About Erin
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ERIN'S BREASTFEEDING STORY
Breastfeeding did not come naturally to me and baby A. We struggled A LOT, but slowly overcame the pain and exhaustion. Soon, we reached my goal of 6 months nursing, and then we made it to a year. And then 2 years.Â
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Around a year, once I had stopped pumping and was no longer her primary nutritional resource, nursing became my most effective parenting tool. Upset? Here's a boob. Hurt? Here's a boob. Tired? Here's a boob. Hit me? No boob for you. It was great.
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When I became pregnant with my second child, we continued nursing until my milk dried up in the second trimester. But, I promised her the baby would bring the milk back.
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Once baby L. came, I re-latched A. and began tandem nursing because, again it was my greatest parenting tool and I imagined nursing for years to come...
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But L. had other plans for us.
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At 4 months, L. began refusing to nurse. Not gonna lie, that was extremely difficult to accept. But I eventually transitioned to pumping 4 times a day while supplementing with formula the rest of the time.Â
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When our breastfeeding journey ended, I was sad, not just because it was the end of an intense and wonderful phase of life, but because I felt like it was such a waste of knowledge and experience to not do something with it. So, I did.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
DEGREES
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AA, Orange Coast College
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BA in Communication Studies, Cal State, Long Beach
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MA in Communication Studies, Cal State, Long Beach
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MS in Health Communication, Chapman University
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Certified Lactation Educator, Cal State, Northridge
TEACHING & RESEARCH
Since 2009, Erin has taught communication courses at colleges across Orange County, CA, including...
public speaking, interpersonal communication, speech and debate, persuasion, business communication, small group communication and social marketing campaigns.
Her academic background emphasizes the intersection between family and health communication, including such topics as parent-child communication about alcohol and drugs and patient-provider communication about breastfeeding.
Her research includes data analysis and campaign creation for keepin' it REAL; a youth program which is currently used by D.A.R.E and worldwide to teach kids verbal and nonverbal strategies beyond "just saying no" to drugs.
Erin has also interviewed new moms about their experiences re-entering the workforce postpartum to learn how modern laws, such as the ACA, have impacted their experiences.
"MILK IS LOVE"
AVERY, 2 years old
MEET THE FAMILY
Erin and Scott started dating in 2008 and were married to the Beatles' "In My Life" 5 years later.
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A. was born in 2016 and L. came along 3 years later, nearly to the day - they're birthdays are only 3 days apart!
Most of the time you'll find them cooking, playing in a mud pile, or going for a listening walk.Â
Covid changed everyone's lives. Erin quit her job to take care of the kids (both were still nursing in March 2020) while Scott worked from home.
But the silver lining was the beautiful relationship A. and L. have developed that will last a lifetime.
