,depending on your location, that
(10:48):
may not be available. So most ofthe services do have some
childcare subsidy programs thatwill help help with the cost of
childcare outside of thegovernment provisions. And so
it's super useful. But if youdon't have a CDC or the CDCs are
full, which can happen a lot oftimes there's a waiting list,
(11:11):
families are forced to go outand find local daycares or
nannies. And that's where thechild subsidy comes in. But
that's pretty much the gist ofit. I mean, it can be more
difficult based on theirlocations outside of the US and
finding, you know, with languagebarriers and stuff, but most of
(11:33):
the time, there should be a CDCon post.
Amanda Gorman (11:37):
Okay, and those- that CDC those are those Child
Development Centers?
Krystal Wallace (11:40):
Those are the child development centers. Yes.
Sorry.
Amanda Gorman (11:42):
Got it. So they can kind of help advocate or at
least point you to resources.
Krystal Wallace (11:46):
Yeah.
Amanda Gorman (11:47):
Got it. Awesome.
That's- it's interesting, I, youknow, I want to talk a little
bit you- you mentioned yourtechnique in terms of, "come on
guys eyes forward." But, youknow, in terms of policies, what
what do you see in, you know, inmilitary workspaces in terms of,
you know, finding a place topump or what the expectations
are, when, you know, you arethe, you know, gender minority?
(12:10):
How does that work? Or, arethere policies?
Krystal Wallace (12:16):
So there are policies and all the services,
pretty much say the same thingin a different way. But they say
that there should be a cleanspace, for a woman to pump It
cannot be a restroom, it shouldhave access to water. Some of
(12:38):
them require you to have a sink,some just have to say some say
that there's needs to be a sinkadjacent. So that's good. That's
fairly been- that wasn't apolicy when I was breastfeeding.
And I'm so happy that it came upnow, because most of us were
pumping in the bathrooms orlocker rooms at the time, but
most services do providelactation rooms. Where it gets
difficult is for women that arein the field, you know, you're
(13:00):
not going to get a lactationroom in the field. And that's
where you have to get creative.
Amanda Gorman (13:05):
I'm sure. Can you imagine? Let me ask you this.
You know, we hear a lot frommoms coming to us working and
pumping and really trying topump on a schedule or sometimes
being directed into a pumpingschedule from their employer.
Are there policies around that?
Are women instructed whenthey're allowed to pump or how
frequent? What has been yourexperience?
Krystal Wallace (13:26):
So the policy for most, and it's like I said,
it's written in pretty much thesame way for most of the
services just with some wordingchanges. But in general, I'll
read the Air Force's policy. Forexample, it's a supervisor
should work with their personnelto allow 15 to 30 minute breaks
every three to four hours forpumping.
Amanda Gorman (13:45):
Okay, that's reasonable. You know, you know,
as you know, you know, everymom's needs are so different and
I can't-
Krystal Wallace (13:51):
And that's where it gets to be problematic
at times.
Amanda Gorman (13:54):
Yes. You know, and turning the tables a bit
over to, you know, active duty.
You know, if you have to be awayfrom your baby for an extended
period of time, you know, whatdoes that end up looking like?
You know, do you find that womenare able to maintain their
supply? Do you find that thatkind of forces moms to, to
supplement earlier than theywould have liked or what is it?
(14:15):
What have you experienced eitherfrom your friends or with
yourself or other women you'vehelped?
Krystal Wallace (14:23):
So thankfully, the military is really making
some great strides to helpmaintain women in the services.
So some of the things that havebeen coming up is they're
allowing six months defermentfor deployments for some
services and up to a yeardeferment of deployments for
others. Now, that doesn't alwayswork out and in some cases, moms
(14:46):
will decide to stopbreastfeeding, but I have an
amazing friend who- she wasupper echelon on an icebreaker
and so and she had just had ababy and she made it work. She
was pumping, and then shippingher breast milk home to her
husband to provide for her baby.
And she made it work. It wassuper amazing. And I know that's
(15:09):
not easy for everybody. But shecontinued to provide breast milk
for her son while she was inAntarctica.
Amanda Gorman (15:20):
Just the thought of trying to pump in extreme
cold. I can't I can't evenimagine. And let me ask you that
does the military or TRICARE payfor the shipping?
Krystal Wallace (15:31):
So right now, Coast Guard has a very defined
policy through our coast- CoastGuard Mutual Assistance Program.
The other services don't have asdefined of a policy for shipping
breast milk as we do. But I haveheard from other members that
there are ways to get it paidfor I'm just not as familiar
(15:52):
with those. But that's somethinglike, if someone had a question,
they could go ahead and pop ontoour Facebook page. And we have
an expert from every servicethat can help out with that.
Like I said, they're not asdefined from the other services.
So sometimes you may be on yourown to make it work. Thankfully,
the Coast Guard has put thispolicy in place. So they will
reimburse you for the shippingof your breast milk.
Amanda Gorman (16:14):
Got it? That's well, that's great, hey, that's
more than a lot of people get,period. So it's nice, it's nice
to see that there's, there'savenues being paved.
Krystal Wallace (16:23):
Oh, it was it was really exciting when that
policy came out, or thatprivilege came out. I think it's
making a huge difference forthose moms that are really
trying to do to be underway onships, but want to provide
breast milk for their babies.
