Candice James IBCLC

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Candice James IBCLC

My hope is that you feel at home here and leave feeling grounded, empowered and inspired 🌻

19/07/2024

Let that sink in.

Let it be known that if you or someone you know is lactating, it is no simple feat.

Making milk is a complex bodily function.

It is a SUPERPOWER.

17/07/2024

It is Primal- Innate- Biological- A hormonal response to protect our babies.

Like that of bears or wild animals. 🐻

Evolutionarily, it may come across now as multiple questions (who is going to be there, how much did you feed him, what time did he fall asleep), reiterating instructions that we already know you know (remember to feed him at 2, this is how many ounces, remember burp after, try holding him like this). It is also why we have an instinctual response to shwoop in and take the baby when we hear them cry with you, even though we know you are quite capable of calming him.

This has nothing to do with trust- we trust you. We LOVE you. We APPRECIATE you.

It is more about US than it is you. It is a hormonal and biological response, nature made and actually BEAUTIFUL. It means we love our babies more than life itself. They are quite literally our hearts outside of our own body. Its not that you dont love them JUST as much. YOU actually have a natural response system (for example a rise in testosterone to protect us ALL)

For the birthing parent, by natures design, we have a response system and its science. Our blood pressure changes, our brains ping in particular places, our body temperature changes, our cortisol levels rise.. these biological reactions influence our behaviors.

Tips to cope:

- try not to take these moments personal
- validate emotions
- reassure your understanding
- after, share how these moments make you feel
- create a plan or a “safe word” for these moments
- understand these are big moments with big feeling for both of you
- understand that these moments are all big because they are full of big amounts of LOVE
- hug it out (truly- long hugs with deep breathes together will raise your oxytocin levels and more)

As always, there is such an importance for a professional support team postpartum. Sometimes these feelings/reactions can be signs of postpartum anxiety. I am the biggest advocate of prenatal and postpartum therapies individually and as couples even during non crisis moments.

Please reach out privately if you need support and professional resources ♥️

16/07/2024

Invite your baby’s caregiver to join you on this free Zoom as we discuss proper baby feeding amounts, paced bottle feeding and how to ensure baby is getting enough while you are out.

11/07/2024

The best way to help a new parent is to ask them exactly what they need. The answer will be different for every new parent! If it IS to hold the baby so that they can clean or make themselves food because that is what their mental health is calling for, then of course this infographic may not apply.

Here are some great examples of what (typically) new mamas may love as support:

- porch drop offs- food or supplies 😍
- walking the doggies
- store runs (save them the door dash fees lol)
- house cleaning
- laundry washing and folding
- cooking (bonus points for easy leftovers or freezer back ups)
- driving or coming along to doctors appointments to support and carry items/load up stroller etc.
- playing with older siblings or taking them to a fun activity

Important! Don’t forget about your 6 months + mamas! This is typically a time when the checkins fall off and people think all is under control but its often the time when newborn adrenaline is wearing off and exhaustion is settling in.

10/07/2024

Loving these supportive responses! Feel free to leave some things you wish someone would have told you about the postpartum period 🤍

09/07/2024

Free Postpartum Prep Webinar 🤍

When a baby is born, it is the most beautiful time of life. It can also be overwhelming. MCLA brings expertise from the 3 best pillars of support for the newborn stage: Sleep, Feeding & Mental Health.

Learn what to expect during these first few months after birth and strategies to cope with a licensed therapist, certified gentle sleep coach and IBCLC.

Speakers: Candice James - IBCLC, Gayane Aramyan - LMFT, & Tracie Kesatie - Sleep Coach

RSVP via email [motherhoodcollectivela@gmail.com](mailto:motherhoodcollectivela@gmail.com)

08/07/2024

Thank you for trusting me. Words do not do my humbled gratefulness justice 🙏🏽 Love you all so much!

03/07/2024

This is often a symptom! When lactating, your ni***es release a natural lubrication to support the latch friction.

As you wean and your body starts to close down the lactation factory, your ni***es go through a process of weaning as well.

You may notice more sensitivity, color changes closer to pre-pregnancy color, ar**la and ni**le size shrinkage down to closer to prepregnancy size, and overall your breast size becoming smaller.

