Low Milk Supply: “Mindset Shifts” (Guest Post)

Having low milk supply can be very difficult for people –especially when they’ve always wanted to breastfeed. People will do almost anything to increase supply. They research formula, learn about things like “refill rate,” supplementation methods and herbs and foods for milk supply. This mom had an aha moment which helped her look at her situation with a different lens. She is shown here nursing her baby with a homemade supplementer. Thank you so much for generously sharing your  thoughts with all of us!

Today I realized I have very fast refill – I can refill my bottle with formula in less than a minute! I can provide my baby instantly with however much milk she needs. I celebrate living in the 21st century with high quality science milk.

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Adrienne’s Story–Tongue Tie and Beyond

This is a story from a former client. She wants to encourage other moms to aggressively seek help for breastfeeding challenges. She wants you to know that if you’re having trouble, it’s not your fault! And, finally, she wants you to know that you and your baby don’t have to suffer and struggle in order to breastfeed

20131224_140733By the time I saw Renee, I’d already been to 4 lactation consultants and I was losing hope I’d be able to breastfeed my baby girl for even another month, let alone her first year. We were on week 9 of pain, frustration, and tears. When Renee said my girl had a tongue tie, I didn’t quite believe her for a moment. Then I wanted to cry, I was so relieved to have a concrete, fixable solution. Continue reading

Low Milk Supply: Could it be IGT?

Baby and mom breastfeeding with IGT

Baby and mom breastfeeding with IGT

Your breast anatomy was determined even before you were born. During the early months of fetal development, breast buds are formed. If the breast buds do not develop properly in utero, development in puberty may not occur normally. Breasts may develop minimally or not at all. And future milk making ability may be compromised. Continue reading

For Dads and Other Partners: Bonding with Baby.

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Dad and newborn doing some bonding!

Even before the birth of my first daughter, I knew that her father intended to be very “hands on.” The truth is, he wanted a baby way more than I did! I tried to include him as much as possible in her day to day care. Even so, I expected him to be more than a little jealous of all the time I spent breastfeeding. I’m pretty sure if he could have sprouted a pair of milk-making breasts, he would have happily participated. Continue reading

Squeaker: A Story about a Tongue Tie Release

Baby with tight frenulum. No tongue elevation present.

I met a darling baby last week who was obviously tongue tied. By obvious I mean that his tongue was not only visibly anchored to the floor of his mouth, but the mobility of his tongue was severely restricted. All signs indicated tongue tie. He cried frequently through the day with severe gas pains. He could not move his tongue side to side and there was almost no elevation when he cried. When he nursed, his tongue “snapped back” repeatedly. The snap back prevented him from keeping a strong vacuum at the breast, leading to noisy breastfeeding, slipping off the breast and sore nipples for mom. He was so noisy with smacking sounds and squeaky swallowing that his mom nicknamed him “Squeaker.” Continue reading