And other moms that areobviously like taking two to
three weeks that they have totravel while they've just had a
baby. Because even with thedeferrals of deployments, it's a
(16:45):
really hard decision formilitary moms to make. Because
some of these appointments canmake or break your career. And
I'm not supposed to break it,but you know, there's some
opportunities that you can'tpass up, because they're, they
may not come back around. So tobe able to have these, these
special options really ishelpful.
Amanda Gorman (17:10):
That's amazing.
You know, as I mentioned a bitin my intro, you know, new moms
in the military are a minority.
And I can't imagine it's easy tohave conversations about
breastfeeding with a command. Sohow do you help women kind of
approach these discussions thatmight be a bit uncomfortable for
them?
Krystal Wallace (17:26):
You know, it is super awkward. And I've had the
conversation before. I've gottenmuch better at it as time has
gone on that I'm unapologeticabout the topic of
breastfeeding.
Amanda Gorman (17:37):
Good for you.
Krystal Wallace (17:38):
But for some of our you know, for some new moms,
or for just moms that aren't asopen about these conversations,
because some obviously, you feelthat breastfeeding is a very
private thing. I always suggesttrying to have the conversation
before you leave on maternityleave. Because if you have the
(17:58):
conversation before, then you'llknow what to expect when you
come back. If you wait to havethe uncomfortable conversation
until you've just returned backto work and you're already
frazzled, because you're awayfrom your baby. It doesn't
always go well. So my suggestionis always have it early. If
(18:22):
you're uncomfortable in yourtitle, look for someone in your
chain of command that you arecomfortable talking to. Try to
look for another female, or amale that you know will advocate
for you. It's it's really aboutfinding the right person to talk
to first to see how to approachit. Because if you have a
supervisor, that is weird aboutstuff like that, then you might
(18:48):
not be comfortable going to themeven though you have to. But you
can go ahead and get guidancefrom someone else on how to
approach the situation. And Iknow, at least myself and many
of my other friends andbreastfeeding mamas in the
military and Mom2Mom globalmembers would be more than
(19:09):
willing to walk someone throughthat and talk them through it.
Yeah, it's a hard conversation.
And unfortunately, you have togo into it being unapologetic
about it as uncomfortable as itmay be.
Amanda Gorman (19:22):
No, I think you're doing a great service to
to other women by by tellingthem that that's okay. You know,
sometimes women just need to beallowed in some way, or just,
you know, to help with theempowerment side of it. And, you
know, it's certainly so much ofwhat we do at Nest
Collaborative. We've had theprivilege of working with a
(19:43):
number of military families,which is really a privilege and
it's been very enlightening toour practice as a team and has,
has added so much value to towhat we're doing. But, you know,
we do really advocate for thatprenatal visit, you know, not
only to teach a mom how tobreastfeed but just like you
said, to really do a riskassessment specific to her, and
(20:05):
sometimes those risks are notphysical or pathophysiological
risks, but environmental. Andgetting back to and their work
environment and, and gettingthem teed up for success
sometimes is setting them upwith those conversations and the
right words and the rightapproach. So, you know, I think
you're dead on and in helpingthem get through that early. So
(20:27):
that's awesome. I do have onequestion for you. I'm just
interested in kind of what isthe craziest or most difficult
thing you've had to help amilitary mom with? Like, do you
have, you know, a unique storyyou could share?
Krystal Wallace (20:44):
I'm trying to think.
Amanda Gorman (20:47):
You can, you can marinate on that one a little
bit. You know, I always findthat, you know, lactation
consultants typically have acouple of stories in their
pockets.
Krystal Wallace (20:55):
You know, it's actually not been, for me, it's
not been helping a fellowmilitary mom so to speak, it's
actually been a prior supervisorof mine, like I, when I got into
the lactation field when I wasstarting to go to Union
Institute University, and I wasgoing down this whole journey to
become a lactation counselor.
My, one of my most seniorsupervisors, wrote my
(21:21):
recommendation for graduateschool. And we didn't really
talk much about breastfeeding,he ju- he knew what I was g
ing to be doing. But you know, tere was never a conversation a
out it. And then probably tree years later, I get a r
ndom phone call. And at this pint, he's retired. And he c
lled me and he says, "Hey,rystal it's commander. My wif
(21:44):
just had a baby and I rememberI wrote you that recommendation
for- to become a lactatioprofessional. Are you stil
doing that? Because we neehelp."
Amanda Gorman (21:56):
Awesome.
Krystal Wallace (21:58):
Out of the blue.
Amanda Gorman (22:01):
You must have made an impact in several ways.
Krystal Wallace (22:05):
I guess I never thought so. But that was that
was definitely surprising andexciting all at the same time.
And I've actually had other maleco workers that have come to me
to help their spouses.
Amanda Gorman (22:18):
Oh, my gosh, that's awesome. But that is that
is a good story. So being anactive duty parent has obviously
a whole different level of risk.
What keeps military moms up atnight? Besides the baby?
Krystal Wallace (22:31):
It's, am I fulfilling my duties? Am I am I
pulling my weight? Am I a goodsoldier? Am I a good sailor?
It's, it's always a question ofam I doing everything I should
be doing and being a good mom?
Amanda Gorman (22:50):
I can't even imagine that on top of all the
other. You know, moms just ingeneral are always worried
whether they're doing enough.
And they're doing it right.
Krystal Wallace (22:59):
Yeah.
Amanda Gorman (23:00):
I can't even, I mean, that's, that truly is
double duty. That's a lot.
