A youth worker who moved to Orange for a tree change with her husband and baby five years ago has embraced the sense of community she's found in the colour city.
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Nadia Silvestro moved to Orange from Sydney with husband Enzo when their daughter Francesca Silvestro was about six months old.
"We just wanted a change of pace, somewhere we could afford to buy a house and have a proper backyard and have a bit more of a balanced work-life balance and somewhere that has a bit more of a community as well," Ms Silvestro said.
She found that community when Francesca was eight months old and she joined the Australian Breastfeeding Association's Orange branch, which she later volunteered for before getting a job at Canobolas Rural Technology High School.
"For the most part it was just a really wonderful way of learning how to parent with breastfeeding and using it as a tool with parenting," she said.
"At first it was because it was a group that was meeting regularly and there was kids that were similar ages and also because I just felt it was really important about breastfeeding."
New tricks and more confidence
Ms Silvestro had already been breastfeeding her daughter but still found the advice and support at the group helpful.
"I guess there's not that much information that's readily accessible for mothers who want to successfully breastfeed and so I felt it was a really important space in our community, " she said.
"Had I been here when she was born I think I would have been able to get that extra bit of support in the earlier days when it was a bit trickier and I was still getting the hang of it.
"I learnt more about having confidence with it and each week there's different subjects that are talked about and I learnt a bit more through that too.
"I think it was more just the connection that I was after."
Helping others
Ms Silvestro also kept up her association with the group as her daughter grew older so she could help other new mums.
"I did start a traineeship to become a breastfeeding counsellor with the ABA but went back to work," she said.
She volunteered for about two years before getting a new job and going back to work when Francesca was two and a half years old.
However, she has recently returned to the ABA after giving birth to her second child, a son named Zaccaria who is now a bit over two months old.
"There was no question about coming back when I had another baby," she said.
"I know it's a really supportive group of people.
"It's welcoming and it's friendly, it's easy to get to when you've got a new baby and it's hard to get out of the house, and it's a nice casual space and I just feel like it's an important place and I like the people here.
"When I knew I was pregnant I was like, well I'll be going back to ABA."
Ms Silvestro said returning to the group has also given her the confidence to breastfeed in public again.
"The different topics have been helpful too, I saw there was one on baby wearing, which was helpful to make sure I was wearing it all right," she said.
Preparation for return to work
Ms Silvestro is currently on maternity leave from her job as a student support officer at Canobolas Rural Technology High School and will return to work next year.
"I will need to be pumping and expressing so I will definitely need to be using this group to find out how to go about that because I've not had to do it before," she said adding that she thought her employer would be supportive.
"There is going to be a space available and I know the staff are going to be very proactive in helping me find a space."
Her advice for other new mums is to trust their instinct but also ask for help and know there's help that's not judgemental.
"Just be kind to yourself," she said.
"Most people haven't got much to do with babies before they have their own baby and it's a bit of a shell shock and that's why you need places like this where you've got a community around you to help and have that social connections.
"It's important to have a place to go to and safely ask questions knowing you are going to get an evidence-based informed answer."
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