http://www.kathrynstaggibclc.com/

Kathryn Stagg IBCLC - lactation consultant, Harrow (2025)

08/12/2025

Is it ok to still breastfeed to sleep after 6 months?

Yes yes yes. It's fine to do it for as long as it works for you and your baby/ies
Even at 3.5 years, as one of my followers mentions here. It can be such a lovely way to connect at the end of a busy day, and the sleep hormones continue to work!

Come and find out more at our Understanding Baby's Sleep workshop on Thursday.

Book in my bio or comment SLEEP and I will send you the link to join.
........

05/12/2025

What myths have you heard about baby sleep?

There are some weird and wonderful things involving rods and backs etc.
....

Come and find some evidenced based information on sleep in the first year at our Understanding Baby Sleep workshop, suitable for 0-15 mths

Thurs 11th Dec 12.30-14.30
with myself and as

Comment "Baby Sleep" for the booking link or book in my bio.

And for those of you with toddlers we also have a night weaning and understanding toddler sleep workshop coming up in the new year

04/12/2025

Sometimes, we all just need a listening ear.

03/12/2025

Oversupply part 2 - continuing problems.

If you are finding that you are continuing to have problems with oversupply after the first few weeks, then there are some things that you can try to help

Over-supply can happen for all sorts of reasons. Having to start your breastfeeding journey by exclusive pumping can trigger an over-supply. Sometimes, parents are worried about low supply & start pumping or collecting milk on top of what the baby is taking. Or to relieve engorgement. Some just seem to be naturally prone to oversupply, perhaps due to high prolactin levels or lots of glandular tissue

It can cause short feeds, lots of wind and "colic" symptoms, possetting, reflux, babies won't feed to sleep, green frothy poo, fussy behaviour beyond the normal evening fussiness, baby clicking, slipping off the breast onto the ni**le, breast refusal, increase likelihood of blocked ducts & mastitis

However, a baby who is not feeding effectively can also display these symptoms. Do get support.

Things to help:
*Go back to basics and work on the latch
*Try a more upright position.
*Feed frequently. Don't try to stretch out feeds
*Try to encourage baby to go on both breasts. Sometimes baby will be getting all the milk they need from one. But if they do want a second go, use the other breast
*Try to refrain from pumping
*If you find you have to pump for comfort & are storing a lot of extra milk, try to cut down gradually, reducing the total 24-hour volume a bit every day. You can do this by pumping for less time or cutting one pumping session completely. You do need to feel full for your breasts to realise they need to make less. But if you cut back too quickly, it can cause engorgement and mastitis. It's a balancing act!

Tried all the above? Find an IBCLC to help support you with the following:
*Block feeding: The idea is to only use one breast for a set amount of time, allowing the milk to build up in the other. This sends messages to make less milk. But it's risky & can cause problems. Try for 48 hours only.
*Cabbage leaves and sage: both reduce supply, but use with caution as it can reduce supply too much
*Pseudoephrine reduces supply but also use with caution!

02/12/2025

Over supply part 1 - early days

Do you think you may have an oversupply? Sounds like a good thing? It's actually very difficult to manage! And it can cause babies to be very fussy on the breast and windy and unsettled afterwards.

It's quite common to have a bit of an oversupply when your milk first comes in around 3-5 days in. You may find you have hard, engorged breasts, baby is struggling to latch, and when they do latch, the milk comes out so fast the baby splutters and coughs and comes off.

Here's some tips to deal with it:
* Breastfeed baby frequently. If breasts are left for a long time without milk being removed, it will make the engorgement and fast flow worse.
* Ensure baby has a deep latch. If they are latched on well, they will be able to deal with the flow much better.
* Try feeding baby in an upright position. The baby will often be able to cope with the flow much better if upright.
* Lean back! Gravity actually slows the flow down and makes it easier to feed.
* If baby comes off when the let-down happens, let the milk spray into a muslin cloth. Once it settles, relatch the baby. The flow should have subsided a little.
* You could hand express a little before you start the feed to trigger the let-down reflex. But not too much as this may overstimulate your supply!
* If you feel uncomfortable, try not to succumb to pumping as this will increase your milk supply and make the situation worse.
* If your breasts are too hard and swollen for the baby to latch easily, try reverse pressure softening: place fingers around the ni**le and press into the breast and hold. This will help move the fluid back up into the breast and soften the ar**la, making it easier to latch.
* Gentle lymphatic drainage massage from ni**le up into the armpit helps clear excess fluid into your lymph system
* A cold compress between feeds can relieve swelling.
* Ibuprofen reduces inflammation and also gives pain relief.
* Give it time. Most people find it settles over the first week or two.

Have you had this issue?

01/12/2025

A great way you can access my help is my "IBCLC in your pocket". Especially if I'm booked up like at the moment!

2 weeks Whatsapp support for families.

My guarantee is that I will respond within 24 hours to any questions you may have, in reality it will be much sooner, however it won't be between 10pm-8am GMT. This will be text support, pictures and links etc only, not videocall support. But you can send videos of your baby latching and feeding to help with assessing their latch. This can work really well.

Also good for those of you in different time zones where we may struggle to link up.

Its £50 for two weeks support. You can purchase this on my linktree or my website shop
www.kathrynstaggibclc.com/shop/
Or comment POCKET and I'll send you the link

PLEASE drop me a whatsapp message on +447719312795 to begin your support. I often miss the notification that someone has booked this in amongst my emails, it is very subtle, so sometimes I don't know to start.

You could also buy this as a gift for someone else.

Tag someone who may find this useful

01/12/2025

If this is your first Christmas with your kiddywinkles its now time to think what you want it to look like.