Krystal Wallace (23:04):
It is. I mean, I think that the thing that many
people don't realize, andthey're like, "Oh, well, that's
similar to other working moms."And it definitely is, but we
can't just quit our job. Wecan't just decide tomorrow that
here's my two week notice I'mleaving. So when you make a
commitment to the military, andyou've made a commitment, and
(23:25):
don't get me wrong, there's waysout, but there, you know, those
timings have to work out justright. There's processes. And
most of us that join, do itbecause we love what we do. And
we're trying to make adifference. And we're trying to
do something bigger thanourselves. But obviously, our
families and our children arenumber one, but so are our- and
(23:46):
our careers are less than ourchildren, but it's a hard
balance at times. And again, ifwe do decide we don't want to do
it anymore. You can't justleave, like you're stuck for a
little while.
Amanda Gorman (23:59):
Kind of like parenting.
Krystal Wallace (24:01):
Yes, you can't leave parenting either.
Amanda Gorman (24:05):
So how can military women really advocate
for what they do really need?
Krystal Wallace (24:10):
I think it helps to talk about it. I think
we need to talk amongstourselves. We need to talk with
our co workers, we need to beopen and honest about motherhood
and breastfeeding and workingand how all of those interact
with each other. Because whileit can be difficult at times,
(24:31):
it's perfectly doable, with opencomp- with open conversations
and supervisors that are willingto listen. And so sometimes we
may take it to our supervisor.
And if we're not gettingsupport, we may have to take it
above that supervisor's headwhich can be difficult, and it's
not always going to be easy andit may suck. I mean, it's one of
(24:53):
those times where when you sayembrace the suck that that may
be your situation. But we seemilitary moms doing it all the
time saying, "Hey, I'm notgetting support," and they reach
out. And then other militarymembers will say, "Hey, I've got
your back, let me see if I-here's the policy, let me talk
to them." It's definitely aboutadvocating for yourself, but
(25:17):
also reaching out to people whohave, who are also willing to
advocate with you. Like Mom2MomGlobal is a great, a great way
to help- to- a great, a greatgroup to reach out to, because
they will find- if we don't havethe resources, we will find the
resources for you. But as amilitary mom, find other
(25:41):
military moms. Have theseconversations with your male co
workers, because they need toknow. And especially because
your male co workers and you andother military women, the more
you talk about it, the more theywill understand and then more
they will say "Oh, hey, I havethis new junior person that just
(26:01):
had a baby. Let me make surethey have what they need."
Amanda Gorman (26:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
So I think what you're saying iswe we just need to be bringing
the men into the conversation alittle bit more. And, and
earlier.
Krystal Wallace (26:17):
Yeah.
Amanda Gorman (26:19):
I think I think you're spot on with that.
Krystal Wallace (26:21):
I mean, let's be honest, women, women aren't,
you know, children and babiesare not just a one gender
responsibility. And I think weneed to make- continue to
promote that this is for the,for the health and well being of
everybody. This needs to be agroup effort here.
Amanda Gorman (26:44):
No, I can truly relate. And I think all women
can. And I really do think youknow, there's so much alignment.
And I think that's why I've beenvery attracted to Mom2Mom and
everything you're doing. Onlybecause at Nest Collaborative
that was really what we wantedto be doing too, is just opening
up a more real and candidconversation about what this
(27:04):
experience of enteringmotherhood and breastfeeding
really looks like and not justkind of the pretty pink tulip
version. So I, you know, Ireally appreciate it- you know,
what Mom2Mom Global is doing interms of getting, you know, a
conversation going, making surethat it is real, it is
accessible. And like you said,if they don't have the answer
(27:26):
today, they will help you findit. So tell us, you know, how
can someone get in touch withMom2Mom Global for either
lactation advice, or just tolearn more about the resources
that they're providing?
Krystal Wallace (27:38):
So we have our, you can go onto the web page,
mom2momglobal.org. And withinthere, we have links for brea-
for military members and formilitary spouses. You can
volunteer through us, you- italso has the links to all of our
social media pages. So oursocial media pages are great.
(28:01):
You can get on and askquestions, we have awesome admin
team. And again, just like Isaid before, if they don't know
the answer, I always say goright to our mom2momglobal.org
web page, and then the links toeverything will be in there.
Amanda Gorman (28:18):
Awesome. Thank you so much Krystal, this
conversation has really been eyeopening for me. And you know, as
much as we respect andappreciate our active duty
military and veterans, getting aglimpse of what it really is
like to be a new mom in themilitary takes my admiration to
a whole new level. I hope it'sbeen- this conversation is
giving a lot to the women whoare listening, you know, and
(28:40):
given them really theinformation they need to know,
which is that they're supported.
For those of us who aren't inthe military, I think you'll
agree that we're so lucky tohave people like you out there
protecting us, while alsoraising your own amazing next
generation of strong men andwomen. We can't really thank you
enough for being here today. Andyou've shared a little bit about
(29:02):
where our listeners can stay inthe loop. But is there anything
you want to share about eitheryourself or Mom2Mom before we
close today?
Krystal Wallace (29:10):
So I would just like to say for military moms,
military spouses, or nonmilitary mothers or parents.
Don't sit uncomfortably. Reachout for help. There are so many
resources that are availablefrom Mom2Mom Global, to La Leche
(29:32):
League, to Nest Collaborative,like get the help you need.
There's a lot of people outthere who are just like you who
want help and there areresources out there. So reach
out. Just don't sit at home, notknowing what to do or being
miserable because you have noone to talk about your lactation
issues with or mothering with.
