http://www.easternrangeslactation.com/

Eastern Ranges Lactation, P. O. Box 735, Cockatoo (2025)

04/12/2025

Breastfeeding mums/parents can choose to safely enjoy a special Christmas drink without the worry or guilt of it doing harm to their breastfed baby.

Things to consider are 🤔

🍷The amount of alcohol in your blood is the same as the amount in breastmilk after consuming an alcoholic drink.

🥤 You don't need to pump and dump as this won't help. Your amazing body works in tandem: As the level of alcohol in your blood decreases, the level of alcohol in your milk drops too.

🥂Time is what reduces the level of alcohol in your breastmilk. It will be at its highest level 30-60 mins after consuming a drink for most people. So feed your baby before your drink & try to wait, stretch the next feed to 1.5/2hrs if you can?

🍷 If your baby does need a feed before you have finished your drink or waited for it to clear out of your system don't panic! They are not going to die or be harmed - feed them!

🍷Basically If you are safe to drive a car and under .05 then you are safe to care for and breastfeed your baby.

🥂The biggest risk with alcohol consumption to your baby is alterations in your perception, balance and ability to safely care for your baby from being under the influence of alcohol.

🍷The younger your baby and the more frequently you are breastfeeding, the more they will be exposed to any alcohol in breastmilk.

🥂 Basically it's safer to consume alcohol the further down your breastfeeding journey you are.

🍷Go easy & start with 1/2 a glass as your body may be more sensitive to alcohol after avoiding it for so long.
🥂consider choosing a drink with a lower alcohol content.

🥂🥂🥂If you are planning a big day or night which involves more than 1 or 2 drinks then prepare ahead. Have EBM on hand and someone to help care for your baby.

🍷The Australian breastfeeding association have a free 'feed safe' app to help track timing of a drink and breastfeeding.

“Everything in life carries risk - commonsense keep us and our kids safe”

Use your commonsense, relax and enjoy that special Christmas drink (if it feels right for you) Cheers and happy breastfeeding! 🥂🎄🤱

29/11/2025

Harvesting antenatal colostrum has been found to be helpful not only for newborns at known risk for non-exclusive breastfeeding & risk for supplementation, but for all newborns.
It has become a popular & routine recommendation in recent times. However it is not an ‘essential’ practice.

Many of the mums I support choose not to express antenatally, they either don’t have the time, or are unable to express any colostrum & go on to breastfeed exclusively and avoid formula supplementation. ✅
There is NO replacement for good & correct breastfeeding advice right from birth. ✅

Antental hand expression has become a big focus in antental breastfeeding education when really it’s only a small part. 🤷‍♀️
It’s definitely something I cover durinh my antenatal lactation consultations, but we move on to the real important stuff pretty quickly 😊
If you are unable to express colostrum while pregnant, it will be there & more easily expressed after your precious baby is born. So please don’t stress or think you won’t make any or enough milk 🙏
There is no evidence to support that not being able to express colostrum antenatally has any negative impact on breastfeeding outcomes.
What has the biggest negative impact on breastfeeding outcomes is infrequent, ineffective milk removal after birth and the continuation of this in real time!!!
Antenatal hand expressing involves hand expressing for 5-10 minutes once or twice a day, collecting any colostrum in a syringe to freeze and saving it to feed to your baby in hospital. It’s usually recommended from around 36 weeks.
Expect very tiny volumes, often only a drop or 2 at a time. You may hear mums can express 0.5ml or even 1 ml at a time but this is not the norm.
Qualitative research has shown that antenatal hand expression helps build confidence and creates a feeling of preparedness for breastfeeding.
This in my opinion is the MOST valuable benefit of considering expressing antenatally ✅
Please handle your breasts with care if trying to express 🙏
You don’t need to massage or squeeze your ni**le hard. 🙏
It shouldn’t hurt!
For more information/ education consider booking a breastfeeding consultation before your baby is born.
The right support & being prepared is the key to being able to breastfeed and avoiding supplementation whenever possible 🙌

