Happy Lactation

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Happy Lactation I'm a nurse and lactation consultant providing home visit and virtual baby feeding support.

We are taking a break from seeing patients through February, 2025. We look forward to seeing you next year!
04/11/2024

We are taking a break from seeing patients through February, 2025. We look forward to seeing you next year!

If pumping hurts, this is your stop, drop, and roll:🛑Flange size- a pump fl**ge 1-3 mm larger than the diameter of your ...
24/10/2024

If pumping hurts, this is your stop, drop, and roll:

🛑Flange size- a pump fl**ge 1-3 mm larger than the diameter of your ni**le is a good place to start. If you feel like your whole life is being pulled into the fl**ge and your poor ni**le is almost hitting the back wall, size down. If you feel like your ni**les are getting squashed into a bad fl**ge turtleneck, size up.

💧Suction level- pretty please with sugar on top, pump at only the highest ✨comfortable✨suction. You may need to ease into it for the first minute or so and pump at a lower suction, then gradually increase. If you find you can’t tolerate higher than a 2 or 3 on suction, try the other two tricks and bring in a lactation consultant.

🎲Lubrication- skin rubbing on plastic hurts. Use olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil, or ni**le balm, and coat the fl**ges before you pump. Phew! This usually makes a big difference. Lanolin is fine to use as long as you don’t have a wool allergy.

The more comfortable pumping is, the more milk you’ll pump out, and the less you’ll want to hurl your pump out the window. Also, listening to Pump Up the Jam while you pump wont correct pain, but it can’t hurt either😉

“I don’t care, I love it!”In my house, when one of our angel darlings hollers, “I DON’T CARE!”, my husband or I will fin...
15/10/2024

“I don’t care, I love it!”

In my house, when one of our angel darlings hollers, “I DON’T CARE!”, my husband or I will finish the line by saying, “I love it!” It sometimes gets a laugh, and it keeps us parents from taking the moment too seriously.

What lactation things do I not care about, and love for you?

❤️Pacifiers
❤️Pumping in the first two weeks
❤️Bottle feeding when it’s over 10 mL
❤️Feeding formula if you need or want to
❤️Breastfeeding some or none
❤️Breastfeeding during the day, formula at night
❤️Feeding a non-fancy formula (super do not care)
❤️Being done breastfeeding the second your child turns one, or nursing your wacky toddler for as long as you please

Save the parent guilt for sunscreen and tooth brushing. Much love and zero guilt to anyone feeding a baby the way that works best for their family. ❤️

If latching hurts or is damaging your ni**les, please pump until you can get help. It’s the right thing to do for your m...
01/10/2024

If latching hurts or is damaging your ni**les, please pump until you can get help. It’s the right thing to do for your milk supply, your body, and your relationship with your baby.

But by all means, do get help as soon as possible. Pain is not a normal part of the breastfeeding experience. It’s a sign that something is wrong. And you don’t have to white-knuckle through it.❤️

Happy Lactation will be out of office July 12th-21st. Have a great week! ✌🏽
12/07/2024

Happy Lactation will be out of office July 12th-21st. Have a great week! ✌🏽

Aim for B+ breastfeeding because, in the words of my excellent mentor Jennifer, your kid is going to grow up and eat yes...
26/06/2024

Aim for B+ breastfeeding because, in the words of my excellent mentor Jennifer, your kid is going to grow up and eat yesterday’s goldfish that fell in their car seat. (Hi !)

So let’s not lose our minds over feeding them in the first year.

We’ll make a feeding plan together, and then you march forward with the beautiful confidence of someone who is imperfect, and also the exact parent their baby needs. ❤️

Today my biggest baby turns six, and if I could give my six years ago self some advice it would be:It gets better, and b...
18/06/2024

Today my biggest baby turns six, and if I could give my six years ago self some advice it would be:

It gets better, and better, and then even better. You survive newborn gas, mysterious rashes, and ten trillion nursing sessions. You will get tough enough to manage getting the stroller into the trunk by yourself. You will survive going back to work right at the moment when your baby is becoming really charming. Your baby’s caregivers will become like part of your extended family. Your dog will eventually like the baby when she starts dropping food crumbs. You will discover your own deep-down parenting instincts and tell yourself many times, “I’m the mom.” You will become tough as nails and also a giant emotional cream puff, because now you know how deeply and ferociously you can love someone.

