Claudette Garcia

Claudette Garcia and Zakai (2 years old)

"I sit here sharing our breastfeeding journey as we celebrate my sons 2nd birthday. 730 days of breastfeeding and still no signs of stopping. I always knew that I would breastfeed. It was instinctual for me. My mother breastfed all of us, and my youngest brother until he was almost 5. In the beginning, it was rough. As a first time mom, I only knew what I was told which most of the time included how painful and difficult it would be. After the c-section I demanded that my baby be brought back to me because I planned on breastfeeding and the nurses granted my request. Without a lactation consultant and no help, I latched my baby on for the first time. It was magical. I was doing it! The first night was okay but the following days became a challenge. My incision made it impossible to get comfortable, my nipples were starting to crack, and we were nursing every 10 minutes. I requested to have a lactation consultant help me but that never happened and I was left to figure it out on my own. My partner was my biggest supporter. He encouraged me and never let me give up because he knew how much I wanted this. The days and weeks that followed became more challenging. I had doubts that I would be able to continue or that I could even do it any longer. I was exhausted but we pushed through and after a few months we got the hang of it. We exclusively breastfed for 10 months until we started solids but he never stopped nursing. I called myself a "super lactator" due to my overproduction and ability to spray milk several feet in front of me during a let down. I overcame my fear of nursing in public after being told on several occasions that I needed to cover up. All of my experiences led me to become a breastfeeding peer counselor. I love all things breastfeeding and normalizing breastfeeding is one of my missions. I never knew that something as simple as feeding my child would be so impactful on my life as a mother and woman."

Heather Stone

The strong and stunning Heather Stone with her daughter Juliana (12). Heather is also mother to Angilina (14 - bonusdaughter from previous marriage) and Aiden (9). Heather says that she comes from a long line of addicts and alcoholics. Her parents were both addicts and as the eldest child it fell on her to take responsibility for caring for her younger siblings. She resented her parents for this and didn't want to have any children herself because of it. By the time Heather was a teenager she had developed a penchant for partying herself and met her first husband who liked to party and use just as much as she did. When they met, her new partners previous girlfriend was already pregnant and soon his daughter Angilina was born. Heather loved spending time with her and seeing the relationship between Angilina's mother and her partner knew she wanted to to have children herself some day. She was happy help raise Angelina and even happier to become pregnant herself. Her pregnancy and delivery with Juliana went well and Heather says her daughter was, and is, absolutely perfect. During the postpartum period, she fell into a deep dark depression and addiction took hold again. She began abusing prescription pain pills which ultimately led to heroin use and her husband at the time continued to use as well. She became pregnant with Aiden when Juliana was still a toddler and continued to use throughout his pregnancy. While Aiden was born without any complications from her drug use, she was still in a very dark and dangerous place. She spent the first few years of his life in and out of rehab and jail. Her relationship with her husband was toxic and it wasn't until there was a domestic disturbance and she hit him as hard as she could that she was arrested and was finally able to realize she was going to die if she didn't get it together. In 2010, Heather entered recovery and she has been working amazingly hard to stay clean and sober ever since. She realized how codependent she'd become and was able to finally leave her first husband after realizing that she could be a person and a parent on her own. In the 5 years since, Heather has met the man of her dreams and remarried. Her current husband doesn't have any biological children and while he loves her children as if they were his own, she has struggled with not being able to have a child with him. Heather says that she took her fertility for granted and had her tubes tied after Aiden was born, a decision she know has a difficult time with. Her children's father is now deceased and her family has had to to do a lot of work to remain healthy and reconnect after all they've been through. In the five years she's been in recovery she has had to learn to love herself and be a parent for the first time. She's also counseling others struggling with addiction and a full time student.

Bianca Munoz

The beautiful Bianca Munoz with her son Emilio Artis (3.5) and daughter Lucy Ann (8 months). Bianca had always felt like something was off mentally but never knew what it was. During the period of time that she was dating her now husband there was an argument that led her to the ER where she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Bianca found immense relief in her diagnosis. Just knowing that here was a name for what she was dealing with and help available changed her life in many ways. Her husband and mother have been her greatest supports and knowing her triggers and taking action when she needs it has led to her feeling healthier than ever. Bianca has had healhty pregnancies with each of her children and absolutely loves breastfeeding. She was able to nurse Emilio until well into her pregnancy with Lucy and she and her daughter have a beautiful breastfeeding relationship today. Bianca has also donated milk to others, is a huge breastfeeding advocate and hopes to soon become a peer counselor at WIC. Motherhood has changed Bianca's life and made her a better person in so many ways.