Galaxy Lactation Support

25/05/2025

🥰 You’ll never look back & regret the hugs you gave

To the new mother holding her baby all day, feeling like she hasn’t “done” anything...

The truth is, what you’re doing is everything.

Every time you hold your baby close, speak softly, and soothe their cries, you’re doing the most important work.

You’re building trust. You’re building safety.

The world tells us that productivity equals worth, but there is nothing more powerful than the way you are showing up for your child in these quiet moments.

You are laying the foundation for their nervous system to feel grounded and secure.

Your gentleness is never wasted.

And one day, they’ll carry that calm and safety with them, long after they’ve outgrown your arms.

🌱Want to find out how your love wires your baby’s brain and helps them to develop? My book BEGINNINGS - child Psychology for parents has 86% off today! https://amzn.to/3HowToi 🌱

28/01/2025

Wise wise words from Tracey at Eastern Ranges Lactation!!

For those who know me, you will already know how passionate I am about the protection, acknowledgment & support of maternal mental health while I am helping with breastfeeding. 🙏
Assisting my mums and parents to acknowledge and access treatment for heightened anxiety can be very tricky but it’s an essential part of my work 🙏
Part of the challenge is that denial or lack of self awareness around how heightened anxiety is negatively impacting on breastfeeding is a symptom of the disorder itself.🤷‍♀️
The other challenge is our societal stigma around mental health and lack of health professional skill to really help with a diagnosis and access to appropriate treatment. And then there is the fear around the treatment itself during breastfeeding.
I see so much incorrect lactation pathology diagnosed when the root cause IS anxiety
The “mastitis trifecta” ( a term coined by my friend & mentor Dr Katrina Mitchell) is a perfect example of how heightened anxiety can manifest in a physical breastfeeding complication.
Anxiety = overproduction = mastitis
The root cause of mastitis being ANXIETY not the overproduction.
Chronic lactational pain ( neuropathic pain) is another example of when physical symptoms of pain can manifest from heightened anxiety. This type of pain IS REAL & it’s driven by anxiety. Treat the anxiety & the pain goes away 🙌 It’s also a condition that has been SO missed by the lactation world. 😔
Any person with a pre existing mental health history will have anxiety exacerbated after birth. This is given & a no brainer!! 🤯The common triggers for alterations in mental health - things like sleep deprivation, trauma, change, unpredictability and hormones etc …. These are all happening like a crazy wild storm post birth! 🤷‍♀️

So much can be seen through the lactation lens when you can really see! It’s time to start teaching the lactation world about how common it is for anxiety to be the root cause for many breastfeeding challenges & complications🙏 Anxiety can be treated safely during lactation & we need to support this ✅
It’s near impossible to really help breastfeeding without helping maternal mental health - they are just SO entwined!

13/07/2024

You’ll never look back & regret holding or responding to your baby 🥰

01/06/2024

Skin to skin is magic at any age 🥰

“When you hold your baby, especially skin-to-skin, her body temperature depends on you. The warmth of a mother’s breasts are naturally modulated to keep her baby at the perfect temperature promoting restful sleep, optimal oxygen saturation, and saving her baby the energy it takes to stay warm. This redirects valuable calories into more critical things like growth.
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Breast temperature can rise and fall rapidly as your baby is warmed. As your baby starts to cool, your breasts heat up again, by as much as 2 degrees celsius in two minutes.
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So, cuddle your baby if she has a fever and you’ll cool her down. Wear your baby and keep her at the perfect temperature when it’s cold outside. And sleep with your baby keeping her warm and snug in the wee small hours of the morning.”
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📷: 💛

12/03/2024

We were never meant to live like this. Want to know why you’re so tired? It’s not just because your baby wakes all night. It’s not just because you’re nursing 24/7. It’s not because of your baby’s biological needs. It’s because we were never meant to live like this. In so much isolation. So alone. We were meant for a village. We were meant to lay in bed for weeks/months feeding and sleeping with our new baby while our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, cousins, neighbors, and friends helped out.

But there is no mother bringing us food and water. No grandma cooking the meals. No sisters playing with the other children. No cousins folding the laundry. No neighbors taking care of the house, and no friends providing support. Modern life is in constant conflict with childrearing and our biological needs. From returning to work at 6 weeks postpartum to little to no support in the postpartum period. The truth is many of us are just lucky enough to have someone drop a meal off but not lucky enough to have them actually come inside. And it’s not their fault. They don’t have a village either. There’s never been a mother to bring them food and water. Never a grandma to cook their meals. Never sisters playing with their other children. Never cousins folding the laundry. Never neighbors taking care of the house and never friends providing support.

Our babies are biologically designed to wake often and eat often. We are biologically designed for a village. Be easy on yourself and your baby. We were never meant to live like this.

Follow Milkitivity on Instagram ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/milkitivity_/

01/02/2024

03/09/2023

😍

23/08/2023

Some great information here about why foremilk & hindmilk isn’t something to worry about!

