Steph Pope BFC - Breastfeeding Support - Devon

10/03/2025

✨️ Eeeeeek.... we've only gone and got ourselves a MotherBorn base!! ✨️

With huge thanks to Education South West, we have a space to use at Kingsbridge Primary School for all things MotherBorn 🥹 our own room to run drop-in sessions, small group classes, sell our beautiful new & preloved items, hire out breast pumps, TENS machine and slings, and hold our 1:1 breastfeeding & bottlefeeding support clinics! Plus we have use of a larger room for bigger group sessions, such as Nurslings and other groups run collaboratively with fellow local mum/baby experts.

It's been a hard slog getting here for so many different reasons, but we couldn't be more chuffed to finally have a space to deliver the support that all you local families deserve! 🙏🏻

We intend to be up and running after the Easter School holidays (week beginning 21st April) - got some work to do first... we want it to be perfect for all the families who visit us. Limites services will be available prior to then, depending on how quickly we get everything done.

We are endlessly grateful to Education South West and the Kingsbridge Primary School team ❤️ on behalf of all our local families - thank you!

10/03/2025

The cat's out the bag! 😄 we'll be up and running in our new home soon, so keep your 👀 peeled for updates over the coming days and weeks ❤️

Kingsbridge Primary School opens doors to Action for Children, The Fidget Project and MotherBorn Collective.

10/02/2025

✨️ HOSPITAL BAG BREASTFEEDING MUST HAVES (& DON'T BOTHER WITHS) ✨️

You really need very little in your hospital bag for breastfeeding.

To be honest, all you really need is your breasts and the willingness to give breastfeeding a go... plus hopefully some knowledge you have gained antenatally on how the actual eff you're supposed to do it!

With those things in place, along with asking for support as and when you need it, you really shouldn't need any other equipment to feed your baby. If you struggle, your midwife and other maternity ward staff should be able to provide you with things like syringes or cups to feed colostrum to your baby. Ideally, you will have learnt how to hand express antenatally in order to get hold of the colostrum needed to feed your baby, but if not, then you should get support with this whilst you're on the ward.

Taking formula with you 'just in case' isn't helpful either, as offering this to your baby instead of getting the support you need to provide your own breastmilk could put you on the back-foot further down the line when it comes to milk supply. And in any case, no-one is going to let your baby starve, so formula milk will be available if medically indicated.

Using a breast pump to try and express before your milk transitions is likely just wasted energy, as colostrum only comes out in tiny little precious droplets, which would get totally lost in the pump parts! Same thing applies with ni**le shields - far better to work on getting a decent latch without them, if possible (they are a useful tool in some situations though, just get some support if you think they're needed).

When it comes to ni**le balm/cream, there's no scientific proof of their effectiveness. Lots of mums find that expressing a small amount of milk to dab on their ni**le and then letting it air dry works much better for soothing soreness. However, soreness would suggest latch isn't quite right... so again, and as always, reach out for support. There's no need to struggle through... and often it's far easier to fix things early on than it is further down the line.

04/01/2025

✨️ "WHEN A BABY IS BORN, SO TOO IS A MOTHER" ✨️

Antenatal education is something we at MotherBorn are hugely passionate about - knowing how breastfeeding works and what to expect from your newborn baby is often a total gamechanger when it comes to breastfeeding success!

💕 MotherBorn's Preparing to Breastfeed antenatal session is here to empower you for the incredible journey ahead. A session with us will leave you feeling confident and equipped with essential knowledge about feeding your baby, safe sleep, the transformative process of becoming a mother, and more.

For second-time+ mums, this session can be tailored to include a debrief of your previous breastfeeding journey, helping you approach this next chapter with clarity and confidence 💛

🌸 Because every mother deserves to feel prepared, supported, and celebrated.

📅 Book your spot today and step into motherhood with confidence! Available as either a stand-alone session or as part of our 1:1 package designed to provide you with the support you need before & after your baby's birth.

24/12/2024

✨️ MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR ✨️

Thank you so much to all of you for your support this year as I've been establishing MotherBorn - it means the world to me!

It makes me so happy to be doing what I love... supporting families to feed their baby the way they want to, and I couldn't do it without you guys cheering me on and the amazing support of my fellow MotherBorn directors, Caroline & Pennie ❤️

Wishing you all a fabulous Christmas and New Year 🎄 we're excited to see what 2025 brings to MotherBorn and our local parenting community ✨️

23/12/2024

Although our weekly drop-in group is taking a break for the holidays, and our 1:1 appointments are limited, emergency breast pump hire is available throughout for anyone who needs one!

Just pop us a message to hire a pump and collect from Steph Pope BFC - Breastfeeding Support - Devon in Loddiswell ❤️

14/11/2024

Looking forward to this on Sunday!! It'll be our first ever event out in the community 🥰 huge thank you in advance to Abbie @ Mummy & Me Preloved Market and Christmas Fair for having us.

We'll be there selling preloved (but fab condition) Maternity, Nursing & Baby clothes, as well as various other brand new & nearly new mum/baby items.... and to spread the word about our work in the community of course 😊

Please do come along and say hi! 💕 there will be loads of other preloved sellers and fab Christmas stalls there too, plus a raffle with some awesome prizes 🔥

See you there!

