What KINDNESS Families Say

I heard that breastfeeding wasn’t easy, but I never thought that I wouldn’t be able to. In the village it takes to raise a child, the KINDNESS team became my defense and support system. My first few days with my son were a whirlwind . . .

I was feeling overwhelmed and trying to adjust when I got the first call from KINDNESS. I was tied to my pump, trying desperately to breastfeed and finger-feeding my baby with a syringe to supplement. We planned an in-home meeting after his first doctor’s appointment the following day, and it was there that we found out my son had lost more of his body weight than expected, and intervention was needed. In his first two weeks, my baby was fed five different ways. Week after week, with each new strategy, came a wave of emotion – joy for the progress, frustration with myself, and even jealousy towards the bottle that was doing what I couldn’t. I was close, at many points, to give up. KINDNESS was there at every step. They listened patiently and quickly responded through phone calls, countless texts, and several in-home visits. They fought for my wants, my needs, and my baby. Finally, after a month of trying, my son latched independently! The women at Kodiak KINDNESS have given me a life-changing gift for which there will never be enough thanks!

We are very grateful to be part of the Kodiak KINDNESS project. Our four youngest children were in the program. I have encountered so many different challenges with breastfeeding every single time; it felt like every baby was my first baby. Many challenges brought me to the point of giving up, but KINDNESS was there every single time. They always lent a friendly ear to hear my concerns and gave me a new technique to try. KINDNESS is free and always just a text or phone call away, just like a friendly neighbor!

When my youngest son was discharged from the hospital in Anchorage he was losing weight rapidly and yet I wanted to do as much as I could to breastfeed him. He kept on losing weight, but once I was back in Kodiak, KINDNESS did everything possible to help. They checked on us often, gave us strategies to try and kept track of my baby’s weight. And it worked!

This program really speaks for its name; all we receive from the program is literally “kindness” at the exact moments we need (challenging and yet beautiful). KINDNESS comes along with us as we go through our journeys with our newborns and becoming mothers.

My daughter Joanna was born in December 2018 and KINDNESS has been there helping me keep her healthy right from the start. I had quite a few issues to work through with breastfeeding and KINDNESS was an absolute lifesaver. I don’t think I could’ve continued to breastfeed without Heather’s help. She made numerous home visits and weight checks and she helped me figure out why breastfeeding was so challenging for me. I am so very grateful for her help and can now breastfeed without any pain. In addition to the help I received with breastfeeding, KINDNESS was also very helpful when I started to give my daughter solids. I attended their infant nutrition class and enjoyed learning about the basics of feeding an infant. After feeding my daughter solids for a month without any issues, she started to have long vomiting episodes. Immediately I called Heather and she walked with me through the whole process…attending doctor appointments with me, doing weight checks, and calling to check up on Joanna and I. I cannot express my level of gratitude for Kindness and feel so blessed Kodiak has such a wonderful program for families.

Kodiak KINDNESS served as the perfect coach (team of coaches) when it came to my family’s breastfeeding journey. They provided a sense of comfort, support and encouragement for both Dale and I. As a registered nurse myself, I never could have imagined just how much I needed the support provided by Kindness. – Tiffany

There was only so much I could do to support my wife, it was nice having a team of experts that provided me with tools and tasks to assist her through the process. Once we got the ball rolling, Tiffany breastfed like a champ! – Dale

KINDNESS really helps us; as a grandma, I raised my own kids and now I’m raising my grandkids. It’s a little bit different now and I kind of forgot how to best feed them. So when I have a question about what or how to feed them, how to bottle feed and what is the best kind of formula or food, as my grandbaby grows from a baby to a toddler and eats solid food, this program has really helped me with that. It’s why my kids are so healthy now. This program has always been there for us and giving us good advice no matter what our situation is, and especially coming to the house makes it so easy for us. So thank you – Gabriela

There are a lot of bad choices out there and a lot of confusing information so it’s great to have someone you trust to help you learn about healthy eating and reading food labels, to get kids started with healthy habits.

When we were in a state of confusion and concern about our newborn’s weight and nutrition – especially during the very trying beginning of breastfeeding – KINDNESS made time to come right over to assess the situation and provide recommendations on how to solve them. I was given hands-on practice on nursing positions and latching, as well as informational reading material and my very own manual pump. Through the support and guidance of a kind individual, we as parents felt relieved and myself empowered in overcoming my breastfeeding obstacles. Thank you to the KINDNESS Project for its availability, persistence, faith and gentle coaching. Now, all is going wonderfully! – Manilyn and Rex

I am a mom of 3 healthy kiddos!  My youngest baby girl Talon was born at 34 weeks.  I was medevac’d to Anchorage at 27 weeks pregnant.  I called Heather at Kodiak KINDNESS to give her the news…she coordinated with my husband for a breast pump to be sent to Anchorage. KINDNESS was informed of my discharge date from the hospital and then communicated with my doctor in Kodiak.  They came to the house in between my doctor visits to make sure my little girl was gaining weight as needed. This was huge since she was premature and gaining weight is critical.  The best part was all the visits were planned around my baby’s schedule!  I appreciate everything they do for the Kodiak Community.  This organization truly has moms and babies health as their focus for everything they do from free baby nutritional classes to home weight visits to a special both at Crab Festival for changing and feeding babies.

Thank you so much for all you do!

– Sue

I have navigated 900 ft ships through hurricanes and it doesn’t compare to the intensity of the first few days of motherhood and breastfeeding.  My breastfeeding journey has not been smooth; it has been painful and heart wrenching at times, but with KINDNESS to help navigate the storm, also the most rewarding experience of my life. Watching my healthy boy grow and knowing he is getting the food nature intended for him outweighs all the obstacles we had to overcome.