There's actually quite a lot to think it will become a yearly ritual that your kids will come to expect.

Thing I most regret: doing stockings on the end of the bed. As they get older, kids go to bed after their parents! So unless you want to be up until 1 am waiting for them to sleep, definitely do stockings in the living room!

The thing I'm most grateful for: Not doing elf on the shelf!! Far too much like hard work! Dont really like the idea of it anyway.

What are your Christmas traditions? What have you found yourself doing each year that you wish you hadn't started?

30/11/2025

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL!
FINISHING TODAY (Sunday 30th)

Book any of my 30 min or 60 min videocall options for breastfeeding support, holistic sleep support, parenting orchid babies/toddlers, or my antenatal/postnatal packages and get 20% off

Running until the end of 30th Nov.

Book now and use the code BLACKFRI20

Appointments are available throughout December and January.

Book in my bio, comment BOOK or click https://kathrynstaggibclc.as.me

30/11/2025

At what age is it best to start helping babeis sleep better in a routine?

The answer is I can't answer this as it is totally unique to you and your baby. The personality type of your child, your personal circumstances, and your own personality type are all things that influence when and how you start thinking about it. This is why the "off the shelf" info offered by many sleeping training practitioners just often doesn't work. Support needs to be individually tailored to each client.

Plus, expanding on this. You can start from the beginning if you categorise helping a baby to sleep better as breastfeeding to sleep and bedsharing! From a routine point of view, babeis get themselves into patterns of behaviour that can last a few weeks, or even months as they get older. We can tweak them a bit if they dont exactly fit easily, but generally, as soon as you settle in something that works, the child has a leap in development, and you need to re-evaluate everything again.

Once you're past 6 mths its safe to leave your baby on their own to sleep. This can be the start of an earlier bedtime if you have a baby who likes an early bedtime, that is!

Once you're on 2 or 3 meals a day and you're down to 2 or 3 naps a day, you tend to have much more of a predictable daytime routine. That's often 8-10 mths. But each time they start the proces of dropping a nap, it all becomes a bit chaotic again for a while.

But we still need to be responsive. Gentle nudges in the right direction are what I normally suggest in my holistic sleep coaching sessions. Lots of small changes are far easier to manage for everyone than big changes. And there are often many small steps towards a sleep goal, whatever that is.

So, as you can see - IT'S COMPLICATED!
Or you can view it as incredibly simple if you just respond to your child's changing needs .

29/11/2025

Signed copies of my book available!!
UK only I'm afraid
Are you expecting twins or triplets? Do you know someone who is expecting twins or triplets? Or someone who is training as a breastfeeding supporter and would like this to expand their knowledge.

Comment TWINS BOOK, and I will send you the link to order.
Or go to my bio
Or https://kathryn-stagg-ibclc.sumupstore.com/

When you check out, there is a box that says, "Your message for the merchant." Please write here who you would like me to name or if you want anything specific written. Otherwise, I will just sign my name.

Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets; a guide for covers antenatal info, premature delivery, expressing, 36/7 wk birth, triple feeding, how to stop triple feeding, tandem feeding, and lots of info on breastfeeding after the early days like starting solids, returning to Work etc. It's a mix of more in-depth information, easy to read tips, and personal stories.

Amazon Review:
"I was recommended this book when I was supported by lactation consultant in the early days with my twins. The book is an easy read with lots of practical support, diagrams, and even sections on different stages of prematurity, which helped me understand the difficulties I was having so much better. It also empowered me to continue with the breastfeeding journey when things were really tough and believe I could move away from top ups, I can proudly say I am now EBF my 5 month olds and can thank Kathryn Stagg and her book for supporting me on this journey."

29/11/2025

Are you a , , , , , traineehealthvisitor, traineemidwife, student or doula or another professional who supports multiple birth families?

Supporting Breastfeeding Multiples is a 2 hour workshop on Zoom, aimed at health care professionals and breastfeeding supporters.

Choose from 3 dates:
Friday 12th December
Friday 6th February
Friday 20th Mar

12:00-14:00

This session will help you understand the challenges of multiple pregnancy and birth, the impact of premature birth on establishing breastfeeding multiples, the impact of late preterm/early term birth on establishing breastfeeding multiples, how to navigate the challenges of breastfeeding multiples and how to support families effectively during the different stages of their breastfeeding journeys.

The session will be hosted on Zoom and presented by , founder of Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets UK Facebook group and website. All profits will go to Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets UK charity, 1187134

This webinar will be recorded and available to watch after the event.

To book your place, comment WEBINAR below or use the link in our bio!

£25 for health care professionals
£5 for volunteers and students

29/11/2025

Will you just tell me to bedshare?

No, I won't just tell you to bed share. Bed sharing is a tool I talk about, but there are also lots of other tools. We discuss your particular situation, where you're at, what you have tried. I talk through the reasons why it may be happening. Gaining understanding of why can help hugely. The we collaborate and come up with some things to try, thinking about what to try first, then some other longer term thungs

My calls are either 60 mins or 30 mins. Most people book a 60 mins one unless they just have a few questions. They will then sometimes choose to have a 30 min follow up a bit later down the line. Basically, you can book however many you feel you need. That is how I keep the cost down.

Book now if you would like to take advantage of my Black Friday deal. I have slots throughout Dec and Jan.

Comment SLEEP if you would like me to DM you the link.

Kathryn Stagg IBCLC - lactation consultant

08/12/2025

05/12/2025

04/12/2025

03/12/2025

02/12/2025

01/12/2025

01/12/2025

30/11/2025

30/11/2025

29/11/2025

29/11/2025

29/11/2025

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