Springtides Infant Feeding - Alice Privett IBCLC

03/12/2025

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21/11/2025

Lymphatic Drainage Massage..
is a technique that supports the movement of lymph fluid through the breast and chest area. The lymphatic system helps clear excess fluid, reduce inflammation, and remove cellular waste. Because breast tissue has no muscles to pump lymph on its own, light external stimulation can help encourage flow, particularly when there’s swelling, engorgement, or blocked ducts.

Uses very light pressure (like stroking a kitten)- we want to avoid causing any further inflammation.
Movements typically direct fluid away from the breast and toward the armpit, collarbone, and sternum where major lymph nodes sit.
Can relieve fullness, swelling, and tenderness, and help prevent or ease clogged ducts by reducing congestion in the surrounding tissue.

Works best when combined with normal lymph-moving actions like deep breathing, gentle shoulder movement, and comfortable postural support.

19/11/2025

Burping!

“Despite its near-universal application, scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of burping in healthy term infants remains limited and conflicting.”

(James & Savargaonkar (2025), “Science of the burp: understanding aerophagia and eructation in newborns”).

So what does that mean for you and your baby?
Tune in to their cues and experiment. Are they calm and content drifting off after a feed, or do they settle better with a little movement, a cuddle, or being held in a certain position? The evidence we currently have says that there is no proven ‘right’ or ‘wrong’- so you can follow your baby and your instinct. I think that is liberating!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A_88kyL3sHA

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09/11/2025

07/11/2025

To burp or not to burp?

Not all breast fed babies need it and a lot of the time they will bring up a burp themselves. If they do need it, they’re going to let you know, and if they don’t need it they’ll just be relaxed, awake or asleep. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…
However, if they are frizzy, uncomfortable or upset after a feed, certainly give it a go (along with wearing your baby in a sling or carrier, having them in contact with your body, moving their legs or trying tiger in a tree hold).
If they’re upset and grizzly after every feed, and particularly if burping isn’t working, maybe look for some support with feeding to see if things can be improved for you both.

05/11/2025

Breast refusal- have you experienced this?

1) stay calm! Keep offering the breast without pressure or stress (as hard as it is) and stay confident that your baby does want to feed from you- they’re just having a tricky time communicating what’s going on right now
2) protect your milk supply while they’re not feeding directly by expressing when they miss a feed
3) have a think about what is going on and seek qualified support

Breast refusal is surprisingly common but most babies will get back there given the right support (and that means the parents need to be supported, too ❤️)

31/10/2025

🦇🎃 Bat milk vs. human milk: here are some random milk facts for Halloween, you’re welcome.

Bat moms carry their pups for just a few days before leaving them in nursery roosts, so their milk is dense, low in carbs, fatty, and packed with protein to allow fast muscle growth for their wings. Once they get past this stage they feed much more infrequently whilst their parent leave to forage for food.

Although human babies are also ‘carry mammals’, we need to be carried for much longer and fed much more frequently to allow our much bigger brains (relative to our size) and bodies to grow exponentially after birth. Our milk is much higher in lactose, (the carb), which feeds our brain, and much lower in fat and protein. This means we gotta feed often, night and day, while our bodies are developing.
Happy Halloween!

30/09/2025

Shallow latch issues?

Always try tweaking your positioning and attachment (ie LATCH!) first!
Keeping your babe in a straight line,
Bring their feet down and away from the breast.
*If you’re using a cradle position, this would be horizontally away from the ni**le. If you’re in rugby, you’re bringing them back behind you - so move forward away from the back of the chair/sofa to create space!*
You’re looking for their chin to hit the breast/chest tissue first, which should encourage them to open wide, so keep them really close to your body.
If you need to help them on at all, squeezing their bum/ back of their shoulder blades, or around the base of their neck - never behind their head which will cause them to tense up.

BEFORE YOU DO ALL OF THIS…

Try reclining/lying back if that is possible!

If things aren’t working for you, find your nearest support group or IBCLC!

30/09/2025

How much milk is ‘normal’ to express?

Between 1-6 months, a breast/chest fed baby drinks an average of 750ml (25 oz) per day, and this amount doesn’t increase as they get older!. If you’re expressing exclusively and aiming to build a full supply, this is a rough amount to aim for.

However, if you’re exclusively breast/chest feeding and trying to pump as well, sources state that ‘normal’ output could be ½-2 oz (both breasts) per session - thats anywhere between 15-60ml. - So it is ‘normal’ for most people to need a few pump sessions to make up ‘a feed’ (and of course feed sizes vary too!). When parents see pictures of enormous pumped bottles like this, it can understandably put the fear in them.
At the end of the day, ‘normal’ pumping depends on a variety of factors including our aims, our bodies, our babies and our journeys up until the point at which we start. It can be really helpful to talk these things through with someone qualified, and also to consider:

🍉How much we’re aiming to pump, and why
🥝What kind of pump we are using - old/new, wearable, double, single - the list goes on…
🍒Is our fl**ge correctly fitted
🥑Are we maximising our oxytocin before and during pumping - this controls our ‘letdown’ of milk

Fruit for thought! 🍉🍇🍒.

30/09/2025

What do you feel when you see this picture?

I have very strong memories of
Cluster feeds with my first baby in a darkened room, to try and ‘get him to sleep better’ (!!!) whilst I watched hours of TV to try and distract myself, and also pumping at 3am while he fed the other side, to try and get milk for a bottle to give my sore ni**les a break the next day
(* I had lots of painful feeding issues and no support for the first few weeks!*)

Typing very slowly with one hand, trying to do write ups after lactation consults while my 2nd baby slept on me/ nursed

With both kids I have struggled, as many people I speak to seem to struggle, with feelings of guilt around not being ‘present’ enough. It is an ongoing process for me, to try and remind myself that I am juggling a lot and guilt certainly isn’t going to be helpful to me as I try to navigate my life with two kids and freelance work.
In this picture I see a mum who is trying to get some rest, whilst she also maybe entertains herself, distracts herself, or gets some work done, whilst her baby also relaxes - with the thing they most need - her physical presence and proximity.

What does this bring up for you?

30/09/2025

Rugby position how-to!
Not my fave but can definitely be useful in some cases so it’s worth knowing how to problem solve. What’s your experience?

26/09/2025

Laid back feeding how-to!

Get comfy… you deserve it (and so does your babe!)