And now it’s time to make a tie-dye cake. Lots of love to you whether you’re in the brand new baby stage, or your baby is big enough to roll her eyes at you. ❤️🤣

Smart question alert! 🤓I’m a big fan of making a lactation plan, A,B, C, and D with prenatal patients. It’s just good to...
03/06/2024

Smart question alert! 🤓

I’m a big fan of making a lactation plan, A,B, C, and D with prenatal patients. It’s just good to get the what-if’s out of the way and squash any temptation to be perfectionist about baby feeding. A smart patient question that came up recently was, “How will I know if I need to give formula in the hospital?” I’m so glad you asked!

A newborn might need to be supplemented for many reasons- low blood sugar, weight gain approaching or exceeding 10% of birth weight, high jaundice and sleepy feedings, or baby causing mom pain with latch. These are all beautiful, appropriate reasons to supplement.

Supplementing is about volume. First choice of supplement is your own colostrum or breast milk, if that’s your preference. But what if you can’t hand express or pump enough colostrum, you don’t have donor milk available, or it’s an emergent situation and there isn’t time to set you up on a pump right this minute?

Then you feed your baby formula.

Giving one or a couple medically-indicated feedings of formula while you get help expressing your own milk is the appropriate thing to do. Ask your healthcare team to show you exactly how to safely prepare and store the formula, get volume guidance from your pediatrician, and keep in close touch with your lactation consultant.

What questions do you have about supplementing, formula or otherwise?

Friendly reminder: don’t make big decisions on bad days. Get a nap, get a workout, take a shower, take a hike. Vent to y...
21/02/2024

Friendly reminder: don’t make big decisions on bad days.

Get a nap, get a workout, take a shower, take a hike.

Vent to your spouse, scratch a puppy belly.

Tell yourself you can reevaluate in two weeks if you need to.

Love to you and whatever you’re pushing through.❤️

Last time around breastfeeding, chest feeding or pumping may have been a breeze.Or it might have been a nightmare. In ei...
15/01/2024

Last time around breastfeeding, chest feeding or pumping may have been a breeze.

Or it might have been a nightmare. In either case, it’s helpful to remember that each delivery and each baby are different. Don’t borrow trouble from last time, but get proactive about lining up lactation support.

Email me to schedule your prenatal lactation consult around week 36 of pregnancy! bridget@happylactation.com❤️

Set yourself up for success.I love love love taking care of patients. I don’t always love charting about it. You love lo...
04/01/2024

Set yourself up for success.

I love love love taking care of patients. I don’t always love charting about it.

You love love love your smoochy little baby, but you don’t always love pumping for them.

A reminder to make the tea, find the comfy chair, l**e up the fl**ges, buy the pumping bra or three. Put a Reese’s Christmas tree in the pocket of that breastfeeding pillow. That’s what that pocket is for.

Give yourself what you need.❤️

Sometimes, breastfeeding is the goalie. Breastfeeding is not the reason your pregnancy, delivery, or recovery didn’t go ...
04/01/2024

Sometimes, breastfeeding is the goalie.

Breastfeeding is not the reason your pregnancy, delivery, or recovery didn’t go the way you had planned. But darn it, maybe it was the last thing that you hoped would go right. When it doesn’t, it’s like the whole house of cards comes crashing down (my sports metaphor fell apart, but you get me).

Of course, I’m an optimist and I want everyone to have a fairy tale baby feeding journey, free of heartbreak and trauma. But I also love being there to guide parents through when things get mucky.

Where my role as a lactation consultant ends, I pass the baton (sports!) to my faves- my beloved mental health resources.

If you’re in the Roanoke area, is a wonderful counseling resource.

Lots of love to you if you’re at the end of your feeding journey.❤️

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+15405342745

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