25/11/2025

After finally meeting your precious baby, it can feel like you are engaged in a never ending cycle of feeding and burping your baby!
But does burping after feeding really help? 🤔
And is it really necessary? 🤷‍♀️
My opinion is NO it's not.
It is a ritual that is engrained in our culture and one that has probably been happening for hundreds of years, but all this history does not necessarily make it right or necessary for every baby.
The small amount of research that has been done into burping actually indicates that it is not helpful and may cause an increase in spitting up or vomiting.
Burping can cause new parents a lot of unnecessary worry when all the patting, bouncing and jiggling does not produce that anticipated belch!
Burping which involves patting is very stimulating for a baby who is just trying to drift off to sleep with a nice full tummy of breastmilk loaded with sleepy hormones 🙈
In a nutshell there is no proven physiologic reason why babies would need all this help to burp 🤷‍♀️
Infants are protected from gas build up by the normal immaturity of the lower esophageal sphincter, which relaxes and opens frequently.
Basically, they naturally vent their own stomachs.🤷‍♀️
Milk comes back this way and so does air!
My bottom line advice is -
Do what works for your baby ✅
If your baby seems more comfortable after feeding with burping then go ahead and continue. ✅
If a burp does not happen, don't worry - it does not NEED to ✅
Most of all don’t waste precious time on strict burping routines thinking that you are preventing discomfort, and needing to follow “baby rules”
Overnight especially, get that sleepy baby fed & back into bed as quickly and calmly as possible.🙏
Settle your baby to sleep and they will let you know if they need your help to burp. The majority of gas or air passes through and into the bowel quickly.
“Gas” is a part of natural baby life & guy/nervous system immaturity.
There are also better ways to prevent gas & help your baby to feel more comfortable, like slowing down feeds!
This is just a snippet of the wealth of knowledge I share during my consultations with families.
My support lessens the burden of new parenting worries 🙏

20/11/2025

Early effective milk removal right from birth and in the very early postpartum weeks is a crucial part of establishing breastfeeding. 🙏
Babies are born “sleepy” feeders , they can take weeks to really wake up and start feeding well.
Birth interventions, premature and late pre term births produce even sleepier feeders.
Every newborn needs help to stay awake feeding.
Switch feeding provides “flow”
Flow is what keeps newborns actively drinking and transferring milk.
The longer a newborn stays latched on the one breast, the greater chance that they are not sustaining “nutritive” sucking (which is necessary for milk transfer)
A 20-30 min feed on one breast only can equate to only a few minutes of actual active drinking 🤷‍♀️
Short bursts of 5mins of active drinking switching as soon as your baby is showing signs of sleepiness adds up to way more milk being swallowed 🙌
A newborn baby can’t “drain”
a breast ❌
Breasts can’t be & don’t need to be “drained” anyway 🤷‍♀️
Milk production even when it’s colostrum is CONTINUOUS ✅
Breasts are never empty ✅
If you are engorged it’s NOT milk that you are feeling . It doesn’t have to be drained out during a feed ❌
Switching sides does not mean that your baby is not getting enough fat ❌
Your baby needs VOLUME, switch feeding is the most effective way to help your newborn to swallow enough milk ✅
Feed your baby whenever they are awake ✅
They need to drive milk in and SWITCH feeding helps to do this!
Cuddles are lovely but if a very young baby is awake they need to feed 🙏
You can’t feed them enough or too much in those first 1-2 weeks.
Feed , feed, feed and move your baby on quickly to your other breast.
There is a reason why my antenatal mums have no issues with excessive weight loss in hospital & unnecessary supplementation. They go in educated and prepared, ready to switch feed their baby 🙌

16/11/2025

Human temperament plays a HUGE role in the way in which tiny humans (AKA known as babies) react to their new world and their rapidly changing body and brain.
Different human temperaments impact on breastfeeding, sleep & the way in which your precious bub moves through this world. It's very common for families to have completely "different" children.🤷‍♀️
A particular parenting style might work for one baby but not for another.
Humans are different, we are born to be different ✅
Right from birth we are different!
Babies are not clones who grow into unique humans. They are unique in their temperament and personality right from the start!
This is why many don't fit into the boxes of mainstream expectation 🤷‍♀️

Some baby's are just born to follow a schedule and are more predictable.
Others are wired to be intensely busy, curious and are highly unpredictable.
Some are super sensitive to all the sensory stimuli in their environment.
Some have a lower pain tolerance than others.
Some have a lower tolerance for EVERYTHING they are experiencing 🤷‍♀️
Some are more attached to their mothers and will need more human body contact to sleep & feel safe.
Some move towards independence slower than others.
BUT THEY ALL DO BECOME INDEPENDENT!!!
Secure attachment builds independence ✅
Secure attachment takes years not months ✅
The only thing that ALL babies need is TIME ✅

"What kind of little human have you been gifted to nurture?"
"What are they here for during their human experience and what do they need from other humans to be at peace in this world?"

The first 7 years of a humans life shape the way they will move through life as an adult.
Fascinating stuff!

Surrender to the reality of what it takes to nurture a tiny complex human and be aware of unrealistic expectations. The world of early parenting is getting harder, with SM telling people there is always something needing to be fixed!! 😡
Beware of the predatory nature of this information and know you are easy prey 😕

The sacrifices you are making to nurture your precious little human give them the best chance of finding peace in a world that is going to challenge them when you are not there to hold them tight. 🙏❤️

My days are spent normalising and reassuring new parents. 😀
When you have worked as a paediatric nurse for 35 years , it’s easy now working as an LC to spot the normal. It’s easy to not go looking for the Zebra, when a horse is just another horse. It’s easy to instil parental confidence instead of fear 🙏

04/11/2025

When a breast becomes engorged the pressure from swelling and increased blood flow can be extremely uncomfortable and painful.
What is being felt is NOT the pressure from milk, it’s pressure from congestion, increased blood flow (hyperaemia) and interstitial fluid (oedema) ✅
Pumping to relieve pressure may provide some short term relief, but this relief is only going to be very short lived. In the long term pumping is only going to make things a whole lot worse!
Pumping not only stimulates more milk to be made which is already struggling to get out, it draws more fluid and blood flow into the already swollen congestion breast tissue.
Introducing a pump to “manage” engorgement does not “protect” milk supply it “risks” it, by creating more congestion in a gland that IS getting blocked, but not from milk .
Milk is not the problem 🤷‍♀️

Supporting the lactating breast tissue CORRECTLY during this physiological process IS what prevents worsening symptoms and unnecessary complications ✅
Continue to breastfeed your baby, gently hand express if your baby is not latching. Less stimulation is going to help clear congestion, over stimulation won’t 🤷‍♀️
ICE, ICE, ICE your swollen engorged breast. You can’t ice too much ✅
Ice will provide pain relief and comfort while it's working to open up milk ducts, making it easier for milk to flow again.
Remember not to massage ✅🙏🙏🙏
Lactating breast tissue is like delicate coral , especially when it’s under pressure ✅
Gentle lymphatic drainage using an open flat hand to gently stroke backwards at the pressure of patting a cat really helps ✅
A supportive bra helps reduce any dependent swelling (oedema) ✅
Early postpartum engorgement is often misdiagnosis as mastitis. Incorrect management IS what turns a normal physiological process into a breast tissue complication that is totally avoidable.🤷‍♀️ It is normal for the skin the look pink during early postpartum engorgement. You are experiencing congestive symptoms in highly metabolic gland that is SUPER susceptible to becoming SWOLLEN and flooded with increased blood flow not infection 🤷‍♀️
The lactating breast tissue is actually very resistant to infection unless it is taken there by inappropriate management - AKA massaging and pumping!!
The lactating breast IS SO misunderstood!!