Please reach out. It'll makeit'll make the experience so
(29:56):
much better.
Amanda Gorman (29:59):
That's wonderful.
Thank you. And yes, I copy allof those sentiments. So you
know, thank you for for sharingthat and reinforcing it. It's
really, really important thatmoms know that it's it's normal
to struggle, and it's normal toreach out. So thank you so much
Krystal for everything you'veprovided so much infa- insight,
and I really learned a lot. Sothank you.
Krystal Wallace (30:22):
Thanks for having me. This is this is a
great, great resource and I'm soglad that people are going to
get to, to hear this and thenyeah, I'm very excited about it.
Amanda Gorman (30:34):
Awesome. Well enjoy and to mamas and
mamas-to-be that is the end ofour show for today. Don't forget
to like and follow us onFacebook and Instagram, where we
can provide you with atranscription of today's podcast
and plenty of additionalresources and information. Don't
forget if there's abreastfeeding topic you'd like
to explore. We do want to hearfrom you. So until next week,
(30:55):
it's me Amanda, wishing you wellon your breastfeeding journey.
Boo bye. [Outro] BreastfeedingUnplugged. Breastfeeding
Unplugged.
[Intro] Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Welcome. Welcome. Welcome mamasand mamas-to-be. A podcast
dedicated to helping momsnavigate their way through the
tricky world of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
(00:22):
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Hello, mamas and mamas-to-be.
Welcome to today's podcast. I amyour host Amanda Gorman of Nest
Collaborative. And this week'sepisode is very near and dear to
my heart. As we all know, beinga new mom is pretty tough.
There's no two ways about it.
(00:43):
Trying to figure out how to carefor a newborn or multiple babies
while staying sane, semi clean,and at least slightly human, is
something almost all of us havehad to grapple with. But for a
certain very special group ofwomen, trying to figure out the
nuances of motherhood has itsown unique set of challenges. So
my question for today is, how doyou balance the active duty of
(01:04):
being a new mom when you'reliterally on active duty? Today,
we'll take a walk in the shoesof one woman who can actually
tell us what it's like to carefor a newborn when you're in the
military. Just thinking about itseems almost impossible to me.
And not just because women inthe military are a major
minority. According to theDefense Department, women now
make up 20% of the Air Force,19% of the Navy, 15% of the
(01:29):
Army, 15% of the Coast Guard,and almost 9% of the Marine
Corps. Even though those numbersare a lot more impressive than
they were just a few decadesago, the military's still widely
considered a man's domain. Sowhat is it like to be a woman,
and more importantly, a new momin the military, how to military
moms get the support they needto care for their babies while
(01:50):
still being at the ready tofight for our freedom. I have so
many questions, and I'm sure youdo too. So let's get right to it
and welcome our guest. With metoday is the incomparable
Krystal Wallace, the AssistantEducation Director for Mom2Mom
Global, a worldwide network ofbreastfeeding support and
advocacy resources for militaryfamilies. Krystal is a certified
(02:11):
lactation consultant, and LaLeche League leader who holds a
master's degree from UnionInstitute & University in Health
and Wellness with aspecialization in Human
Lactation. What's probably mostimpressive is that Krystal's be-
given birth and breastfed as anactive duty officer in the Coast
Guard and the Reservists. Shestill currently serves in the
(02:33):
Coast Guard Reserve and ismarried to an active duty Coast
Guard officer. Krystal, welcome.
And let me start by saying thankyou so much for your service.
Krystal Wallace (02:42):
Oh, thank you for having me. I'm very excited
about this.
Amanda Gorman (02:46):
Awesome. Let me just start really by saying that
being a mom in the militaryseems almost unfathomable. So
can we just start by talking alittle bit about how this all
happened for you?
Krystal Wallace (02:57):
Oh, wow. So let me just start by saying that I
had a super privilegedexperience that not all military
moms are fortunate enough tohave. My husband and I decided
to start having children,probably about a year before I
(03:17):
was my, my service time was up,and maybe a little less than
that. And he was currently inflight school. I was commuting
an hour to work in mobile, whichdoesn't sound privileged, but my
mom was four hours away. Soshe'll play back into this. We
got pregnant, I had my baby inearly December. I had 42 days of
(03:42):
leave. And then I took anadditional. I took additional
time off probably like anadditional month out of my
personal leave stash justbecause I wasn't ready to go
back to work. I was panickinglike any new mom about going
back to work. And fortunatelyfor my husband and I things kind
(04:04):
of worked out. I was I wasnervous because I worked an hour
away from where we lived.
My husband was in flight school.
So his schedule was superrandom. I mean, we found out
sometimes at five o'clock atnight, what he was doing the
next day. And so I didn't knowwhat to do about childcare. I
had no idea. I was like, okay,well if I put my kid in
childcare where we live, and I'mat work and there's an
(04:27):
emergency, how am I going to getthere because I also was on the
road for my job. I was a MarineInspector so I would travel
anywhere from probably as far asPensa- Pensacola or a little
further out all the way toMississippi in a given day. So I
could be two hours away fromhome, I could be three hours
(04:48):
away from home and God forbid Iwould get a call that there was
an emergency. I didn't know howto deal with that. And my
husband could be flying and it'shard to get a hold of someone in
the air. So we were fortunateenough that I called my mother
who was living in Georgia at thetime and wasn't working. And I
begged her. I was like- and Ididn't have to beg that hard. I
(05:11):
was like, "Hey, can you comelive with me three weeks out of
every month until I get out ofthe Coast Guard?" And then my
mother-in-law would come relievemy mom for a week of every
month. So we had my mom forthree weeks, and my
mother-in-law for one week, andwe did this rotation until I got
off of active duty.
