Thrive Infant Feeding

Thrive Infant Feeding Shami Shafi (IBCLC)
Tongue Tie Practitioner
Infant Feeding Specialist

"If it is painful, you are doing it wrong!" Errrrrrm no!There is so much to understanding and managing a painful latch t...
04/05/2026

"If it is painful, you are doing it wrong!" Errrrrrm no!

There is so much to understanding and managing a painful latch than what I could possibly squeeze into this post, but that hasn't stopped me trying!

Pain when breastfeeding is so common, that often I hear mothers telling each other "it does hurt in the beginning" or professionals suggesting "count to 10 if it hurts" ...but...we all know that pain is not okay!

In the first instance, assume a shallow latch. If you have attempted to improve this and are still in pain then seek support from someone who is skilled and experienced enough to be able to determine the cause and plan your care accordingly

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow..💚

This post is not intended to replace individual assessment and care planning, it is designed to raise awareness, understanding and to educate.

01/05/2026

💚 If you are a parent, carer or professional, give me a follow for more expert feeding info, free guides and Q and As! ☀️☀️

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

01/05/2026

💚 If you are a parent, carer or professional, give me a follow for more expert feeding info, free guides and Q and As!

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

29/04/2026

👩‍🍼 New and expectant parents! Give this one a SAVE for later!

Comment "checklist" for a tongue tie symptom checklist straight to your inbox!

So!...here are some ways to SPOT THE SIGNS of tongue tie:

👀 Observe feeding, is there any spilling of milk, gulping, slipping off the breast or losing the latch on the bottle? Unresolved pain when breastfeeding?

👂Listen to feeding, are there any sounds that indicate a loss of suction or poor latch? Slurping, clicking, gulping?

👶 Behaviour during feeds, is your little one content during feeds or are they unsettled? Do they end feeds comfortably? Is feeding "hard work" for them?

👅 Visual inspection of the tongue, does it move? Lift, poke out? Is the frenulum (strip of tissue) underneath the tongue short or appear restrictive?

📋 History, has there been any mention of a "slight/small" tongue tie in the past? Do you have a family history of tongue tie?

Sometimes you don't know what you don't know. Often I see parents in clinic who come in asking for frenulotomy but reporting no feeding issues, yet when I ask further questions, in fact feeding IS impacted.

It is easy to think what is normal for your baby is just how they feed but sadly, this is how feeding issues remain undetected but then snowball as your baby grows and adapts their oral function to a restriction.

And finally, ALWAYS ask for a second opinion if you are not entirely satisfied.

👩‍🎓 My name is Shami and I am a mum of 3, Tongue Tie Practitioner and IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) working in the Midlands, UK. This is my little corner of Instagram where I share expert tips and information

tonguetiespecialist

28/04/2026

💚 Comment "guide" to receive an easy to follow, step by step guide on introducing cutlery to your baby during mealtimes

Do you need to buy cutlery for your baby?...

Not for starting solids no...but at some point it is a skill that they will benefit from learning

Self feeding, using hands to understand shapes, textures and to practice grasping is really important for brain development. It supports hand eye co ordination and gives your baby opportunity to explore their food with all their senses during mealtimes

In many cultures around the world, babies feed without spoons, forks and knives and this doesn't prevent them from using it as a child/adult when needed so don't put too much pressure on yourself if your baby isn't using a spoon correctly 💚

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

27/04/2026

💚 Here to reassure you that there is no "normal" when it comes to pumping amounts!

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) and mum of 3 working as a tongue tie specialist in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

💬 Let's talk expressing!

The amount you are able to express is impacted by so many different factors that it can be difficult to establish what is even your "norm"

This is why I talk about optimising expressing so that you can pump what your body is able to make to the best of your ability.

The kinds of factors that can impact your output are:

1. Milk production
2. Pump type/effectiveness
3. Time of day
4. Length of time since delivery
5. Fl**ge sizing
6. Frequency of pumping
7. Stimulation of oxytocin
8. Maternal health and wellbeing
9. Direct breastfeeding also
10. Introductiom of formula
11. Premature delivery
12. Difficult/traumatic birth
13. Breast surgery
14. Proximity to baby

There is more to this list, but I hope that this gives you some reassurance that milk output in your pump isn't simply a case of that is all I have.

