Lactation Consultations

  • Your infant has reflexes and instincts that help them find and latch onto the breast, and it is also learned. But what about for you? My research revealed what methods are most effective for moms to learn how to nurse.

  • You know best what you and your baby need. I’m here to support your feeding goals, whatever those may be.

  • Around 50% of all women report having birth trauma. This makes recovery and nursing all tIe more difficult to manaage. I have trauma informed training to guide you through this process in gentle and respectful ways.

  • My methods and any information I relay to you are evidence-based so that you can make informed decisions for your care.

  • I can come to your home so that your appointment with me is convenient and relaxing for you! No one who is recovering from having a baby enjoys packing up the stroller, the diaper bag, and the crying baby and driving through traffic to an appointment. Plus, by coming to your home I can help you get comfortable nursing in the environment that you actually nurse your baby in.

“The eye should learn to listen before it looks.”

— Robert Frank, black and white photographer

What if we were taught baby led nursing instead of mother led?

Infants have reflexes and instincts that help them find and latch onto the breast. There is still a component of learning for them, but often the ways that we have been taught to feed them go against their reflexes and instincts.

What if we were made to feel normal instead of inadequate?

Humans are primates. Primate moms (unlike their babies) don’t have instincts for breastfeeding. If non-human primates are born into captivity and don’t ever see breastfeeding, they won’t nurse their babies because it is socially learned. It is normal for this to be a process and for you to need support.

What if we understood nursing as developing a relationship of mutual regulation?

Nursing is a process of perceiving and understanding your infant’s behavior, knowing your body, and knowing how these two things work together. You will misread cues at times, but this is normal. You and your baby learn because of the messiness not in spite of it.

What if you had adequate support?

You donʻt need to do more or be more! It is frustrating because you were never meant to do this alone. In traditional societies, like the ones our ancestors belonged to, breastfeeding is publicly seen so you have an idea of what to do, and other mothers help you figure it out. They have a different social structure that is more supportive to parenting, and have as many as 10 - 20 people helping you with your baby.

What if you trusted that you are the expert on your baby and your body?

And what if your provider listened to you? Even though you were never meant to do this alone, no one else knows your body and your baby as well as you do! Bodies are unique, babies have their own temperments, and circumstances vary, and so the care you recieve should reflect that. Nursing is a sensory rich, embodied experience. Step-by-step instructions and universals are not as helpful as tuning into your body and your baby’s body and behaviors.

This is what holistic lactation care can look like.

Check out my Instagram account, Milk and Kookys, for tips, information, and fun.