Nursing Moms Network – website
The Nursing Moms Network is a weekly meeting at Palos Community Hospital that provides breastfeeding support to mothers with babies (birth to one year) from a certified lactation consultant and other mothers.
Location: Palos Community Hospital, 12251 S. 80th Avenue, Palos Heights in the lower level meeting room of the Ambulatory Care Center entrance.
Phone: 708-226-2300 to register. Registration is not required to attend, but it is requested. You can register for up to a month of meetings.
Meetings: Tuesdays, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Cost: Free to all. This is open to all mothers with children up to 1 year. You do NOT need to be a patient at Palos Hospital or need to have had your baby there to attend.
Parking: Free parking is available in the lot by the main entrance and there is a parking garage nearby.
Bathrooms: There are public bathrooms just outside the meeting room. There is a changing table available.
Nursing: Yes!
Handicapped/stroller accessibility: The hospital is accessible. If entering through the main entrance there is an elevator available. The physical therapy entrance is on the lower level. Strollers are not allowed in the meeting room, but there is an area in the hall just outside the room to park them.
Other amenities: A certified lactation consultant runs each meeting. A scale is available to weigh babies (up to 6 months) before the meeting starts so mothers can keep a record of their child’s growth. Water and snacks (such as crackers, juice, and granola bars) are available.
Special events: There is a Halloween party each year on the Tuesday before Halloween. Current & past attendees are welcome to the party, as are their children regardless of age.
We paid: Nothing.
Our experience:
I didn’t hear about the Nursing Moms Network until my oldest son, Cooper, was about 3 months old. We had been struggling since his birth with breastfeeding issues, colic, and (I suspect) a bit of post-partum depression, and the Nursing Moms Network was awesome. It got us out of the house each week, gave me some of the support I needed (both for breastfeeding and general parenting issues), and I met some truly awesome moms and kids. It was great to meet other moms with kids the same age as Cooper and we often had lunch together after meetings and scheduled playdates together.
I loved that we could weigh our babies (up to 6 months). I never really had any concerns about Cooper’s weigh gain (in fact, from about 2 months to almost a year he was HUGE), but it was great to document his growth each week. I still have my index card with dates and weights for his baby book.
I also loved have a lactation consultant answer my questions and other moms share their experiences and give their input. I was great just to hear that I wasn’t the only one having problems (or with a kid who never slept!), and great to have people who understood how overwhelming being a mom can be sometimes.
The meetings are intended for moms and babies under 1 so Cooper’s 1st birthday meant the end of the NMN for us. By the time Dexter was born, most of the moms I’d become friends with there we’re having their second and we all returned to the NMN with our new little ones (when we could find babysitters for the older kids). While it’s a bit of an inconvenience to not be able to bring siblings, I still took Dexter whenever I could and it was nice to have that time with him alone.
If you’re anywhere near the southwest suburbs and are breastfeeding (or trying to breastfeed) your baby or know someone who is, I STRONGLY recommend the Nursing Moms Network. It’s open to all moms – you don’t need to be a patient of Palos Community Hospital to attend. It’s an incredible resource.
