In November, I learned how little I know

Once a month, I go out to dinner with some other ex-pat moms. At this monthly gathering, I met Theresa, who (at the time) was the only internationally certified lactation consultant in Ukraine. Breastfeeding my babies has been a huge blessing to me, and I've long thought that I'd love to support other moms who also would like to grow their babies on mama's milk.

Theresa offered to give me and another American mom who works as a doula a peer counseling crash course. We met twice a week for a month, and it was fascinating. I left each session in awe of how perfectly we have been designed.

But I also left with a greater realization of how challenging breastfeeding can be for some women. Many of these challenges can be overcome -- but only with hard work, and often the help of someone way more educated than I am.

So, now I know how much I don't know. Peer counseling seems too formal a term for what I'd feel comfortable offering -- but I think I now know enough to be an educated cheerleader of sorts.