http://www.hoosierbreastfriend.com/

Hoosier Breast Friend LLC, Michigan City, IN (2026)

03/29/2026

We meet with many parents who have already asked for help, already seen 2-3 IBCLCs, spent the first 4 weeks of their baby’s life running back to the pediatrician for weight checks, are stuck triple feeding with no way to stop…

And when we ask them about what advice they’ve already received, sometimes it’s hard to stay composed. 🫣So many of the recommendations lead parents to low supply, unwanted weaning, breast or bottle refusal, feeding aversions, and poor weight gain.

Just recently we’ve seen:

A 3 day old diagnosed with failure to thrive despite only being at 6% weight loss 📈

Two families advised to bottle feed formula before leaving the hospital because “it’s a long drive home” 🚗

Multiple moms told to let baby sleep through the night, then blamed for poor weight gain as the baby ate less 💤

Almost every single family with a baby taking more than 40 minutes per feeding told to limit time at the breast 🤱

Three cases where fortification was recommended when the baby just needed more milk 🍼

More than a dozen babies falling across multiple weight percentile lines but advised not to worry as baby is “just small” or “finding their own curve” 📉

Flanges supposedly sized but up to 10mm too large 📏

We have to call it what it is: sabotage. Whether it’s intentional or not, these recommendations cause harm.

If your provider isn’t actually helping you with solving a problem, find a new one. It doesn’t matter if they’re nice and you don’t have to be loyal. Ask what evidence they have for their recommendation. Get a second opinion. A fourth one if you need it. 🤷‍♀️

03/28/2026

Join us for our next Peer Support Group! Tuesday, April 7th from 10 AM - Noon at the Michigan City office location! Can’t wait to see you there 💃🏼

03/26/2026

Did you know babies don’t actually NEED warmed milk?

Bottle temperature is a preference, not a requirement and many babies are perfectly happy drinking it straight from the fridge!

Why do we think we have to warm it? Some babies prefer it warm, typically babies who are used to nursing - as fresh breastmilk from the breast is warm!

There is some misconception that cold milk could cause a tummy ache, but this is not true. Eventually if they end up drinking cows milk, goat milk, almond, oat, etc it will be cold from the fridge. If your baby is experiencing gas or tummy aches, it may be an intolerance issue, baby swallowing a lot of air, or underlying reflux.. but not because the temperature of the milk was cold.

However, if your baby is bougie and does insist on warm milk.. you can use a bottle warmer, a mug with warm water, or for travel - take a thermos with hot water in it to set the bottle in when needed to warm it up!

‼️Important note for powdered formula: you do still need to prep with water heated to 158°F to kill potential bacteria in the powder. Once you’ve done that, cooling it down or warming to serve is totally okay.

03/24/2026

It’s an exciting time, but is your baby actually ready for solids? Here are the signs to watch for:

Sitting up unassisted - not propped up!

Steady head control - no bobbing or jerking

Tongue thrust reflex is integrated - baby swallows foods instead of shoving them back out

Interest - reaching for foods, intently watching you eat, bringing food to their mouth

At least age 6 months - recommendations to introduce earlier are outdated

Solids should not replace human milk or formula feeds until age 1. Food will provide complementary nutrition until then, so offering around 30-60 minutes after nursing or a bottle is a great option. Starting too early or trying to force solids has risks! When your baby is ready, be patient with the process and remember they’re learning (and so is their digestive system).

If your baby shows all these physical signs, but struggles or seems averse to solids, speak with your IBCLC about next steps.

03/23/2026

the thing about bottle refusal is..

Your baby isn’t being difficult, they’re having difficulty.

Is your baby hungry but not taking a bottle? Have you tried every bottle on the market and the result is the same? Maybe they even used to take the bottle in the first weeks but now they chew the ni**le, thrust their tongue, or even gag when you try. If this sounds like your baby, you need to know that they aren’t stubborn or lazy - they just need support to learn (or re-learn) the skill.

Nursing and bottle feeding are 2 different skills and experiences for your baby. Your baby latches to nurse and has to shape the tissue, stimulate a letdown, adjust their vacuum and suck pattern based on flow, experiences variations in consistency as fat content increases, and the milk temperature is stable. When your baby latches to a bottle, they do not need to shape anything, the texture is entirely different, there’s no letdown, flow rate is relatively consistent, and the milk is going to have minimal variation in consistency while the temperature is also steadily cooling. Not to mention, the skin to skin contact and close position on your body for nursing is not typically replicated with bottles. It’s reasonable that even a baby who nurses really well can’t quite figure out what to do with a bottle.

Many parents do everything “right” - breastfeeding is going well, baby is feeding efficiently and gaining weight… but nothing is working to convince your baby to take a bottle. It’s not a behavioral issue. You can’t just starve them into compliance and if you keep pushing the bottle in their face then you run the very real risk of developing an aversion as well. They’re “refusing”understand to do something they just don’t know how to do.

You don’t have to buy every bottle on the market, cry and feel hopeless because it’s not working, or resign yourself to just staying with your baby at all times for the first year. If you feel like this post describes bottle feeding your baby, we can help.

03/20/2026

Your health insurance most likely covers a breast pump at 100%! 🙌🏼

While some plans have exclusions, the pump benefits are almost always there. How can you use them?