🤱 Debunking the Foremilk-Hindmilk Myth! 🥛

Hey mamas and soon-to-be mamas! 💕

Let's talk about a common misconception in the world of breastfeeding: the foremilk and hindmilk myth.

👉 Myth: Foremilk is "watery" and not as nutritious, while hindmilk is super creamy and packed with nutrients.

👶 Truth: Breast milk is a dynamic fluid that changes composition throughout a feeding session!

😲 The idea of distinct foremilk and hindmilk is oversimplified.

While it's true that milk at the beginning of a feeding might be more watery, it's not "less nutritious." It's loaded with important immune-boosting factors and hydrating goodness for your little one. As the feeding progresses, the fat content increases, providing your baby with essential calories.

🌟 What matters most is that your baby is getting a balanced blend of nutrients from the start to the end of each feed. Every drop of breast milk is tailored to your baby's needs, whether it's thirst-quenching or calorie-packed. ✨

If you have been told that your baby is fussy or unsettled because they are getting too much foremilk, make sure you have your feeding assessed first before reducing their breastfeeds.

Often fussy or unsettled behaviour at the breast is more commonly due issues such as gut health issues, intolerances/allergies or latch/feeding issues.

Remember, breastfeeding is a unique journey for every mum and baby pair. Trust your intuition, and if you have concerns about your baby's growth or feeding patterns, it's always a good idea to consult an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant 🩺💬

Let's spread the word and bust those breastfeeding myths! 💪

09/07/2023

The history behind our name ✨💫🌟⭐️

Questa scultura ha a che fare con il mito che spiega la creazione della Via Lattea.
La Via Lattea per i Greci rappresentava del latte perso da Era (Giunone per i Romani) mentre allattava Ercole, che versandosi si sparse nel cielo.
Ercole, infatti, era figlio di Zeus e della mortale Alcmena la quale, per paura di ritorsioni da parte della consorte del re degli dèi, lo abbandonò subito dopo la nascita.
Zeus, che teneva molto al neonato, fece in modo con la complicità di Atena che la moglie stessa lo trovasse fra i campi. Era, inteneritasi, prese immediatamente ad allattarlo rendendolo immortale. Mentre lo allattava, alcune gocce del suo latte finirono sulla volta celeste.
Il termine galassia, che designa oggi ogni gigantesco agglomerato di gas e stelle come la via Lattea, deriva proprio dal greco γάλα, latte, e rimanda direttamente a questo mito.
“Era che allatta Ercole” di Johan Niclas Byström (1783-1848)
Palazzo Reale di Stoccolma, Svezia 🇸🇪

28/03/2023

🥹

I'd see them at the park. The new mum of two. With one in the pram. And one on the swing.

Giving their all to the toddler for that brief moment while the baby sleeps.

"Higher mummy. Higher!" they'd yell and she'd happily oblige. She only had eyes for them. Like she was on a timer and had to soak up these crucial minutes.

We'd chat for a bit. I'd ask her "How are you finding two?"

She'd clock my bump, momentarily pause, take a deep breath and say: "Oof. It's been hard".

"Does it feel like a break when you just have one of them?" I asked. "Yeah" she laughed. And I couldn't imagine it at the time. But now I get it. How you stretch and definitions change.

"Higher mummy. Higher!"

We'd chat some more. But she never really entered into it. She wasn't really there. Eyes darting. Miles away.

And there I stood, my five-year-old playing freely, knowing I was about to be catapulted straight back there. But not really understanding the weight of that Oof. Until now. Now that I am living that Oof.

Sometimes it's more manageable than I feared. I surprise myself. Sometimes I can feel this easing by degrees. Like when the 50 billion cat naps suddenly turned into three distinct naps. Some semblance of order.

But then she'll have a sudden aversion to the buggy or I find myself getting in a tizz about her disinterest in solids. And I remember, oh yes, this bit. I had forgotten this bit. And there are new bits too. Plenty of those.

There is a moment. At least once a day. Usually just as I reach my limit and think "Oh this is impossible. These kids are exhausting. There is no rest" that calm suddenly descends. The baby will succumb to sleep in the carrier as her brother grabs some pencils and happily draws. The tv is finally off. I can hear myself think.

The Oof gets replaced by Ahhh. And I look at them and think this is peace. She will giggle at her brother and he will light up, delighted that he made that happen. They really seem to know each other already. Yes, this is it. I think.

This, whether I know it or not, will all too soon become the good old days.

Art by: .moms (https://www.instagram.com/mooon.moms/)

Words: Mother Truths

Collection of Poetry and Prose on Early Motherhood available to buy worldwide: https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

03/03/2023

There’s a famous saying that says, “We hold our children in our arms for a little while, and in our hearts forever.”

Every parent knows it’s true. But for mothers, well, it’s literally true.

Researchers have discovered that women carry their children's cells long after they are born, and these cells sometimes help protect and repair the mother's body.

Read more surprising (but true) facts about motherhood here >> https://mommypotamus.com/surprising-but-true-motherhood-facts/

22/02/2023

Tell me your mother is an IBCLC without telling me