Lycoming Lactation

03/27/2026

✨️That Is All✨️

03/24/2026

You may have heard of Linda Smith's 3 rules of lactation, but let's review:

👶 Feed the baby - any way you can. That may look like hand expression, pumping, donor milk, or formula (or a combination of all the above).

🐄 Protect your supply. At a very basic level, your body needs frequent and effective milk removal to increase your milk making hormones that signal to your body to increase your supply.

🤱Keep the breast a happy place for you and baby. If there is constant frustration when trying to latch baby, that can reinforce stress signals for both of you when baby is at the breast. Skin-to-skin, baby wearing, skin-to-skin while baby wearing, co-bathing, contact naps, offering the breast for dessert are all tools to try when feeding is hard. Changing the focus from feeding to bonding can change the relationship you have with your baby. And who doesn't want to enjoy this time with our newborns?

Please reach out if feeding is feeling hard to you and your baby. IBCLCs can help get things back on track, especially if you are experiencing ni**le pain/discomfort/ damage, supply concerns, breast inflammation like plugged ducts and mastitis, discomfort with pumping, ect..

03/21/2026

Thanks Babies in Common for the shout out! I love what I do and the families that I accept me into their homes. ❤️

📍Williamsport, Pennsylvania & virtually worldwide 🌎

✨ Meet Stephanie Bower, RN, IBCLC — an experienced infant feeding specialist dedicated to providing holistic, evidence-based lactation support. Stephanie helps families navigate breastfeeding challenges by identifying and addressing the root causes of feeding difficulties.

With advanced training in oral assessments and infant feeding function, her special interests include tethered oral tissues (tongue, lip, and buccal ties) and supporting babies before and after oral tie release. She is also a Myomunchee practitioner and integrates manual therapy concepts including Craniosacral Fascial Therapy (CFT), John Barnes Myofascial Release (MFR), and Craniosacral Therapy (CST).

Stephanie offers compassionate, respectful care with the goal of empowering families to meet their feeding goals. 🤍
https://www.babiesincommon.com/directory/item/stephanie-bower-rn-ibclc

Do you know about the Babies in Common Professionals Directory?⁠
👶🏼 👶🏿 👶🏽 👶 If you are a parent, parent-to-be, or someone who works with families who are feeding 👶🏼 👶🏿 👶🏽 👶 👶🏼 👶🏿 babies: then our Directory may come in handy🖐 for you, no matter where in the world 🌎 you are (or the person you are supporting is).⁠
🔎 Find lactation professionals who have taken one of our pumping-related courses and are committed to helping families get support with pumping, fl**ge fitting, and so much more. ⁠
⏰ From time to time, we'll be posting about Directory members so you can learn about the services they provide. ⁠
👁️ 👁️ Check out the Directory soon--and notice that it's an attractive format and providers are searchable by name, practice location, state/province, country...⁠
babiesincommon(dot)com/directory⁠
⁠ **gesizematters

03/17/2026

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a pumping and fl**ge fitting conference at beautiful Inspira Medical Center in Mullia Hill, NJ. It's always a great time coming together with other IBCLCs to level up our skills for our clients.

Let me tell you a few things I learned:

🚫Pumping is NOT supposed to hurt
✅️Pumping should be comfortable
✅️Measure the TIP of the ni**le not the base
✅️Hard plastic fl**ges are preferred over silicon fl**ges or inserts
🤷‍♀️Just having a measurement taken doesn't mean that is your fl**ge size
🚫Wearables generally aren't going to sustain a milk supply as a primary pump
🎉Save the one thing you look forward to doing when you pump. For example, watching a certain show, listening to your favorite music, eating your favorite snack, practicing meditation.

During a fl**ge fitting, you switch fl**ge sizes and shapes to determine what feels the breast and gives you the most amount of sprays.

If you are interested in having pumping feel better, reach out for a fl**ge fitting!

03/10/2026

A Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a great lab test that is quick and easy to obtain and provides SO much valuable information and insight regarding your health at a cellular level.

It differs from a blood test in that it looks back at the last 3 months' minerals ratios, patterns, toxic metals, stress and overload on the system.

Everyone benefits from knowing how our body is handling stress, inflammation, detoxification and energy utilization. If you are having symptoms of chronic fatigue, brain fog, digestive and skin disorders, this test is for you!

DM for details!

03/07/2026

I love testimonials like this. The foundation of good latching is tapping into a bay’s reflexes. DM me for details.

03/03/2026

Over the last several months, I've worked hard learning Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. And let me tell you how blown away I am from this cost effective and simple test.

I learned that:

🧠 Trauma and stress create mineral patterns that block thyroid function at the cellular level - patterns blood work cannot see

💎 The Ca/K ratio reveals thyroid function where it actually matters - in your cells, not your bloodstream

😰 Nervous system dysregulation shows up in minerals long before symptoms appear

🔬 You can have "perfect" blood work and severe cellular dysfunction simultaneously

🎯 Cookie-cutter protocols fail because every cellular blueprint is unique

and SO much more....

