As great as working from home can be for parents with babies and toddlers to care for, there are some dangerous downsides to be aware of. For one, working from home can oftentimes be harmful to our mental well-being — especially in the age of COVID-19. Below, we explore the psychological effects of working from home — and the things you can do to keep your physical, mental, and emotional health in check while balancing the many demands of family, work, and modern-day life. The Dark Side of Teleworking According to a recent poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 53 percent of ad ..read more

If you have a great business idea and a passion for entrepreneurship, there’s no need to put your startup plans on hold until after you’ve welcomed your little one into the world and adjusted to life as a parent. It certainly won’t be easy, but it’s very possible to juggle parenthood with business ownership. And fortunately, plenty of strategies, tools, and resources are available to guide you along the way — starting with these five tips from the lactation consultants at Sweet Songs Breastfeeding. 1. Do as Much as Possible Before Baby Arrives Whether your little one is due in six months or s ..read more

Maybe you are an exclusive pumper (major props!), or maybe you pump while at work (working mom-go you!), or maybe your pump only comes out for the occasional date night (woohoo date night!). In any case there is a chance you want to maximize your time spent hooked up and increase your overall output, right? Making milk through a cold, faceless machine isn’t always fun and can be downright challenging. Your body is programmed to respond to the warmth, smell and touch of your little one at the breast, but we know that isn’t always the reality. ,First things first: Make sure your pump parts work ..read more

Today I’m going to get a little deep-stay with me. I want to discuss a more spiritual whole-person approach to breastfeeding through the lens of life practices, a mantra, or the golden rules that challenge one to live with true freedom and on their own path. I want to discuss the Four Agreements. Have you heard of them? They are: Be Impeccable with Your Word Don’t take Anything Personally Don’t Make Assumptions Always do Your Best They sound deceptively simple, right? But these agreements can fly in the face of modern day life and adhering to them can be challenging in terms of all that we ..read more

I’m not. Nope, not at all. Not as a lactation consultant and certainly not as a mother. Let me back up. Why am I writing about this? At a recent home consultation I was working with a mother who had delivered by cesarean birth. When I casually commiserated about the abdominal pain and difficult recovery following a cesarean birth she stopped me. “You had a cesarean birth?! You?! I thought you likely had a non-medicated home birth with no interventions and no complications and breastfeeding was super easy and amazing!” That’s when it hit me. My clients often think I come to this work from a pl ..read more

Baby Showers are super fun. At least I think so! When you get that invitation, you first look at their baby registry for gift ideas, of course, but you might also think outside the box for a gift if you know your friend intends to breastfeed. With all the parenting gadgets and so-called “must haves”, we’ve taken the guess work out of finding the right gift. As IBCLCs we’ve seen what has worked and what hasn’t over the years. So we’ve gathered a few ideas for breastfeeding-friendly gifts for your mom-to-be. We think she’ll like them! 1. Comfy pajamas. Now comfy pajamas might be appropriate for ..read more

This past week we celebrated World Doula Week 2018.The purpose of World Doula Week (WDW) is to empower doulas all over the world to improve the physiological, social, emotional, and psychological health of women, newborns and families in birth and in the postpartum period. In an effort to highlight the work of doulas right here in the Tampa Bay community we set out to interview some of the leaders in labor and postpartum support. We are honored to share the passion, experience and words of wisdom from Taylor Bland of Trinity Caim Birth Services, Yamel Belen of One Love Doula Services, Cheryl ..read more

Today's blog post is all about exercising in the postpartum. You know you can do that, right?! We get so many questions about this topic and specifically about breastfeeding and exercise. To expound on the subject, I thought I'd ask Tamara Rouseff of Mother Earth Strength a Birthfit coach local to Tampa Bay. You can read more about her here; she's pretty amazing. Happy Reading! Every person, mothers included, should have something that is their stress reliever and makes them happy. For me, that important self-care activity is exercise. I used to be very heavy, but have gotten healthy through ..read more

Today's breastfeeding story comes from Amanda and baby Issac. Amanda is a fellow military spouse and very compassionate soul. We worked with her and her sweet family last year and we were moved by their love and patience during their many challenges. Amanda has graciously shared their story in her own words. We are so grateful! P.S. we are so happy to share this lovely picture from her birth. Thank you to Melissa Bonacci Photography! Actually, the title should be, “Attempting to Nurse Isaac…” Breastfeeding is a funny thing. Especially when its the 4th child. You think the baby will come out a ..read more

We began working with Rachel and JJ back in December. They worked incredibly hard to overcome their breastfeeding challenges over the course of nearly two months. For this reason, I knew I wanted to highlight their story in hopes of inspiring other new mothers. Of course, I have to give a big thank you to Rachel (and JJ) for allowing us to share. Enjoy! I knew that I wanted to try to breastfeed my son. I work in healthcare so I am aware of the benefits of breastfeeding to mom and baby. I also knew that it would be hard. I had heard from many friends that breastfeeding is a challenge. The thou ..read more