Hali’a Therapeutics LLC

Hali’a Therapeutics LLC Your Pelvic Floor Therapist and Lactation Informed Occupational Therapist

01/21/2026

Your breastfed baby should be p**ping daily (just like you!!) as a pelvic floor therapist and internationally board certified lactation consultant this is a hill I will die on.

Daily (or frequent) stooling in babies is a sign of:
• effective milk transfer
• good gut motility
• a balanced microbiome
• a well-coordinated suck-swallow-breathe pattern
• appropriate nervous system regulation

When a baby suddenly stops stooling regularly, I always want to look deeper:
• Are they transferring milk efficiently?
• Are they working too hard during feeds?
• Is oral tension slowing digestion?
• do they have a food sensitivity?
• Is their nervous system stuck in “survival mode”?
• do they have body tension?

P**p frequency isn’t the goal — function is.
And a baby who is struggling to feed often struggles to stool AND a baby that struggles to stool, WILL struggle to feed.

So no, I don’t panic over every skipped p**p.
But I also don’t ignore it when it’s part of a bigger picture.

If you’ve ever been told “it’s normal” but your gut says something feels off — you’re probably onto something 🤍

12/22/2025

As a lactation consultant, I knew my NICU baby had good coordination—but limited endurance and intraoral pressure generation while breastfeeding.
With limited skills she was only transferring 8–22 mL at the breast when she needed 50 mL for a full feed.

Many well-meaning people suggested trying a bottle.
But I knew a bottle wasn’t going to solve her specific challenges or propel us forward towards discharge.

I’m not anti-bottle.
I’m pro choosing the right tool for the right baby for that moment in time.
Many babies do need bottles—and thrive with them on their path toward breastfeeding.

For us, we weren’t avoiding bottles forever—we were protecting skills right now.

Using a supplemental nursing system (SNS) allowed her to:
• take in more milk by mouth
• practice breastfeeding longer
• stop before exhaustion set in

By keeping her at the breast while supplementing, we:
• increased breast stimulation
• reduced the need for pumping
• increased skin-to-skin time
• supported higher intake without changing the latch

An SNS isn’t for everyone.
For some families, the setup can be stressful or not worth the mental load.
And for babies who are still working on airway protection or breathing coordination, bottles or NG feeds may be the safest option until they’re stronger.

When babies are learning to breastfeed, oral experiences must stay positive.

Tools (bottles, syringes, SNS, cups, etc) are not one size fits all! Careful thought and task analysis needs to go into each decision 🤍

12/21/2025

When you’ve spent days or weeks hoping for stronger cues, louder protests, more stamina…
a cry isn’t something to “fix.”

It’s communication.
It’s neurological maturity.
It’s life showing up.

Because there was a time when silence meant worry.
When sleepy wasn’t peaceful—it was concerning.

But now I know…
a cry means endurance.
a cry means a nervous system waking up.
a cry means we’re moving forward.

Some of us don’t get to take that for granted.
Perspective changes everything 🤍

12/20/2025

Babies born before ~38 weeks often look like they’re feeding beautifully… but may not actually be transferring much milk.

Here’s why this can be so tricky ⬇️
Late preterm and early-term babies (34–37+6 weeks) often have:
• Immature suck–swallow–breathe coordination
• Lower endurance (they tire before the work really starts)
• Weaker intraoral pressure
• More sleepiness and fewer sustained feeding cues

So they may:
✨ Latch well
✨ Look rhythmic
✨ Stay calm at the breast
✨ Fall asleep “content”

…but still transfer very little milk.

This is where parents are often told:
“Your latch looks great!”
“Just keep trying.”
“They’ll grow out of it.”

And sometimes they do—but sometimes they don’t without the right support.

🚩 Signs to watch for:
• Long feeds with little weight gain
• Baby falling asleep quickly at the breast
• Low milk transfer on weighted feeds
• Slow output (wet/dirty diapers)
• Falling supply despite frequent nursing

This is not a failure of you or your baby.
It’s neurology + stamina + timing.

Supporting these babies often means:
• Objective data (weighted feeds matter here)
• Protecting milk supply early
• Using tools strategically (not forever)
• Building endurance and coordination before expecting full feeds

If this is your baby—or was your baby—you didn’t imagine it.
And you weren’t doing anything wrong.

Save this, share it with a NICU or late-preterm parent, and remember:
looking like a good feeder ≠ transferring like one. 💛

12/13/2025

Baby might not latch today, tomorrow, or even next week—and that’s okay…. Even though it’s emotionally really hard for us parents.

Consistent skin-to-skin teaches your baby your chest is their safe place.
A place for nervous system regulation, warmth, smell, sound, and comfort.

When skin-to-skin is paired with feeds—whether that’s a bottle, syringe, finger feed, or tube—it also teaches your baby something important:
food comes from this place of safety and connection.

If your baby isn’t latching, it’s not because they don’t want to. They don’t hate you. There’s nothing wrong with your 🍈🍈.

They aren’t breastfeeding because something in their body is telling them they aren’t ready yet.

That “not ready” might be related to airway protection (choking/aspiration risk), endurance, alertness, coordination, prematurity, tension, or neurological immaturity. And none of those are fixed by forcing a latch. In fact, forcing a latch before they are ready can start to tell them your chest is not a safe space.

Skin-to-skin works on breastfeeding long before the first latch ever happens.
It supports regulation, reflex organization, sensory integration, and the neurological foundations feeding depends on.

We never want to rush or force a baby to latch before they’re showing readiness cues. Babies are biologically wired to feed—rooting, gaping, stepping, sucking are reflex-driven skills. When those reflexes aren’t fully online yet, our job is to support the nervous system so they can emerge. As parents we have to learn to trust that our kids know what they need and foster their confidence in following their instincts. It’s a lifelong lesson for them that starts from the very beginning with feeding.

This is quiet work.
It often looks like nothing.
But it’s foundational—and it pays off when your baby is truly ready. 🤍

Aim for 60mins to 12 hours a day. The longer the better. Use baby carriers to help support skin to skin when you don’t have the luxury of staying in one place for too long.

Trust the process. ❤️

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Eugene, OR
97401

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