Performing an HTMA can be helpful if you have experienced infertility, low milk supply, over-supply issues, metabolic concerns or just to fine tune your health.

Instead of guessing, Iet's test cellular function because that is where dysfunction occurs first. I want to help you be your own best self-healer and help you create a plan based on your own unique mineral patterns and stress response.

The biggest breakthrough was understanding that healing happens at the cellular level - and you can't address what you can't measure.

DM me for details when you are ready to feel like your best self!

02/19/2026

I am getting ready to do some additional educational content about fl**ge fitting and many people need to get lactation care via video consult, it's the reality of life today. I'd like to find three people with whom I can provide a fl**ge fitting via video consult, but it will be recorded and made into educational content for lactation care providers.

I'm looking for people who are:
🇱🇷 pumping in the United States (sorry, this is for ease of getting fl**ges to you!)
😫 are experiencing discomfort, pain, or damage from pumping
and/or not yielding as much milk as you think you could yield
👩🏾👩🏻👩🏼 2 of the three volunteers would ideally be people of color (representation matters and we don't have enough people of color represented in educational content, I'm hoping to help change that!)
📅 These sessions would happen in the next two weeks.

Your face will not end up being in the final content, for privacy purposes.

Those who are selected will receive FREE fl**ges(sent to you ahead of time) and a FREE virtual fl**ge fitting with me, Jeanette Mesite Frem, the creator of the Fl**ge FITS Guide.

Apply by 2/20 via email at jeanette@babiesincommon.com

In the email, let me know how old your baby is, which pump you are using, which fl**ges you have tried pumping with, your current pumping situation as far as comfort and how much milk you get, and what you are looking for help with and what you have tried so far.

If you are not chosen, I will be able to connect you with my colleagues who can help you, either in person or virtually, based on where you live, as I have colleagues around the world who are doing fl**ge fittings based on what they have learned from me and my Guide. :)

Apply today! Only three spots available!

**gesizematters **geFITSGuide

02/16/2026

I get this question often: what exactly IS the tip 🗻 of the ni**le that we're supposed to measure 📏 for fl**ge fitting?

For some people, the tip is more obvious 👀 than for others, this is true.
Ultimately, the good news 📰 (I hope) is that measuring (or assessing) the tip diameter is just a starting point.

Pumping should feel like "nothing" or "a gentle tug". If it hurts, it's not the right size. Sometimes going smaller than you even think will fit helps you find the right size. It's an art, not a science...and the person pumping ultimately has to decide what feels best AND gets the most milk out.
Fl**ges come as small as 9mm (the diameter of the tunnel).

There are also different shapes of fl**ges and different materials. All of these factors influence comfort and milk flow.

To learn more about fl**ge fitting as a person who plans to pump, is pumping, or helps other people with pumping, see https://www.babiesincommon.com

Or, post your questions below or DM me!

~ Jeanette Mesite Frem, MHS, IBCLC, CCE
Creator of the Fl**ge FITS Guide

**gesizematters **geFITS

02/06/2026

Assessing for oral ties is much more than taking a peek under a baby's tongue. Oral ties should be assessed by someone with advanced training, such as an IBCLC.

📄One of the first steps I take when assessing for ties is to gather a thorough intake and history. I learn about what symptoms the dyad (mom and baby) are having. This can give clues to what could be going on.

🤱Next, it is important to observe a feeding at the breast. Is the baby positioned well? Does the baby have postural stability? Is mom comfortable? Can latching be easier for mom and baby to help the mouth work better and decrease compensations?

👅The last step is to physically perform an oral assessment. This entails observing reflexes in the baby's mouth, looking at the 7 frena (under each lip, top and bottom cheeks and under the tongue), and feeling the tension with my finger in those areas.

😷As you can see, just *peeking* in a baby's mouth doesn't cut it. If you and/or your baby are having symptoms and your healthcare provider tells you there are no ties without going through the above steps - time for a second opinion!

*Just my opinion*😉

02/04/2026

Expanding services include HTMA coaching and infant and adult craniosacral and myofascial techniques. The mission of this business continues to grow and evolve into helping you on a mind, body, and spirit level .

Good news! You don't have to be pregnant or lactating to benefit from the new services being offered!

If this post resonates with you, DM me to schedule an appointment.

01/30/2026

Newborn visits are some of my favorite consults to go to. Why you ask? Well, let me tell you.

During a Newborn consult we:

🌟Practice reflexive latching and positioning that's rarely taught in the hospital.

🌟Improve pain and trauma from the first few days of learning to help baby with latching

🌟Engorgement relief through icing, breast gymnastics, reverse pressure softening, and some hand expression

🌟You learn how signs that baby is getting enough and when interventions might be necessary.

🌟Identify what swallowing with larger volumes looks like
..and SO much more! DM me if you are interested in a visit in the first week of having your sweet babe!


breastfeeding lactation breastfeedingsupport breastfeedingprofessionals lactationprofessionals breastfeedingpa