31/10/2025

In a world where breastfeeding advice is so conflicting, confusing and down right crazy! It’s no wonder maternal anxiety levels in the postpartum period are through the roof 🤷‍♀️

Heightened anxiety during lactation can manifest in ongoing ni**le and breast pain, low milk production, overproduction, mastitis and it’s complications, and even physical symptoms in a baby.
When you look past breasts, ni**les and the baby you see the root cause of so many breastfeeding challenges - heightened anxiety.
You can see the whole human in front of you and you can see the fear driving physical symptoms and feeding difficulties.

My days are spent not only holding babies but “holding” mothers and parents. ❤️
Normalising what our world and society wants to see as broken.

I am the calming voice in the deafening noise of worry and concern.
I am the steady guidance amongst the chaos of fear driven parenting advice.
Anxiety is not a “dirty” word 🤷‍♀️
Anxiety is not a weakness 🤷‍♀️
It’s a state that all humans find themselves in along this journey through life. Especially during times of vulnerability. There is no greater time of vulnerability in a woman’s life when she is birthed as a mother 😊

Anxiety makes breastfeeding and everything to do with nurturing a tiny human so much harder than it’s meant to be.
Post natal mood and anxiety disorder is the number one complication of birth. And yet it is rarely talked about in the lactation world as a cause of any feeding difficulties 🤷‍♀️
Untreated anxiety can make breastfeeding feel horrible!
Gently, respectfully and without judgement my work helps new parents to acknowledge the impact “ heightened anxiety” is having on breastfeeding. ❤️
Reducing fear is one of my most powerful lactation skills. 🙌
And it’s not surprising that my mummas continue to breastfeed 🙏
Once the huge mental health overlap into lactation is acknowledged and respected, you can REALLY help breastfeeding.
Once breastfeeding is going well, it then becomes so supportive of mental health 🙌

24/10/2025

Triple feeding plans are torture!!!
'Triple feeding' is when a mother is instructed to breastfeed her baby, pump for 20-30mins after and then bottle feed her baby expressed milk and/or formula every 3 hours or sometimes even 2 hours on repeat!!
It a common standard responsive plan for slow weight gain. 😕
It's beyond exhausting both physically and mentally!
Sleep deprivation is unavoidable after having a baby. A triple feeding plan ENSURES a new mother gets NO sleep!
Triple feeding plans do not end in exclusive breastfeeding. The majority end in weaning and a traumatised mum! 😔
A recommendation to "triple feed" is a huge red flag signalling that expert lactation assessment and guidance is required.✅
Often it's ineffective milk removal from sub optimal positioning, and / or incorrect pump equipment that is the cause of slow weight gain. ✅
A triple feeding plan addresses the "symptom" but not the cause 🤷‍♀️
Unfortunately the majority of health care professionals do not have the skills required to fully assess breastfeeding and correct any issues presenting.
They also do not have the TIME!
A very sad situation that's the fault of our health system 😔😡
Check the pumps meaning both the baby and the pump ✅
Correcting sub optimal positioning and attachment is essential ✅
Switch feed ✅
Check all breast pump equipment, including correct fl**ge size ✅
24hr total volume intake is the key rather than strict intervals between feeding. ✅
Support maternal mental health don’t crucify it ✅
No sleep and exacerbating maternal anxiety = less milk ✅
A full medical history and assessment needs to be taken to identify any pathology in mum or baby for slow weight gain, don’t just bandaid it with formula ✅
For help with slow weight gain or to end the torture of a triple feeding plan please reach out for my support. One on one individualised mentoring sessions also available for any interested health care professionals wanting to learn how to manage slow weight gain without implementing a triple feeling plan!
It’s no wonder breastfeeding continuation rates are in the toilet when it’s made so hard! If we know better we can do better 🙏

