BY ELIZABETH KIRTS, MPH, ICCE, IBCLC, RLC

Last night I was “nominated” for the Facebook What Brings You Joy challenge.  It’s where you post a picture every day with no explanation and then nominate someone else.  These things cause a little conflict in me.  On the one hand, I have a good life despite some significant challenges.  I have plenty of pictures of things that bring me joy.  I like seeing pictures that other people post.  On the other hand, I don’t like nominating others.  It stresses me out.  What if they don’t want to be nominated?  It’s a small thing but could it be a burden to them?  What if I don’t nominate someone and they were hoping I’d pick them?  Clearly, I am overthinking the problem.  Most likely I will choose to participate, but I will put my own disclaimer in there that if they really don’t want to do it they shouldn’t feel obligated.  Yep, I may ruin the “chain.”  I’m a very rule-oriented person; until I’m not.

All of this makes me think about the families who are birthing.  We live in a time that is different than when I had children.  We had books, and some resources, but not a constant barrage of information. The internet is great; and overwhelming. What is the right decision? What is the best choice? How can I be the “perfect parent?” What we all know is that we can’t. Parenting is trial and error along with learning what works for you and your family. But that is hard to teach. Many of our families, just like me on the Facebook challenge, overthink their new role.

As a new educator, I wanted to be the one with all the information. The one who could help the families make their decision because of my teaching and knowledge. In my 23 years, I have learned to change my focus to help families figure out what is best for them. Of course, we want to make sure they know what is potentially dangerous, but along with that, we need to help them with decision-making skills. And let them know it is ok to change their mind on how they want to do things once the baby is born. I so often teach the “flip a coin” trick to decision-making.  When making a choice assign each decision the side of a coin.  When you flip the coin, if your gut feels uncomfortable, then you are either not ready to decide, or the decision is wrong.  This is very simplified and doesn’t work for everything.  But more often than not you will get your answer from this little trick.

ICEA will be represented at a large Microbiome conference that Toni Harman will be holding in April.  I will be doing a short presentation on Anxiety in our patients and clients which will then be followed up with a group discussion from around the world on how to help them navigate this anxiety.  Additionally, Debbie Young, our President-Elect will be sitting on a panel to represent ICEA.  More information will be coming. We hope you will be able to join.

On Monday, we held our monthly Board of Directors meeting. As it frequently does, the topic of involvement from our members and certified professionals was discussed.  Being involved in your organization is a great way to feel more connected.  If you are interested in helping on a committee or with an event, please fill out the form here on our website. All of our Board and volunteers are such great people. It is an opportunity to meet fun, dedicated, and passionate people, along with giving back.  We hope you will look into the opportunities.

This year our focus is on members and certified professionals. Watch for events and highlights as we move forward in 2023.

As always, let us know your needs.  We are here to serve you and the organization.