03/11/2024

✨️ HOW CAN I HELP? ✨️

These are the 1:1 services I now provide via The MotherBorn Collective CIC.

We only have one aim over at MotherBorn, and that is to support you (at whatever stage of your feeding journey you're at), to meet your feeding goals and parent with complete confidence in yourself. As a not-for-profit, we reinvest any profit made back from our services, groups & events back into MotherBorn so that we can continue to benefit our community 💕

I've been at the sharp end of b*gger all support, I completely understand that feeling of desperation to get to where you want to be yet feeling totally disoriented with how to get there. I remember well the intense feelings of determination to make sure I didn't go through the challenges with my second baby that I did with my first... or at the very least know exactly where I could find the support if I needed it.

I credit my two successful feeding journeys (and by successful, I mean that I met my goals as they changed over those early weeks, months, and years) to two wonderful lactation consultants and my own dogged desire to get there in the end, along with the support of my nearest & dearest. And I couldn't have done it without the community of fellow mums that I felt a part of. At MotherBorn, we will always do our utmost to provide the guidance, information & support that you need, when you need it.

We see you, we hear you, we get it.

Who helped you when you most needed it? Was it one particular person, or a few?

07/10/2024

✨️ THERE'S HARD, AND THEN THERE'S HARD HARD ✨️

I was absolutely a 10 first time around (thanks to a missed tongue tie) and remained there for weeks! 😬 I had no clue it could be so hard!!

Even second time around, I was still about a 6 - different baby, different issues (fortunately not a tongue tie) - and despite having done my Breastfeeding Peer Supporter training by that point, it's a whole different ball game when it's your own b***s that are like boulders and your ni**les that are on fire! 😆

However, second time around I knew exactly where to go for support and called upon my fellow peer supporters and a lovely Lactation Consultant who came to my aid and everything got better much quicker than with my first son. I will be forever grateful for the support that I received 🩷

Sometimes, knowing what to do only takes you part of the way to beating your feeding challenges - the rest of it is having that practical support when you need it and someone to (metaphorically, if not actually) hold your hand through the tough times.

What was your experience with this? How surprised were you on a scale of 1 to 10 at how hard breastfeeding can be? Was it any different with subsequent babies?

03/10/2024

✨️ OCTOBER'S NURTURED MAMA MEET-UP ✨️

Come and join us for 2 hours of peaceful crafting with , unlimited amounts of delicious home-baked cake, and a whole lot of supportive chat 🩷

This month, we're making something just for you - an autumnal wreath to display with pride. Love a bit of 🍂 decor around the house!

WHEN: Monday 14th October @ 10am-12pm
WHERE: Kingsbridge Family Church, TQ7 1QD

Spaces are limited this month as we only have a certain amount of materials. I recommend booking ASAP to grab your spot if you'd like to join us. Link in bio.

These monthly sessions are designed completely with your sanity in mind. No bright, brash colours or annoying noisy toys... a break from the sensory overload of motherhood (well, as much as is possible when you have your little one in tow 😅). A chance to chill & enjoy the company of other mamas who 'get it' completely.

Just as an FYI - this will be the last Nurtured Mama session that will be run by me as Nurtured by You - future events will be under the banner. Still me, still Caroline, just new branding and a bit of pivot for me personally 😊 I can't thank you enough for your ongoing support & hope to see lots of you at our future community focused events (and October's session too!).

23/09/2024

✨️ WORRIED ABOUT YOUR MILK SUPPLY? ✨️

Save this to come back to when the wobbles hit!

Worrying that you don't have enough milk is one of the most common concerns that new mums have in the early days of breastfeeding.

However, more often than not, everything is totally fine with your supply - your baby is simply displaying normal newborn behaviour, and your body is just doing its individual thing!

Too often, mums miss out on vital education, which would remove this worry entirely (or very nearly at least) & help foster confidence in yourself and your body to nurture your baby exactly as nature intends and the same way as generations of mothers before you. Instead, you end up down a rabbit hole of topping up and possibly falling into the top-up trap, thus leading to genuine low milk supply even though that wasn't at all what you intended to happen (see post on my grid about the top-up trap)!

The following are NOT symptoms of low milk supply:

🤱🏽 Fussy evenings
🤱🏽 Can't express much, or anything at all
🤱🏽 Not wanting to be put down (the baby that is!)
🤱🏽 Frequent feeds
🤱🏽 You can't feel your letdown
🤱🏽 Baby drinks a bottle after a breastfeed
🤱🏽 Soft breasts
🤱🏽 Frequent waking
🤱🏽 Short feeds
🤱🏽 Not leaking
🤱🏽 Clusterfeeding

If your baby is having the expected number of wet & pooey nappies for their age (I have another post on my grid with more info on this), and they're gaining weight as expected, your milk supply is fine!!

It is just your confidence in yourself & your amazing capabilities for nursing and nurturing your baby that is a bit wobbly. You've got this, Mama!

As always, if you're concerned, get yourself some skilled support.