17/10/2025

The feed-play-sleep routine is designed for bottle fed babies. ✅
Breastfed babies have their entree, , main & after a play are expecting their dessert 🤷‍♀️
Formula feeding & breastfeeding is like comparing apples and oranges.
Breastfed babies eat like we do!
Like humans do!! Like toddlers do!!
They have their lunch and go back for a drink or a snack soon after 😊
During the day they graze ✅
Breastmilk helps babies to calm and wind down for sleep. ✅
If you are struggling to get your breastfed baby down for a daytime nap and you are following a feed-play-sleep routine - this is why 🤷‍♀️
If your baby’s weight is slowing and you are following a feed-play-sleep routine this maybe why? 🤷‍♀️
If your milk production is slowing or struggling and you are following this routine this may be the problem 🤷‍♀️
Breastfeeding is not always “full meals”. Breastfeeding is “responsive feeding”, grazing or snack feeds ARE normal!!! Just like you reach for your drink bottle or another cuppa multiple times a day, it’s NORMAL for a baby as they move out of the newborn phase to feed very adhoc and non routinely during the day. They feed according not only to hunger but to thirst and for emotional needs. Your breastmilk is designed to help with inducing sleep. You don’t have to feed to sleep ( although this is biologically normal), offering your baby another quick feed before sleep is your super power , it helps , it is normal and is how breastfeeding works ✅
It’s difficult when routine baby advice is given, as it doesn’t factor in the breastfed baby 🤷‍♀️
These routines are designed for bottle fed babies. They are touted as the norm but can run a breastfeeding mumma into problems 😐

08/10/2025

Feeling deflated off the back of 3 local mums requiring hospital admission for a breast abscess caused by massaging, heat and over production.
This post is another plea to spread the word about NOT MASSAGING 🙏🙏🙏
These mums were not clients of mine.
None of the mums under my care and watch suffer with mastitis or its complications.
Two of these mums I am now involved with, but they found me too late 😔
Totally preventable that’s the sad part!!
Now they are in a hospital system that’s doing its best but does not have any surgeons trained in lactation 😔
Yes you read this right!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯
In fact there are currently only 2 breast surgeons in the world 🌎 who are also trained & knowledgeable in breastfeeding medicine 🤯🤯
Both are in the US - one is Dr Katrina Mitchell and the other is a colleague of Katrina’s who she shared her knowledge with.
This is a world wide social injustice!!
This would not be the case if men’s breasts could lactate and feed a baby!! 😡 We would have the best surgical care and trained lactation surgeons for them. 🤷‍♀️
These last 2 weeks have been hard knowing that I could of easily prevented what these mums are now experiencing 😔
The suffering is indescribable 😔
No one talks about the physical and mental scares these women will carry for life.
Their breasts are a mess 😔
One has already lost milk production in her affected breast. 😔
I am desperately trying to keep her breastfeeding going using only one breast now if we can 🙏
Prevention is the only way I can really help until Dr Katrina Mitchell can teach the medical world a better, more effective & simpler way to manage & resolve a breast abscess in a lactating breast 😐 She can drain and cure an abscess effectively with one procedure in her office without a mum having to be even admitted to hospital 🙌
Any person still supporting the recommendation to use heat and any repeated massage, no matter how gentle is risking the health of lactating mothers and their babies!!
Simple as that 🤷‍♀️
Seek expert lactation help if you are experiencing any swelling, inflammation or lumps in your breasts and please keep hands off your breasts!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

30/09/2025

✅ It is a MYTH that too much ice has a negative impact on milk production.

✅ Frequent ice packs on an engorged breast or an area of the breast which is engorged , swollen or inflamed DOES NOT cause low milk production!!!! 🤯

✅ The quicker you can reduce swelling, hyperaemia( increased blood flow) and inflammation around the innumerable tiny compressed milk ducts, the quicker you get milk flowing out of the breast again. 🙌

✅ The quicker you can get milk flowing, the more effective milk removal will be. You NEED effective milk removal to protect milk production and milk supply

✅ You may see a reduction in expressed milk volumes during engorgement or mastitis, this is caused by oedema (swelling) predominantly and , inflammation. The tissue congestion IS what’s reducing milk supply - NOT ICE!