Amanda Gorman (05:34):
Talk about calling in the troops.
Krystal Wallace (05:36):
Yes, and I was, it was such a fortunate thing.
And forecasting, I'm so thankfulbecause my mom ended up passing
away a couple of years later. Soit was just amazing that she was
at least able to be thatsignificant role in my son's
life early on. But I can'timagine going through first time
(05:59):
motherhood without that supportnetwork. And so many military
moms do, because their family isjust, you know, their family may
not be there, they may not haveclose family ties, they may be
in another country. It's just-their family may still be
working. I mean, I just happento get lucky that my
mother-in-law was a per diemnurse. So she made her own
(06:20):
schedule, and that my momwasn't, wasn't working at that
time, it just all the starsaligned for me. You know, it
wasn't without its challenges.
Being a Marine Inspector,finding a- I worked in
shipyards, primarily doing boatinspections and new construction
for vessels, not the cleanestlocation in the world. So and
also being one of the fewfemales in the office, I often
(06:43):
had to pump in the gv with menin the car, because sometimes
the timing just worked out thatwe were still an hour from our
destination. And I was going toburst. And so I was like, "Hey,
guys, eyes forward, turn theradio up. I'm going to put this
cover on and I'm going to pump."
Amanda Gorman (07:03):
There's your training coming into into play.
Krystal Wallace (07:07):
Yeah.
Amanda Gorman (07:07):
Wow. That's, that's an amazing story to hear.
Tell us a little bit more aboutMom2Mom Global and and this
really wonderful network. Iimagine that having access to
breastfeeding res- resourcesthat are more specialized for
military families can be a hugerelief for new moms. But I do
(07:30):
know that they are at quite aminimum for most military
families. So tell us about whatyou all do at Mom2Mom.
Krystal Wallace (07:36):
So I am so impressed with this organization
every day. And I wish I hadfound it when I was going
through this. So Mom2Mom, we'rea global network of
breastfeeding support. We havechapters across the globe at
military installations. Andwe're volunteer based. We requir
(07:57):
that our volunteers, most of ouvolunteers have some form of
lactation credential, so thate can provide the best ca
e possible. And we're alson advocacy group. So we we help
o advocate for military famiy needs, military member needs.
We have people talking to peoplein Congress, we have people on
(08:18):
he US Breastfeeding Committee.
nd then we also, what's amazin, is we have mothers that will
call in and say here's my issuewith my unit. I don't know i
I'm explaining this right, ad we have members that will go
head and contact the unit and hlp a member explain their need
for breastfeeding. Explaithe regulations. So we do a l
t of advocacy work as well as drect breastfeeding sup
Amanda Gorman (08:45):
That's wonderful.
And, and so needed. I'd love toknow like what are the most
common questions that you getwhen you're working with
military moms, you know, outsideof their difficulties or
troubles you know, in theirworkspace, but just in doing
your your lactation support withthem. What do you find are the
most common concerns that theybring?
Krystal Wallace (09:08):
You know, it's very similar to most working
moms is- the biggest questionsare, you know, what should I do
about pumping? What should mypumping schedule be? How do I
bring my supply in? And it,that's what's interesting is
it's most of our questions arethe basic working mom questions.
(09:29):
Where we differ is the moreunique questions that come in
for, because- we have so manydifferent I guess you can say
like job fields. So we may havemoms calling about wearing
bulletproof vests or we havemoms calling about exposure to
(09:50):
jet fuel or moms come in aboutlead exposure because they're
working on ships. So that'swhere it gets unique, but our
common questions are honestlythe questions that most working
moms might have.
Amanda Gorman (10:01):
Thats's interesting. Bulletproof vests.
I was just worrying aboutnursing balls. So talk to me a
little bit about how childcaregenerally works in a military
environment. I mean, you spokeabout your own, you know,
resources, which sound amazing.
But what are the options on basefor most military families?
Krystal Wallace (10:25):
So a lot of big bases will have what we call
Child Development Centers, whichare great options. For military
families, this, they're usuallyadjacent to the base, or they
are on the base. So that's, youknow, a lot of people's first
option for childcare. But now,depending on your location, that
(10:48):
may not be available. So most ofthe services do have some
childcare subsidy programs thatwill help help with the cost of
childcare outside of thegovernment provisions. And so
it's super useful. But if youdon't have a CDC or the CDCs are
full, which can happen a lot oftimes there's a waiting list,
(11:11):
families are forced to go outand find local daycares or
nannies. And that's where thechild subsidy comes in. But
that's pretty much the gist ofit. I mean, it can be more
difficult based on theirlocations outside of the US and
finding, you know, with languagebarriers and stuff, but most of
(11:33):
the time, there should be a CDCon post.
Amanda Gorman (11:37):
Okay, and those- that CDC those are those Child
Development Centers?
Krystal Wallace (11:40):
Those are the child development centers. Yes.
Sorry.
Amanda Gorman (11:42):
Got it. So they can kind of help advocate or at
least point you to resources.
Krystal Wallace (11:46):
Yeah.
Amanda Gorman (11:47):
Got it. Awesome.