If you are struggling with pump output, get in touch with someone who is trained to support.

24/04/2026

Comment "guide" to receive an easy to follow, step by step guide on introducing cutlery to your baby during mealtimes

Do you need to buy cutlery for your baby?...

Not for starting solids no...but at some point it is a skill that they will benefit from learning

Self feeding, using hands to understand shapes, textures and to practice grasping is really important for brain development. It supports hand eye co ordination and gives your baby opportunity to explore their food with all their senses during mealtimes

In many cultures around the world, babies feed without spoons, forks and knives and this doesn't prevent them from using it as a child/adult when needed so don't put too much pressure on yourself if your baby isn't using a spoon correctly 💚

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

23/04/2026

At present, the evidence on lip ties and impact on feeding is limited and so certainly in the UK, tongue tie practitioners do not routinely offer division of lip tie.

Should my baby's upper lip fl**ge out when latched onto a breast or bottle?

The upper lip does not need to fl**ge out in order for your baby to feed effectively, often this is something that parents are taught to look for when assessing latch. The top lip should be in a neutral position, slightly everted.

So what if your baby has a lip tie? This may cause dental issues in the future but we cannot predict this (just as we can't predict speech issues with tongue tie)

Regular dental checks and good oral hygiene are all sensible approaches to help manage possible issues in the future

If you are a parent, carer or professional give me a follow for more snippets of useful feeding info that will make infant feeding easier to understand and navigate 💚

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

How was your labour/delivery and do you think this contributed to your baby's poor feeding?I hope that this mini guide h...
22/04/2026

How was your labour/delivery and do you think this contributed to your baby's poor feeding?

I hope that this mini guide helps both parents and professionals to understand how traumatic birth can affect feeding to better inform care

My name is Shami and I am a mum of 3, IBCLC and Tongue Tie Specialist working in the Midlands, UK. I have been supporting parents across Staffordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire and Derbyshire in my private practice since 2022. Welcome to my corner of the internet where I share my knowledge with you all 💚

My guides are easy to read, short bursts of bitesize information that aim to help increase awareness of feeding related topics. Of course, they are not a substitute for medical review or training but handy to share with other parents or save for later!

If you found this one useful, follow along for more guides posted weekly!

21/04/2026

If you are a parent, carer or professional give me a follow for more snippets of useful feeding info that will make infant feeding easier to understand and navigate 💚

Expressing is useful for getting the milk out for the baby yes, but...it does need to be done effectively to meet the needs of the mother and baby, and for this we need to consider:

1. Reasons for expressing
2. Age of baby
3. Maternal choice
4. Feeding difficulties
5. Maintenance or de-escalation
6. Expressing schedule
7. Pump type/method

There are ways that you can stimulate milk production without the use of a pump. But there are also times where expressing is needed. Seek support from a trained professional if you need help determining the best way to move forward with or without a pump

If you want to read up on all things expressing follow .shaheda and invest in a copy of her amazing book!

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

16/04/2026

💚 If you are a parent looking for reliable, professional feeding tips, hit follow!

Do I NEED to buy a baby beaker/ sippy cup ...nah.....its not a necessity but if you are going to be spending money, then opt for free flow beakers, straw cups and something without a valve if you can. Open cups are perfect for learning how to hold and manage the pouring of fluid into the mouth (like us adults). They help the development of hand eye coordination and also oral function

Did you know, babies can use cups from birth (if needed...and of course with adult supervision)

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

14/04/2026

💚 If you are a parent looking for reliable, practical and professional feeding tips, hit follow!

Part 1 is linked below and details the functional abilities of these kinds of pumps

Some users find that they collect/express more milk using a suction pump than they do using an electric or manual breastpump. Suctioning this pump on one breast while feeding from the other will increase yield as your baby stimulates let downs by feeding as you collect.

Sometimes passive collection is less stressful...what was your experience?

🏆 My name is Shami, and I am an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) tongue tie specialist and mum of 3 working in the Midlands, UK. I share daily tips and answer your feeding questions here in my little corner of the internet so come join me by giving me a follow...

Address

Stafford Health And Wellbeing Centre
Stafford
ST163EB

Opening Hours

9am - 5pm

Website

https://buymeacoffee.com/shamishafi

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