Cluster feeding...that exhausting time when our babies are on and off the boob CONSTANTLY! We have all heard this term and understand that babies cluster feed, yet there is still a lot of mis-information out there about this topic. There are people who will state that cluster feeding is not normal (false) and then other [...]
There is this huge push to bring awareness to the "accidental" starvation of breastfed babies to further push the "fed is best" campaign that's floating around. You know, the one that assumes us "lactavists" are all just sitting around trying to find ways to MAKE women breastfeed even if they can't make enough... because ya'll [...]
We all have heard the term, "skin-to-skin" and will often first hear this when we are pregnant. "Don't forget to do skin-to-skin after your baby is born!" Of course tell this to someone in the HOT Queensland, Australian weather (where I live) and they might want to cry. Breastfeeding a baby in 40 (104) degree weather [...]
I'd love to say this was just a funny little idea I had for one of the comics in my book...but no! This is real life people! So yeah...this really did happen between my husband and I. After a particularly bad night of frequent wake-ups my husband rolled over to me, "So he slept through [...]
Attachment parenting and sex. Believe it or not, you can manage to continue your sex life even if you're breastfeeding 24/7. Throughout this blog you will see some meme's with quotes on them. These are from real life attachment parents who follow me on Facebook and have managed to continue to have sex! Yes! It's possible! [...]
Dear American Academy of Pediatrics, Yesterday I received this message from a woman who follows me on my Facebook page: She then followed with a photo of the handout she received: and I'll highlight one of the parts that she starred (and the thing that jumped out at me immediately)... This one simple sentence [...]
Dear Health Care Professional, Did you know that so many of us in the health field are failing breastfeeding women and their babies? It's happened so many times now since I started my private practice as an IBCLC. I cannot even begin to guess how often I've heard variations of the same heartbreaking story. A [...]
I first wrote about Davina many years back when I first heard there was a woman breastfeeding triplets! To hear her journey from the beginning, head here to my category on Breastfeeding triplets. It's amazing and wonderful to read her experiences now, five years later and yes..."STILL" breastfeeding her beautiful triplets. Here she is, in her [...]
An open letter to formula feeding companies, I recently saw the headlines all over social media and Facebook; {source: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/study-breakthrough-infant-formula-protects-immune-system-like-breast-milk/343573688} {source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3875216/Does-finally-end-breast-best-debate-Scientists-develop-formula-milk-human-bacteria.html} You came to the conclusion from your "research" [1, 2] that you have discovered a way to put the good bacteria found in breastmilk, into your formula. You then go on to claim [...]
There are a few sentences that I can be guaranteed to get a bit of a backlash over. Whenever I bring up formula, any mention of attachment parenting...and the suggestion that we should rest as much as possible in the early days or when we're feeling overwhelmed. "REST?! Ha! What's that?" "I can't rest, I [...]
The internet is FILLED with advice for mothers about low supply. "Here, eat this cookie! Wait no, take this pill! Wait, no just pump. Wait no, I think you actually are making what your baby needs because you know...basically EVERYONE can make enough!" So here we sit as women...looking at our screens, crying, exhausted, confused and just [...]
In 1980 my mother had me in a little hospital in New Jersey, USA. It was a great birth. Natural, straightforward and just what my mother had hoped for. I had my first breastfeed and was then promptly taken away to the nursery so my mother could rest. We were so lucky in that my mother [...]
I read an article recently which really caught my attention. The author is a journalist who decided to hang out with some attachment parents and put her thoughts down onto paper in the usual, tired way that mainstream journalists do. Dramatic, sensationalized and inaccurate generalizations and assumptions about a particular subculture within society. The positive [...]
A few years ago Anna Kaplan, a documentary producer/film maker contacted me asking if I would be interested in having my blog post "Lactaboobiphobia" turned into a short film. "Um...YES!!" I replied. My post was about a term I coined... She explained this was going to be apart of a bigger movement called "Bosom [...]
Trying to get my first born to sleep in a crib literally made me go crazy. Here I was, a fresh, wrinkle-less young mother...and I was confused. I mean, at some point every baby needs to move to a crib right?! My little firstborn had been sleeping with us in our "family" bed for over a [...]
As I discuss here in this video, most babies will latch on the best when they are supported to self-attach on their own, with the mother in the "laid-back" breastfeeding position, or self-attachment in the "koala" hold. Here is a baby self-attaching in the laid-back position: But what about the babies who cannot [...]
A open letter to the Journal of Pediatrics, Well, Journal of Pediatrics you have really outdone yourselves with this one. A recent article (abstract can be found here) from your publication has been making waves on social media and the media around the world with your outrageous statement where you are, “calling on health professionals to stop saying that breastfeeding [...]
The 8 Biggest Mistakes New Breastfeeding Mothers Make 1. Inspecting and obsessing over every poop. The poop obsession Oh boy how we love to talk about our baby's poop! While it's of course very important that you take note of how often your baby poops (this lets you know if he is [...]
*Just to clarify, I don't think it makes sense for ANY baby, bottle or breastfed to be on this routine...however it makes even LESS sense for breastfed babies. Also, if you are doing this routine and it's working for you then great! This article isn't for you (although I'd love for you to keep reading [...]
We all go through a similar scenario... Baby is born and we understand that yes, he will breastfeed all the time 24/7, frequently and without any sort of schedule. Then as toddlerhood approaches, we start to question what is happening. They still breastfeed constantly...continue to have days where they are on the boob NON. STOP. [...]