That's- it's interesting, I, youknow, I want to talk a little
bit you- you mentioned yourtechnique in terms of, "come on
guys eyes forward." But, youknow, in terms of policies, what
what do you see in, you know, inmilitary workspaces in terms of,
you know, finding a place topump or what the expectations
are, when, you know, you arethe, you know, gender minority?
(12:10):
How does that work? Or, arethere policies?
Krystal Wallace (12:16):
So there are policies and all the services,
pretty much say the same thingin a different way. But they say
that there should be a cleanspace, for a woman to pump It
cannot be a restroom, it shouldhave access to water. Some of
(12:38):
them require you to have a sink,some just have to say some say
that there's needs to be a sinkadjacent. So that's good. That's
fairly been- that wasn't apolicy when I was breastfeeding.
And I'm so happy that it came upnow, because most of us were
pumping in the bathrooms orlocker rooms at the time, but
most services do providelactation rooms. Where it gets
difficult is for women that arein the field, you know, you're
(13:00):
not going to get a lactationroom in the field. And that's
where you have to get creative.
Amanda Gorman (13:05):
I'm sure. Can you imagine? Let me ask you this.
You know, we hear a lot frommoms coming to us working and
pumping and really trying topump on a schedule or sometimes
being directed into a pumpingschedule from their employer.
Are there policies around that?
Are women instructed whenthey're allowed to pump or how
frequent? What has been yourexperience?
Krystal Wallace (13:26):
So the policy for most, and it's like I said,
it's written in pretty much thesame way for most of the
services just with some wordingchanges. But in general, I'll
read the Air Force's policy. Forexample, it's a supervisor
should work with their personnelto allow 15 to 30 minute breaks
every three to four hours forpumping.
Amanda Gorman (13:45):
Okay, that's reasonable. You know, you know,
as you know, you know, everymom's needs are so different and
I can't-
Krystal Wallace (13:51):
And that's where it gets to be problematic
at times.
Amanda Gorman (13:54):
Yes. You know, and turning the tables a bit
over to, you know, active duty.
You know, if you have to be awayfrom your baby for an extended
period of time, you know, whatdoes that end up looking like?
You know, do you find that womenare able to maintain their
supply? Do you find that thatkind of forces moms to, to
supplement earlier than theywould have liked or what is it?
(14:15):
What have you experienced eitherfrom your friends or with
yourself or other women you'vehelped?
Krystal Wallace (14:23):
So thankfully, the military is really making
some great strides to helpmaintain women in the services.
So some of the things that havebeen coming up is they're
allowing six months defermentfor deployments for some
services and up to a yeardeferment of deployments for
others. Now, that doesn't alwayswork out and in some cases, moms
(14:46):
will decide to stopbreastfeeding, but I have an
amazing friend who- she wasupper echelon on an icebreaker
and so and she had just had ababy and she made it work. She
was pumping, and then shippingher breast milk home to her
husband to provide for her baby.
And she made it work. It wassuper amazing. And I know that's
(15:09):
not easy for everybody. But shecontinued to provide breast milk
for her son while she was inAntarctica.
Amanda Gorman (15:20):
Just the thought of trying to pump in extreme
cold. I can't I can't evenimagine. And let me ask you that
does the military or TRICARE payfor the shipping?
Krystal Wallace (15:31):
So right now, Coast Guard has a very defined
policy through our coast- CoastGuard Mutual Assistance Program.
The other services don't have asdefined of a policy for shipping
breast milk as we do. But I haveheard from other members that
there are ways to get it paidfor I'm just not as familiar
(15:52):
with those. But that's somethinglike, if someone had a question,
they could go ahead and pop ontoour Facebook page. And we have
an expert from every servicethat can help out with that.
Like I said, they're not asdefined from the other services.
So sometimes you may be on yourown to make it work. Thankfully,
the Coast Guard has put thispolicy in place. So they will
reimburse you for the shippingof your breast milk.
Amanda Gorman (16:14):
Got it? That's well, that's great, hey, that's
more than a lot of people get,period. So it's nice, it's nice
to see that there's, there'savenues being paved.
Krystal Wallace (16:23):
Oh, it was it was really exciting when that
policy came out, or thatprivilege came out. I think it's
making a huge difference forthose moms that are really
trying to do to be underway onships, but want to provide
breast milk for their babies.
And other moms that areobviously like taking two to
three weeks that they have totravel while they've just had a
baby. Because even with thedeferrals of deployments, it's a
(16:45):
really hard decision formilitary moms to make. Because
some of these appointments canmake or break your career. And
I'm not supposed to break it,but you know, there's some
opportunities that you can'tpass up, because they're, they
may not come back around. So tobe able to have these, these
special options really ishelpful.
Amanda Gorman (17:10):
That's amazing.
You know, as I mentioned a bitin my intro, you know, new moms
in the military are a minority.
And I can't imagine it's easy tohave conversations about
breastfeeding with a command. Sohow do you help women kind of
approach these discussions thatmight be a bit uncomfortable for
them?
Krystal Wallace (17:26):
You know, it is super awkward. And I've had the
conversation before. I've gottenmuch better at it as time has
gone on that I'm unapologeticabout the topic of
breastfeeding.
Amanda Gorman (17:37):
Good for you.