You’ll need to connect with an in-network durable medical equipment (DME) provider. You can try to get a list from your health insurance, but they don’t have a way to narrow it down to DMEs providing breast pumps. It’s usually easier to check out various DME websites and enter your health insurance information. They will be able to check for benefits and should give a list of which pumps their company is able to offer you.

Something important to note is DMEs all hold separate contracts with health insurance companies, and the terms of that contract may mean that one company can offer you the same pump at no cost while another offers it for an upgrade fee. Additionally, DMEs choose which brands and models they’ll stock, so your list of options might be different at each one.

Don’t forget ➡️ pumps are medical equipment and once opened, they cannot be returned or exchanged. Choose wisely because that’s the only one they will cover for this pregnancy!

03/20/2026

Our main office line will be unavailable Friday - Sunday. We’ll return any messages on Monday. If you have an urgent issue or need to schedule or change an appointment, please email us at hello@hoosierbreastfriend.com

☕️

03/19/2026

Have you ever heard of an SNS (Supplemental Nursing System) or at breast supplementation? 🤔

This tool consists of a long, thin tube attached to the mother’s breast that transfers milk from a bottle to the baby’s mouth during feeding. At breast supplementation can be helpful for mothers who struggle with exclusively feeding at the breast for various reasons.

Here are some benefits! 🍼

➡️ If baby has slow weight gain and needs additional supplementation. Baby can get an entire feed at the breast instead of needing to be topped off after!

➡️ Encourages baby to wake up and actively feed at the breast due to the additional flow of milk.

➡️ Can help increase your milk supply due to direct sucking at the breast.

A great option for adoptive parents attempting to induce lactation too!

03/17/2026

PSA!!

Your pediatrician is not a breastfeeding expert.

Did you know that often, your pediatrician uses their personal experience with breastfeeding to advise you? Or that their breastfeeding education is limited - usually about an hour during medical school? Your pediatrician is the medical expert and is looking at medically, what needs to be done to achieve health. Without a complete understanding of lactation and breastfeeding care, they will choose the methods they know. Their job is not to preserve breastfeeding. Their job is to make sure your baby is well.

“But what about my pediatrician? Mine IS an IBCLC!”

That is FANTASTIC!! However, I would ask you to consider what scope of practice your MD IBCLC is using when seeing you and your infant. Are you there for a well child visit or are you there for a lactation consult? Did they take your personal and medical history, observe a feeding, provide a thorough oral assessment, assess your anatomy, listen for swallows, use weighted feedings as a tool, devise a plan based on your goals? If not, then your pediatrician was not acting as a breastfeeding professional during this visit and you should schedule a lactation appointment!

Why does it matter?

Because poor, inadequate, and incorrect lactation and breastfeeding advice are the main cause of low supply and early weaning. If your pediatrician is concerned about your baby and believes it is related in some way to your milk, call a lactation professional. We are here to work as a team with your pediatrician. We are here to help you meet your lactation goals while keeping your baby well. Our goal is to help you safely meet your goal.

03/16/2026

Silicone pumps and milk collectors have become increasingly popular and most families I see are using one, or have one in their home. They can be a helpful tool, but they do come with some risks.

It’s important to understand that although these pumps don’t function in the same way as a manual or electric pump, they do still apply suction and remove milk. The more milk you remove, the more you are likely to make! Creating an oversupply sounds appealing but does have its own set of risks.

This pump fl**ge is not sized. It has a wide opening that will pull excess ar**la and breast tissue inside, which can be incredibly painful and damaging.

If you are engorged and experiencing edema, the suction and downward pulling can actually aggravate the swelling and make sensitive tissue even more uncomfortable.

As with using a more traditional pump, if this is used to collect milk before a baby nurses, then it can slow the letdown and cause frustration and even breast refusal for the baby.

Not sure how to use your silicone pump? We can review this information and discuss ways to use your pump effectively and safely during any consult!

03/15/2026

3 tips for increasing milk supply:

Is your milk supply dipping? Not sure you have enough?

Do these three things:

1️⃣Add a pump or nursing session.
2️⃣Make sure milk removal is effective.
3️⃣Nourish yourself.

Already did these and your supply hasn’t changed? It’s time to see an IBCLC who understands low milk supply. The longer the delay in finding the cause, the harder it is to recover milk production. It might be as simple as needing a different fl**ge shape or as complex as a thyroid disorder requiring labs and medical treatment, but playing guess and check can actually make things worse.

03/13/2026

Anyone who has had a baby in the last 15 years has been told not to introduce a pacifier because it will ruin breastfeeding.

Will it though? That depends on how you use it.

Your baby isn’t going to confuse a disembodied silicone ni**le for your own, but they certainly can be soothed enough by sucking alone to fall asleep and skip a meal. Whether it happens because you missed the cues or because you were trying to space or shorten feedings, it’s less milk removal for you and less volume for your baby…which means a real risk for low supply and poor weight gain.

But what if you’re using it for a quick soothe? What about when they’re losing it while you drive down the road or need another 7 seconds to get out of the shower? What if they’re so worked up that they can’t even latch right now? These are times when a pacifier can be a helpful tool. It does NOT mean you have to use one but it is an option and it isn’t an absolute no.

Pacifiers don’t ruin breastfeeding. The way we use it is the real issue!

Hoosier Breast Friend LLC

03/29/2026

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