Wonderfully Made Doula and Lactation Support

02/23/2026

💙Umbilical cord keepsake 💙

W..

Guess baby’s name

02/18/2026

A lot of my consultations are to help moms who think they have a low supply, some of them truly have a low supply, and others don’t, they have a bottle feeding issue.

Wha I mean is, they are producing enough for the baby but whoever is feeding the baby the bottle is not doing a great job.

When bottle feeding a baby it is important to keep in mind that the mechanics of milk removal is a little different, so we have to help the baby pace the flow.

We have to PACE FEED. Pace feeding is not only the positioning of the baby and the bottle, is the active removal, incline and movement of the bottle while the baby is feeding to avoid a constant swallowing that really doesn’t happen at the breast.

When a baby is feeding at the breast they follow a “suck-swallow-rest” rhythm. When we bottle feed and the baby is only swallowing… we have an issue.

Baby will eat faster and more milk than needed, making mom feel like she is not producing enough.
Baby will prefer the fast flow of the bottle, and will reject the breast.
Baby can have excessive gas, colic and reflux.

A simple change can make a big difference ! Bottle feeding should take 10-15 minutes.
Breastfed babies don’t need huge bottles, breastmilk intake doesn’t increase like formula does.
Choose the correct bottle and flow for your baby.

If you need a consultation, I’m here to help!
Home visits Midland -Odessa, virtual appointments and quick phone consultations available.

02/14/2026

Roses are red🌹
Violets are blue 💙
Encapsulate your placenta,
nobody likes postpartum blues. 💊

🤪🎁

02/10/2026

02/01/2026

This stage is all fun and games games until they bite

01/22/2026

⚠️⚠️

⚡️ POWER OUTAGE + BREASTMILK?
Here’s what to do to keep baby and breastmilk safe.

Power went out and you have breastmilk in the fridge/freezer...I know that panic feeling so well, especially when your milk represents HOURS of work and a food source for your baby.

✅ FIRST: Keep fridge/freezer doors CLOSED as much as possible.

MILK IN THE FRIDGE

🧊 If fridge is ≥ 40°F / 4°C for 4+ hours: save for a milk bath.
✅ If still cold (≤ 40°F / 4°C): use within typical timeframe.

MILK IN THE FREEZER

❄️ If milk has ice crystals: SAFE TO REFREEZE
❄️ If milk is fully thawed but still cold: use within 24 hours (do not refreeze- some parent will opt to refreeze based on their own comfort).
🚫 If milk is warm or you’re unsure: save it for a milk bath.

✨ Pro Tip: Move freezer milk to a cooler with ice packs if outage lasts longer than expected.
✨ Pro tip: keep a cheap fridge thermometer inside your fridge/freezer, it makes decisions SO much easier during outages.
milkstash postpartumtips ibclc lactationhub

01/22/2026

With a major winter storm potentially affecting dozens of states, we recognize the concerns many have about stored milk.

Updated to add: A stand alone freezer will maintain temperature for 48 hours in a power outage if unopened. A freezer compartment within a fridge will maintain temperature for 24 hours if unopened.

[Image Description] Photo of a wintery scene. Text on top reads, "Power outage? Worried about your frozen milk? Try to keep the freezer door completely shut while power is out. Once power is restored, check to see if there are any ice crystals that remain in the bags. If there are any frozen ice crystals at all, it may be refrozen." The La Leche League USA logo is below the text.

01/21/2026

Even though there’s not a lot of scientific evidence on the effectiveness of placenta consumption, the anecdotal evidence is all over.
A couple of weeks ago, I took a course about placentophagy and lactation and they mentioned a very interesting study (the oldest and probably just one of the few that’s out there) about one of the observations being the fast weight gain of the baby while mother consume her placenta.
I’ll probably make a video later to talk about it, but I am part of that anecdotal evidence that supports those obeservations: babies whose mother’s were consuming their placenta gained weight faster.
With my first baby, I didn’t consume my placenta and he was always below 50th percentile on the weight charts. With my second baby, I consumed my placenta and from birth to 4-5 months he was above 90th percentile 😳
I am aware of genetics and lactation factors being involved (both kids were exclusively breastfed) … again, just observation.

Send me a DM to chat about it! Book ahead! I already have moms booked for February, March and April!!!!

01/20/2026

Sharing again because I’m not sure why rice cereal still a thing

Skip the rice cereal when introducing foods to your baby!

Why? "Imagine dipping your spoon into a bowl of sugar and feeding baby a spoonful or two, that's essentially what you are doing when you feed your baby rice or grain based cereals." - Dr. Mercola

If that isn't reason enough, here are 10 more reasons to skip rice cereal:

1. Babies produce little to no amylase, which is the enzyme needed to digest grains properly. Infants produce much less pancreatic amylase (the workhorse of starch digestion) than older children do. NOTE: Breastfed babies do receive some amylase from mother’s milk to help digest starch; however, their bodies are much more equipped to digest healthy fats. (1)

2. Rice cereal is nutritionally void. Any iron that is added can easily be obtained through fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish (once baby is 6 months or older). The nonheme iron that is added is not as easily absorbed by the body. Also, rice cereal is refined, meaning that the bran and germ, which contains the most nutrients, have been removed to make it more shelf stable.

3. Doctors used to recommend rice cereal as a method to get baby to sleep longer at night, but research shows that this method does not work. (2)

4. Rice cereal can possibly raise your baby's insulin levels and can increase risk of Type I diabetes according to the Journal of Medical Association. (3)(4)

5. Babies who are fed rice cereal are consuming 3 times more arsenic than adults in relation to body weight. This is true even is the rice cereal is organic. The FDA found that inorganic arsenic exposure in infants and pregnant women can result in a child’s decreased performance on certain developmental tests that measure learning, based on epidemiological evidence including dietary exposures (5)(6)

6. Rice cereal fills your baby's belly and keeps it from getting nutrients from other healthy foods.

7. The undigested grains left in baby's digestive tract can cause an imbalance in gut flora and could potentially cause a whole host of issues such as allergies and weakened immune system.

8. There are much healthier options to offer baby when they are ready for solid food (6 months or older) such as many fruits and vegetables. Remember, just because you may not like a certain food, does not mean that baby will turn their nose up at it. My oldest son actually drank a liver broth that I made on a daily basis for months!

9. Babies need a good amount of fat for their developing brains and nervous system, especially in the first couple of years. Rice cereal does not provide this.

10. Rice cereal was recently found to have high levels of a chemical called perchlorate. This chemicals disrupts thyroid function which is crucial to brain development. (7)

****IF YOU HAVE GIVEN YOUR CHILD RICE CEREAL, YOU ARE NOT A BAD CAREGIVER!! THIS IS MEANT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION SO YOU CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW. YOU’RE AMAZING REGARDLESS ♥️♥️****

🥦Also, check out my post on 10 Best Foods for Baby Published on 1/18/20 at 6pm CST!!!🥑

If you are interested in one-on-one nutrition coaching for you or your children, please contact me at dana@thrivekin.com.

Questions? Feel free to ask me anytime!

Sources:
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8780901/?i=5&from=/6179037/related
(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2672785/
(3) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/197391
(4) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/197392
(5) https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm493740.htm
(6) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2514074
(7)https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf