Primal Roots: Birth & Postpartum Support

08/15/2018

A good friend shared this with me today. Not sure on source but it's a great reminder.

Not all families are as they appear.

I see you

07/14/2018

London & area families!

We're happy to announce that beginning in August, Q***r Events will be hosting a monthly Q***r Family Playtime that takes place on the 2nd Saturday of each month from 10am to noon for q***r and trans families to celebrate LGBT2Q+ diversity. Our playroom is a fun, safe and positive space for families of diverse identities to meet, play, learn and grow with each other. Families can enjoy playing together, and parents and caregivers will have an opportunity to connect with other parents and caregivers.

08/28/2017

quick reminder.

Advertisement from Ontario Canada. Not only are they supporting women to breastfeed anywhere they happen to be but this woman is breastfeeding a toddler! Yay! Now let's try to roll this campaign out into the rest of the world...

07/25/2017

That moment

07/20/2017

Supporting your child through transition is A LOT more than just saying "I support you.". Support is an action, it takes work. It means being involved and interested. It means going out of your way to educate yourself. It's not dismissive or punitive. Support is working on yourself so that you can be the parent your child needs...and your child will need you. Support is trust. Support is enthusiasm. Support is the absence of shame in the face of doubt. Support is putting your own s**t aside and listening with your heart. It's the most important thing you can do.

05/27/2017

Important.

Lip Appearance During Overuse

I’ve written previously about the importance of recognizing compensations when trying to improve infant feeding quality.

Instead of “we need to get the baby’s mouth bigger”, we should ask “Why is the baby keeping his mouth so small?”
Instead of “you need to flip those lips out”, we should ask “why is the baby pursing her lips in so tightly?”
Instead of “lip blisters are totally normal”, we should ask “are blisters anywhere else considered to be normal?”

I would argue that the #1 compensation that is made by a tongue-tied baby is overuse of the lips. If the tongue cannot hold the seal, then the baby cannot generate a vacuum. Without that vacuum, there’s no feeding. So what does the tongue-tied baby do? They use their lips.

So what’s the big deal about using the lips? Well, lots. First, the baby cannot use the lips and maintain a wide latch at the same time. To achieve a compensatory seal with the lips, the baby turns the ni**le into a straw. If the baby is holding the latch up front with the lips, that means that there’s no contact between the tongue and breast. Since we already have several studies demonstrating that mid-tongue elevation of the breast to the palate is the key to generating a normal vacuum, the baby who uses their lips must generate the vacuum in a different manner: jaw muscles. That’s why they bite down. That’s why they fatigue so quickly and fall asleep. That’s why mom can have residual milk despite feeding the baby at the breast.

Lip blisters can be pretty dramatic. Chafing and chapping are also frequently seen and are the precursor to blisters. One more sign that’s important to recognize: two-tone lips (see picture). If the baby pops off the breast and the inside portion of the lips are pale, it’s a good indication that the baby is overusing the lips. In chronic cases, the lips remain pale even between feedings. There’s often a thin rim of pink around the pale lips.

Keep your eyes out for these signs. Question your lactation consultants and primary doctors if you’re told it’s normal. It’s not.

03/10/2017

Good morning. I've been waiting for the right moment to present my list of grievances and this seems like a good time.

1. My birth. It was annoying.

2. My blanket slid six inches to the left last night exposing a large section of my right foot to the elements.

3. Everything, including my sheets, fell out of my bed. It's easy to point fingers but gravity was partially responsible.

4. When I pressed my index finger into your cornea earlier this morning, you screamed and startled me. I'd like an apology.

5. My diaper is heavy with approximately 16lbs of pungent urine because you're buying the cheapies again.

6. I woke up starving because you continue to make dinners that ignore my strict dietary restrictions. I'm fasting except for ziploc bags of crackers.

7. I heard the toilet flush around midnight which means you used the bathroom without me. There are no words. Just tears.

8. I still can't fly.

Please get back to me by day's end with how you plan to heal our relationship. In the meantime you can rub my back. Thank you.

Cereal.

03/09/2017

Just BREATHE!

02/28/2017

The truest.

02/23/2017

The best.

The winners of the 2017 Image of the Year are awesome in the truest sense of the word — each photo captures a magical moment in a woman’s labor.

02/17/2017

“You feel empty, you feel guilty, like you’ve failed your baby somehow.”