Krystal Wallace (17:38):
But for some of our you know, for some new moms,
or for just moms that aren't asopen about these conversations,
because some obviously, you feelthat breastfeeding is a very
private thing. I always suggesttrying to have the conversation
before you leave on maternityleave. Because if you have the
(17:58):
conversation before, then you'llknow what to expect when you
come back. If you wait to havethe uncomfortable conversation
until you've just returned backto work and you're already
frazzled, because you're awayfrom your baby. It doesn't
always go well. So my suggestionis always have it early. If
(18:22):
you're uncomfortable in yourtitle, look for someone in your
chain of command that you arecomfortable talking to. Try to
look for another female, or amale that you know will advocate
for you. It's it's really aboutfinding the right person to talk
to first to see how to approachit. Because if you have a
supervisor, that is weird aboutstuff like that, then you might
(18:48):
not be comfortable going to themeven though you have to. But you
can go ahead and get guidancefrom someone else on how to
approach the situation. And Iknow, at least myself and many
of my other friends andbreastfeeding mamas in the
military and Mom2Mom globalmembers would be more than
(19:09):
willing to walk someone throughthat and talk them through it.
Yeah, it's a hard conversation.
And unfortunately, you have togo into it being unapologetic
about it as uncomfortable as itmay be.
Amanda Gorman (19:22):
No, I think you're doing a great service to
to other women by by tellingthem that that's okay. You know,
sometimes women just need to beallowed in some way, or just,
you know, to help with theempowerment side of it. And, you
know, it's certainly so much ofwhat we do at Nest
Collaborative. We've had theprivilege of working with a
(19:43):
number of military families,which is really a privilege and
it's been very enlightening toour practice as a team and has,
has added so much value to towhat we're doing. But, you know,
we do really advocate for thatprenatal visit, you know, not
only to teach a mom how tobreastfeed but just like you
said, to really do a riskassessment specific to her, and
(20:05):
sometimes those risks are notphysical or pathophysiological
risks, but environmental. Andgetting back to and their work
environment and, and gettingthem teed up for success
sometimes is setting them upwith those conversations and the
right words and the rightapproach. So, you know, I think
you're dead on and in helpingthem get through that early. So
(20:27):
that's awesome. I do have onequestion for you. I'm just
interested in kind of what isthe craziest or most difficult
thing you've had to help amilitary mom with? Like, do you
have, you know, a unique storyyou could share?
Krystal Wallace (20:44):
I'm trying to think.
Amanda Gorman (20:47):
You can, you can marinate on that one a little
bit. You know, I always findthat, you know, lactation
consultants typically have acouple of stories in their
pockets.
Krystal Wallace (20:55):
You know, it's actually not been, for me, it's
not been helping a fellowmilitary mom so to speak, it's
actually been a prior supervisorof mine, like I, when I got into
the lactation field when I wasstarting to go to Union
Institute University, and I wasgoing down this whole journey to
become a lactation counselor.
My, one of my most seniorsupervisors, wrote my
(21:21):
recommendation for graduateschool. And we didn't really
talk much about breastfeeding,he ju- he knew what I was g
ing to be doing. But you know, tere was never a conversation a
out it. And then probably tree years later, I get a r
ndom phone call. And at this pint, he's retired. And he c
lled me and he says, "Hey,rystal it's commander. My wif
(21:44):
just had a baby and I rememberI wrote you that recommendation
for- to become a lactatioprofessional. Are you stil
doing that? Because we neehelp."
Amanda Gorman (21:56):
Awesome.
Krystal Wallace (21:58):
Out of the blue.
Amanda Gorman (22:01):
You must have made an impact in several ways.
Krystal Wallace (22:05):
I guess I never thought so. But that was that
was definitely surprising andexciting all at the same time.
And I've actually had other maleco workers that have come to me
to help their spouses.
Amanda Gorman (22:18):
Oh, my gosh, that's awesome. But that is that
is a good story. So being anactive duty parent has obviously
a whole different level of risk.
What keeps military moms up atnight? Besides the baby?
Krystal Wallace (22:31):
It's, am I fulfilling my duties? Am I am I
pulling my weight? Am I a goodsoldier? Am I a good sailor?
It's, it's always a question ofam I doing everything I should
be doing and being a good mom?
Amanda Gorman (22:50):
I can't even imagine that on top of all the
other. You know, moms just ingeneral are always worried
whether they're doing enough.
And they're doing it right.
Krystal Wallace (22:59):
Yeah.
Amanda Gorman (23:00):
I can't even, I mean, that's, that truly is
double duty. That's a lot.
Krystal Wallace (23:04):
It is. I mean, I think that the thing that many
people don't realize, andthey're like, "Oh, well, that's
similar to other working moms."And it definitely is, but we
can't just quit our job. Wecan't just decide tomorrow that
here's my two week notice I'mleaving. So when you make a
commitment to the military, andyou've made a commitment, and
(23:25):
don't get me wrong, there's waysout, but there, you know, those
timings have to work out justright. There's processes. And
most of us that join, do itbecause we love what we do. And
we're trying to make adifference. And we're trying to
do something bigger thanourselves. But obviously, our
families and our children arenumber one, but so are our- and
(23:46):
our careers are less than ourchildren, but it's a hard
balance at times. And again, ifwe do decide we don't want to do
it anymore. You can't justleave, like you're stuck for a
little while.
Amanda Gorman (23:59):
Kind of like parenting.
Krystal Wallace (24:01):
Yes, you can't leave parenting either.
Amanda Gorman (24:05):
So how can military women really advocate
for what they do really need?
Krystal Wallace (24:10):
I think it helps to talk about it. I think
we need to talk amongstourselves. We need to talk with
our co workers, we need to beopen and honest about motherhood
and breastfeeding and workingand how all of those interact
with each other. Because whileit can be difficult at times,
(24:31):
it's perfectly doable, with opencomp- with open conversations
and supervisors that are willingto listen. And so sometimes we
may take it to our supervisor.