✅ The longer milk can’t get out of the breast due to swelling or inflammation the greater risk to ongoing milk supply

✅ There is no point over stimulating a breast more if milk can’t get out due to swelling.
Doing this makes swelling worse and blocks it more 🤷‍♀️

✅ It may be overproduction that’s resulting in mastitis symptoms, slowing milk production down may be a good thing!

✅ Don’t be afraid of ICE!
It reduces pain dramatically and is the best defence against milk flow being blocked & the flow on effect of slowed milk production.

✅ The more icing the quicker everything gets better!

Those flimsy marketed ice packs are useless!! They melt in 2 mins and don’t give enough ice coverage. 🤷‍♀️ Very often if there is alot of engoremement you need ice under your breast and high up towards
your armpit ✅

✅ Frozen peas decanted into zip lock bags are cheap, accessible , comfortable and make perfecf sized ice packs to rotate through the freezer. They stay cold for at least 2 hours and can be secured inside a bra or crop top

✅ The truth IS ICE protects your milk supply!

✅ And remember hands off breasts - NO MASSAGING 🙏🙏

I have seen another nasty breast abscess this week with dire consequences for both mum and baby from advice to massage out a blockage and feed more!! 🤯
What this poor mum has been through is just SO sad and even sadder and infuriating when you know it was ALL preventable 😔😡
If only she had found me in the beginning 😔

Seek help from an IBCLC or Dr who is an expert in the new mastitis, engorgement , blockage management recommendations.
Anyone who tells you to massage EVEN gently or to pump/ feed more is NOT an expert 🤷‍♀️

25/09/2025

There is a difference between inflammatory mastitis & infectious mastitis. ✅
The vast majority of mastitis presentations I see on repeat, are inflammatory mastitis.
Very rarely do I come across infectious mastitis unless a mum has massaged or pumped their way to infection.

Many types of inflammation in the body produce redness and systemic symptoms without being infectious.✅
Mastitis symptoms can also mimic panic attack symptoms including sweating, flushing, alternating with shaking chills and racing heart rate.✅
It’s no surprise that there is a huge overlap of panic into a mastitis presentation when a mother fears a sudden infection has developed in her breast out of no where 🤷‍♀️
The FEAR around mastitis is HUGE in both mums and health professionals 😔

Mums will sometimes describe sleeping through the night with their baby, and they awake to mastitis in the morning. It is not physiologically possible to have an infection develop that quickly unless it is an extremely rare flesh-eating bacteria that generally impacts chronically ill people — not healthy mums.
What mums are describing is inflammation and tissue swelling in the setting of transient engorgement.
Cytokines from inflammation can make you feel unwell ✅
We already know this from other areas in medicine 🤷‍♀️

ICE packs should be implemented as soon as possible. ✅
When ICE is used early and consistently swelling, pain and systemic symptoms improve quickly.
Skin redness (erythema) can look worse & spread further before getting better & then quickly disappearing. Erythema typically peaks around day 3 or 4 from the onset of early breast symptoms.

Without question, mums should NOT MASSAGE their breasts as this worsens swelling and pain. It prolongs mastitis and can progress it to infection. ✅

When do you need to worry & seek medical attention??
✅If swelling and pain in your breast is getting worse after 48hrs of consistent frequent icing
✅If you are feeling more unwell with no improvement in the way you feel after 48hrs of consistent frequent icing
✅If the redness on your breast and pain is getting worse after day 4 despite consistent icing.
✅If you have any raised painful hot red lumps ( especially if you have been massaging no matter how gentle)

If concerned or worried about your mastitis symptoms not resolving at any stage seek help from an IBCLC or a GP who IS up to date with CURRENT mastitis management 🙏🙏🙏🙏

There IS a reason why my client population does not fear mastitis or suffer from it’s complications ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅

Eastern Ranges Lactation

04/12/2025

29/11/2025

25/11/2025

20/11/2025

16/11/2025

04/11/2025

31/10/2025

24/10/2025

17/10/2025

08/10/2025

30/09/2025

25/09/2025

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