008 - Why Laika Advocated for 24 weeks of Maternity Leave and WON!

In today's episode, I interviewed a good friend and fellow mama, Laika Ottinot. Laika had her daughter, Erica, at the height of COVID-19, and in her story, she shares the pure joy of meeting her daughter after three miscarriages.She also shared why she advocated for 24 weeks of Maternity Leave for herself and was granted the opportunity.Laika works in a NYC hospital's open heart surgery department and doesn’t get scheduled breaks during surgery, so she also worked with her boss to get better pumping conditions than having to race to the bathroom!! Laika is a true inspiration! After listening to her, I hope you feel fueled to fight for your post-partum rights. You Will Also Hear: How shockingly painful breastfeeding was in the beginning. (Sore nipples) super pumping because she wasn’t the mom with a freezer stash How she pumped on the way to work sometimes How un-supportive the nurses were of her pumping The power of the doula in postpartum How Laika ultimately found breastfeeding to be BLISS It’s okay to be the mom that DOESN’T do everything Moms should get time for themselves on Mother’s DayAnd so much more!You can find Laika on Instagram at: @anaturaljourney [https://www.instagram.com/anaturaljourney/]Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, it would mean the world to me if you'd be willing to take 30 seconds to rate and review the podcast.And, if you're interested in sharing your own baby-feeding story on the Pod, head to mollyrider.com [http://www.mollyrider.com] and click on "Share Your Story."