And if we're not gettingsupport, we may have to take it
above that supervisor's headwhich can be difficult, and it's
not always going to be easy andit may suck. I mean, it's one of
(24:53):
those times where when you sayembrace the suck that that may
be your situation. But we seemilitary moms doing it all the
time saying, "Hey, I'm notgetting support," and they reach
out. And then other militarymembers will say, "Hey, I've got
your back, let me see if I-here's the policy, let me talk
to them." It's definitely aboutadvocating for yourself, but
(25:17):
also reaching out to people whohave, who are also willing to
advocate with you. Like Mom2MomGlobal is a great, a great way
to help- to- a great, a greatgroup to reach out to, because
they will find- if we don't havethe resources, we will find the
resources for you. But as amilitary mom, find other
(25:41):
military moms. Have theseconversations with your male co
workers, because they need toknow. And especially because
your male co workers and you andother military women, the more
you talk about it, the more theywill understand and then more
they will say "Oh, hey, I havethis new junior person that just
(26:01):
had a baby. Let me make surethey have what they need."
Amanda Gorman (26:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
So I think what you're saying iswe we just need to be bringing
the men into the conversation alittle bit more. And, and
earlier.
Krystal Wallace (26:17):
Yeah.
Amanda Gorman (26:19):
I think I think you're spot on with that.
Krystal Wallace (26:21):
I mean, let's be honest, women, women aren't,
you know, children and babiesare not just a one gender
responsibility. And I think weneed to make- continue to
promote that this is for the,for the health and well being of
everybody. This needs to be agroup effort here.
Amanda Gorman (26:44):
No, I can truly relate. And I think all women
can. And I really do think youknow, there's so much alignment.
And I think that's why I've beenvery attracted to Mom2Mom and
everything you're doing. Onlybecause at Nest Collaborative
that was really what we wantedto be doing too, is just opening
up a more real and candidconversation about what this
(27:04):
experience of enteringmotherhood and breastfeeding
really looks like and not justkind of the pretty pink tulip
version. So I, you know, Ireally appreciate it- you know,
what Mom2Mom Global is doing interms of getting, you know, a
conversation going, making surethat it is real, it is
accessible. And like you said,if they don't have the answer
(27:26):
today, they will help you findit. So tell us, you know, how
can someone get in touch withMom2Mom Global for either
lactation advice, or just tolearn more about the resources
that they're providing?
Krystal Wallace (27:38):
So we have our, you can go onto the web page,
mom2momglobal.org. And withinthere, we have links for brea-
for military members and formilitary spouses. You can
volunteer through us, you- italso has the links to all of our
social media pages. So oursocial media pages are great.
(28:01):
You can get on and askquestions, we have awesome admin
team. And again, just like Isaid before, if they don't know
the answer, I always say goright to our mom2momglobal.org
web page, and then the links toeverything will be in there.
Amanda Gorman (28:18):
Awesome. Thank you so much Krystal, this
conversation has really been eyeopening for me. And you know, as
much as we respect andappreciate our active duty
military and veterans, getting aglimpse of what it really is
like to be a new mom in themilitary takes my admiration to
a whole new level. I hope it'sbeen- this conversation is
giving a lot to the women whoare listening, you know, and
(28:40):
given them really theinformation they need to know,
which is that they're supported.
For those of us who aren't inthe military, I think you'll
agree that we're so lucky tohave people like you out there
protecting us, while alsoraising your own amazing next
generation of strong men andwomen. We can't really thank you
enough for being here today. Andyou've shared a little bit about
(29:02):
where our listeners can stay inthe loop. But is there anything
you want to share about eitheryourself or Mom2Mom before we
close today?
Krystal Wallace (29:10):
So I would just like to say for military moms,
military spouses, or nonmilitary mothers or parents.
Don't sit uncomfortably. Reachout for help. There are so many
resources that are availablefrom Mom2Mom Global, to La Leche
(29:32):
League, to Nest Collaborative,like get the help you need.
There's a lot of people outthere who are just like you who
want help and there areresources out there. So reach
out. Just don't sit at home, notknowing what to do or being
miserable because you have noone to talk about your lactation
issues with or mothering with.
Please reach out. It'll makeit'll make the experience so
(29:56):
much better.
Amanda Gorman (29:59):
That's wonderful.
Thank you. And yes, I copy allof those sentiments. So you
know, thank you for for sharingthat and reinforcing it. It's
really, really important thatmoms know that it's it's normal
to struggle, and it's normal toreach out. So thank you so much
Krystal for everything you'veprovided so much infa- insight,
and I really learned a lot. Sothank you.
Krystal Wallace (30:22):
Thanks for having me. This is this is a
great, great resource and I'm soglad that people are going to
get to, to hear this and thenyeah, I'm very excited about it.
Amanda Gorman (30:34):
Awesome. Well enjoy and to mamas and
mamas-to-be that is the end ofour show for today. Don't forget
to like and follow us onFacebook and Instagram, where we
can provide you with atranscription of today's podcast
and plenty of additionalresources and information. Don't
forget if there's abreastfeeding topic you'd like
to explore. We do want to hearfrom you. So until next week,
(30:55):
it's me Amanda, wishing you wellon your breastfeeding journey.
Boo bye. [Outro] BreastfeedingUnplugged. Breastfeeding
Unplugged.
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