Rachel O'Brien, IBCLC March 12, 2020 No Comments Written for the LCinPP conference, March 13-15, 2020, and only for conference attendees.  Unlike every other blog post I’ve ever written please do NOT share this without my express written permission! Biggest mistake #3: writing a blog post like you write a research paper Which of these two examples is easier to read? Imagine, please, that something is wrong with you (I’m sure this isn’t the case- you are a special snowflake and perfect in every way, but indulge me here).  Either you are in pain or you are ill.  You’ve b ..read more

Rachel O'Brien, IBCLC January 9, 2020 One Comment Those who know me know that I have a large- and constantly expanding- lactation library in my home office.  I can’t help it! I love learning and I love books. I love sitting down with a highlighter and a big educational non-fiction book and just going all in.   Over the last few years, even though I’ve constantly added new texts to my lactation library, there are certain books I just keep going back to.   You know those books that are so chock full of useful tips and information that you would carry them everywher ..read more

originally posted 2/11/2018- updated 12/12/19 I’m a paper loving girl.  If I buy a book, it’s hardcopy.  I can’t handle a to-do list app; it’s gotta be written on a slip of paper.  Meals for the week?  Jotted down and posted on the fridge, not added to the family Google calendar. Since the moment I started my lactation private practice I did all of my charting on paper, and I have to say, I really loved it.  I find it soothing to write things down.  Physically checking a box makes me happy.  Forms are orderly and clear and direct and they tell me what to do ..read more

When I work with families, I spend a lot of time customizing a care plan that will best help them meet their infant feeding goals.  International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) are trained as health care workers to assess each breastfeeding relationship fully before offering instruction, suggestions, and counseling. Heck, the health information form I give to the nursing parent before each visit is from 2-7 pages long depending on the parents’ history, and I go through that step by step before I even talk about breastfeeding! Yet no matter what the family is dealing with ..read more

Have you heard the term “chestfeeding” yet? Curious what it is? It’s safe to say that everyone knows what you mean when you talk about “breastfeeding.”  The word tends to bring an image to mind, doesn’t it?  A lovely, feminine looking mother with perfect hair and a gentle smile looking down into the eyes of a blissfully breastfeeding baby… nothing new here.  Probably something close to this painting, with changes in skin tone or the number of babies you can see eating.   Or clothing.   Or a lack of visible halos. When I say “nursing”, odds are the picture i ..read more

Rachel O'Brien, IBCLC January 13, 2019 2 Comments This post is part of a 3 part series on bottle-feeding breastfed babies.  I highly suggest you read part 1 on choosing a bottle for your breastfed baby and part 2 on how to give a breastfed baby a bottle before tackling part 3! Ah, bottle refusal.  Or as it’s also known- “my baby won’t take a bottle and I am losing my ever-loving mind.” You’d think that once you got over the hurdle of those early fiddly tender confusing frustrating breastfeeding days, a bottle would be a piece of cake… but if you’re reading this blog post there ..read more

Rachel O'Brien, IBCLC January 11, 2019 One Comment This is part 2 of a series on bottle-feeding breastfed babies.  If you haven’t read part 1 about choosing a bottle for your breastfed baby, you should probably read that first! Y’all ready for this?  Get your bottles… and also get some burp cloths and maybe an absorbent bib, because this might get messy. Oh, but before you start… you’ve probably heard a LOT of opinions about exactly who should try feeding a breastfed baby the bottle.  We used to be convinced that babies would never EVER accept a bottle from the nurs ..read more

Rachel O'Brien, IBCLC January 6, 2019 7 Comments I’m guessing you got a ton of different bottles at your baby shower, when you signed up for a baby registry, or even for free in the mail after Target or Buy Buy Baby or Amazon or whoever figured out you were pregnant.  If you take a peek at the marketing printed on the bottle packages, you’ll see a lot of pretty bold claims… “The breastfeeding bottle! … the perfect companion to breastfeeding and the best possible transition to bottle feeding.” Mimijumi “designed to mimic breastfeeding… rescued so many families dealing with ‘n ..read more

Rachel O'Brien, IBCLC October 3, 2018 No Comments It’s been 15 years since Starbucks introduced the pumpkin spice latte, and for better to for worse, Americans are generally obsessed with the flavor- either you love it or you passionately avoid it.  We’ve even started to produce foods and products that have absolutely no business being “pumpkin spiced.”   For example, would you like some pumpkin spice Twinkies, fettuccini pasta,  Epsom salts, dog treats, or peanut butter?   How about some freaking PUMPKIN SPICE KALE CHIPS?!? With all this pumpkin spice madness s ..read more

We, as a society, do a craptastic job of preparing families for baby’s first couple weeks of life. The families I see are often overwhelmed and confused.  We make you focus on all the gear and accessories and stuff before your baby is born… when what we really need to do is talk about the reality of what you’re in for. Because of this, I feel it’s my job to give “my” families some warning about the normal-but-possibly-scary stuff that happens in the first few days of baby’s life.   And since you’re reading this blog, you’re officially one of “my” families too. So without furth ..read more