01/07/2024

Often, just when you think you “got it” or you are “in your groove”, something comes up to give you a good jolt! ⚡️

️But these things are just your bodies way of tapping into something and responding with its power!

Some of these factors include:

1. Baby’s Growth Spurts: Babies go through growth spurts at different stages, which can increase their hunger and feeding frequency temporarily. They are geniuses and know exactly what to tell the breasts so that they can calibrate to their specific need. Fun fact: babies go through very frequent growth spurts especially in the first 12 weeks!

2. Milk Supply Fluctuations: Milk supplies ebb and flow due to hormones, stress, diet, hydration, and overall health. Feeding on demand with no schedules helps your body adjust to babies need. While these fluctuations happen, there is typically not a need for supplementation if a full mill supply has already established. If you are concerned about your milk supply, definitely connect with an IBCLC!

3. Latching Issues: Problems with babies latch efficiency can cause inconsistent feeding patterns and milk intake. Very very important to have latch assessed by an IBCLC as sometimes you may not realize there is an issue with babies latch until weeks in.

4. Baby Development: Illnesses, teething, or developmental milestones can impact feeding habits.

5. Parental Fluctuations: Postpartum hormonal regulations, illnesses, deficiences and nutritional intake can affect milk supply and cause changes in nursing routines and behaviors.

6. External Factors: Changes in routine, such as returning to work or travel, can disrupt established nursing patterns.

These variables can cause fluctuations in feeding frequency, duration, and the amount of milk consumed, making breastfeeding an overall non-linear relationship.

There is POWER in knowing and expecting this though! Because then you won’t question your amazingness. It is EXPECTED and part of the journey!

HOWEVER- Be sure to always have and be in contact with your IBCLC so that they can do a scan to ensure you are both on track and there are no red flags.

27/06/2024

I have had a couple of inquiries for this just this month, and the answer is a definite no 😬 but such an opportunity to explain why!

Massaging is no longer recommended as best practice for healing as it can cause increased swelling and inflammation, making the situation worse.

Even so, a clog is typically not something you can just remove in one go.

When a client reaches out regarding a clogged milk duct, we activate a protocol immediately to help it resolve- which is a gradual process with multiple approaches that takes gentle consistency.

A clogged milk duct consultation goes way deeper than the duct itself actually. We dive deep to find the potential reason for the clogged duct to avoid another in the future.

Sometimes clogs just love to join the party for no clear apparent reason, but most of the time we can pinpoint something that may have caused it (some examples: wore a tight bra or clothing, wrong fl**ge size or pressure when pumping, poor latch/tensions or oral functioning, skipped or stretched out breast drainage, slept on the b***y, sleep/nap training, many more possibilities).

The key is to peel back the layers to get to the core. We create a plan for avoidance, including being proactive down to the foods that can be eaten to help support the body to avoid clogs and inflammation within the body.

26/06/2024

Hot and cold therapies are both tools that have a place in lactation.

In practice, I find myself recommending both. The magic comes in knowing when each tool is best applicable- and based on historical protocols you may have heard the OPPOSITE of what is currently recommended as best practice.

Heat therapies increase blood flow to an area, relax muscles, reduce pain, improve the elasticity of muscles and connective tissues, increase flexibility and range of motion, and can also accelerate the repair processes of damaged tissues by increasing metabolic rate and enzymatic activity in the tissues. However- heat can also increase swelling and inflammation (this is why it is no longer the main recommendation for clogged milk ducts- while we are here, it is the same reason massage is no longer recommended for clogged ducts because it can cause increased inflammation).

Cold therapies reduce inflammation and swelling, can numb the pain, slow down cellular metabolism therefore slowing down tissue damage.

Heat helps milk flow. I recommend simply using your own hand to cup and hold your breast and warm with your own body heat. This is helpful before or during a pump to help milk flow.

Ice is for injury, and a clogged milk duct can feel like an injury indeed! Ice is great for engorgement as well.

Both heat and cold therapies are used in lactation. One is not better than the other, but better to use in certain situations over the other.

24/06/2024

Let’s get some sunshine and movement in with our babies! ☀️

Email candicejamesibclc@gmail.com to enroll!

(Exact location in SFV will be released upon enrollment.)

Hope to see you there 🧡

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