Exeter Breastfeeding Service

26/10/2025

Good morning milk making mamas! 💛

Just take a moment to reflect on the incredible job you have done over night (including the extra hour 😣 savage!)

You have nourished your child, kept them safe, provided comfort and a safe place to rest. Anything else today is a bonus!

My hope is there is rest and relaxation ahead for you today. Someone nourishing your soul and being your safe place 💛

24/10/2025

I read through a beautiful resource today at work 💛

we are so thankful for you.

23/10/2025

Free antenatal classes in exmouth! 💛

🎉 New Location Alert – EXMOUTH! 🎉

We’re thrilled to be bringing the Begin Well Antenatal Course to Exmouth for the very first time! 💛

This is a completely FREE antenatal course, run by trained volunteers and health professionals, here to support you every step of the way 🌊👶

🗓 Starts Wednesday 5th November
🕖 7:00 – 9:00 PM
📍 Littleham Hub, Exmouth
💰 100% FREE!

Over 6 weeks, you’ll build confidence, make connections, and prepare for birth and early parenthood in a relaxed, welcoming environment.

Whether you're expecting your first baby or adding to your family, this inclusive course is here to help you Begin Well.

✨ Spaces are limited – book now or tag someone who might be interested! ✨
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1757459802579?aff=oddtdtcreator

23/10/2025

This is a very common worry when breastfeeding. How do we know baby is getting enough when we are not measuring amounts of milk?!

As a midwife we have 3 simple ways to know baby is getting enough milk:

💛 Nappies!!

What goes in must come out right? In the first 48h your baby is likely to only have 2-3 wet nappies. After this we’d expect baby to have more frequent wet nappies approx 6 in 24 hours.

Poo! Initially this is a black marmite like substance called meconium. By day 2-3 poo should be changing to a lighter, looser greenish colour. Day 4 onwards baby should be passing yellowish stools approx twice per day. This is an easy way to know you are on track with breastfeeding!

If your baby is not producing nappies as above, don’t panic! But DO let your midwife know so that we can support you with breastfeeding and suggest some tweaks to help.

💛 Weight

Let me start by reassuring you it is COMPLETELY NORMAL for baby to lose weight initially following birth and in the first few days. In fact we expect it AND allow for up to 10% weight loss. From day 7 we would hope to see baby gain weight and head towards returning to their birth weight by 2 weeks of age.

💛 Hearing baby swallow

If you are breastfeeding for the first time, or feeling particularly anxious about whether baby is getting enough milk, identifying baby swallowing can be really reassuring. If you are unsure, ask your midwife to point this out for you! At ANY point after baby is born it is absolutely fine to ask a midwife to observe a breastfeed and to point out what we are looking at and for reassuring features to help you identify these yourself when at home.

Of course with everything unique to you and your baby there are times when you might fall outside of the expectations above. Please don’t worry or think that you have to stop breastfeeding. There is often identifiable factors affecting your breastfeeding journey at that time which midwives can help with!

22/10/2025

Feedback from a beautiful Mama after providing a home visit back in August 💛

“When you saw us, *** was exclusively feeding using shields, and I was experiencing so much pain and difficulty with the whole breastfeeding experience! I think you saw us when he was just shy of three weeks old, and I’m so happy to tell you that we managed to wean off the shields by the time he was between 5 to 6 weeks old. I can’t be more precise because, as you can imagine, it was a journey of fits and starts! But it was made entirely possible by your kindness, wisdom expertise and most of all, your belief that it was possible. I needed to hear that someone believed in me and in ***, and that we could work it out together. I also really needed building back up after our experience of the feeding plan, which did shake my confidence so much. To this day we’re exclusively breastfeeding and *** is gaining weight like a champ - he’s just shy of 11 weeks and about 14.5 pounds! I’m no longer in any pain and his latch is mostly perfect. And when it isn’t, I know exactly what to do thanks to your advice! We still have the photo diagram on our fridge 😂

So really, I just wanted to reach out to say thank you, and to let you know what a difference you made. Going from entirely relying on shields to a completely independent latch was really tough for *** (many tears on both sides!) but it was just like you said; practise little and often, keep calm, use the positioning, and have faith that it will work out! I love breastfeeding, it’s one of the hardest but best things I’ve ever done. Thank you for your role in making it possible ♥️”

THIS is why I do what I do! What an incredible journey these two have had 💛

If you are struggling with breastfeeding, don’t hesitate to reach out. Head to exeterbreastfeeding.com for more information and to book a consultation 💛

19/10/2025

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Jen & Gill, the queens of the baby room in Exeter! 💛

They were awarded the hero award at the Exeter Living awards held this week 💛

is the most wonderful hub providing help and support for SO many families. With the public services spilling over through lack of staff, lack of funding, soooo many constraints, the work that these two do is so precious.

I for one am super grateful for these wonderful humans 💛 Join me in congratulating heroes Jen & Gill!

18/10/2025

Highly recommend the pumkin fest 🎃

12/10/2025

Some Sunday puppy cuteness to make you smile if you are in the messy depths of parenthood 💛

09/10/2025

One of my happy places 💛 Who knew contact naps would be a thing with a pup too?? 🤭

08/10/2025

💛 Switch feeding 💛

⭐ Most women have between 2-5 let downs (milk ejection) each feed not just 1

⭐ The first let down is usually in the first few minutes after baby latches

⭐ frequent breast switching increases stimulation which tells your body to make more milk

⭐ breast switching triggers more let downs meaning baby gets more milk

This is a temporary intervention for babies who are sleepy at the breast, gaining weight slowly or not transferring milk well 💛

06/10/2025

Please come to the drop in tomorrow if you need any help or support with breastfeeding! 💛 It won’t be running for 4 weeks while make the space we use bigger and better.

As more and more people have been utilising the drop in this is very exciting news as it’ll make the support accessible for even more families! 💛

29/09/2025

Hey lovely mamas 👋

Sorry the drop in isn’t on tomorrow, I’m working a community shift 💛

If you need any support please contact me through the website exeterbreastfeedingservice.com

**please note I don’t get an awful lot of time to check DMs so please don’t message me for advice through this channel**