The Gentle Village

Welcome to Our New Mentee! 🌟

We are beyond excited to introduce Cheryl, our newest mentee, and a student IBCLC, who will be joining our village! 🎉

Cheryl is ready to dive into the wonderful world of lactation with a heart full of passion, dedication and a blazing fire to learn!

Swipe ➡️ to read Cheryl’s story and her why for wanting to be an IBCLC.

We know that Cheryl’s enthusiasm and fresh perspective will bring a delightful energy to our village. The minute we met Cheryl we knew she was the perfect fit for our families and we can’t wait for you to meet her and help her on the road to becoming an IBCLC with us.

Help us give Cheryl the warmest of welcomes! Let’s make sure her journey with us is filled with lots of love, learning, laughter, mama and baby cuddles and lots of support!

Welcome to The Gentle Village, Cheryl! 🌟 Let’s make magic happen together! ✨

Does your baby have any or most of these symptoms of reflux/silent reflux?

Silent reflux/reflux is not always about frequent spit ups or vomits and poor weight gain! A whole body approach and wellbeing for your baby should be considered!

A refluxy baby not only affects them but the family unit, as a whole! So if your baby is experiencing any of these symptoms and your mama gut is telling you it doesn’t feel right - trust that instinct and find someone who will help you get to the root cause of your baby’s reflux.

Make sure to share this with someone who may need to see this post! ❤️

Have a question about reflux in babies? Pop your question below 👇🏻 (general education only, no medical advice will be given).

We often get asked, as IBCLCs, if we can help either formula feeding babies and the short answer is, YES!!!

There is a common misconception that IBCLCs can’t help with formula feeding mums and bubs but we’re here to tell you that we help you feed your baby no matter which method you choose!

Personally, we find the pressure is on with bottle fed babies because if we can’t get your bottle fed baby to feed efficiently, there’s no other option!

We welcome the challenge! Suggesting the right formula or bottles and teats for your baby is no easy task. There’s a lot an IBCLC should be doing (as you can see from our post) before making any recommendations!

Formula it’s important for many babies. Some families use formula by choice and others do not have a choice! We’re here to say that we help you no matter how you choose to feed your baby!

✨ We have something very special coming up in the next few weeks that has been designed to help our 🍼 families! Stay tuned, we’re so excited! 🎉

Not sure how to help your bottle feeding baby, you just know it doesn’t feel right and you need help? Book in a free 10 minute discovery call with us now! Link in bio to book.

School holidays begin at the end of next week, which means some family time with our big kiddies for the first two weeks of July!

We do still have some appointment times available for next week and some spots available (not many) over the first two weeks of July. We’ll be back to working our regular hours from the 16th of July 2024.

Make sure to keep an eye out for updates on our revised schedule! We do have a lot more flexibility with our virtual consultations so make sure to contact [email protected] to book your virtual consult in! ❤️

I’m just lost for words! They’re innocent babies! 💔

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Navigating cows milk protein allergies in your baby, or any other food allergy, can be very overwhelming! We totally understand, these cows milk proteins are complicated things!

There are two main types of cows milk protein allergy (CMPA): IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated.

1. IgE-mediated CMPA: This type of allergy involves the immune system producing an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) in response to cows milk protein. Symptoms can be immediate and severe, such as hives, swelling, and even anaphylaxis.

2. Non-IgE-mediated CMPA: In this type, the immune response is not mediated by IgE antibodies. Symptoms are often delayed (can take anywhere from a couple of hours to a few days!) and can include eczema (and cradle cap), gastrointestinal issues, and respiratory problems.

Unlike IgE CMPA, non IgE CMPA cannot be diagnosed by a blood or skin prick test. This is the elimination diet process and it is diagnosed based on history and symptoms. For this reason, this type of diagnosis can take weeks or even months.

So let’s try and simplify it even further for you…CMPA is the most common allergy in infants, and the skin manifestations mentioned above are often a key indicator of CMPA. So If your baby is showing skin symptoms such as eczema, hives, or rashes, it could be a sign of cows milk protein allergy (CMPA). Seeking support with an IBCLC or another trusted healthcare provider will be able to provide you with guidance and support on managing your baby’s allergy.

What symptom did you first notice in your baby before they were diagnosed with CMPA?

Happy international day of the midwife to myself, Mel and midwives around the world! 🌏

What we do extends well beyond helping mamas welcome their baby into this world. Midwives are with you throughout your pregnancy, labour and birth and your postpartum journey.

We are here to not only physically care for you but to also advocate, empower mamas and their families through education and continuity of care.

We absolutely love helping our mamas throughout their pregnancy or supporting them through education! I love seeing a mamas fire light up when they know they don’t need to fear their body. That they have autonomy and a say in what they envision their birth to look like!

As midwives, Mel and I never take what we do for granted! We know that your birth matters because your birth experience can shape your postpartum journey and your relationship with your new family (as IBCLCs as well we see it every day!)

Your trust in us is something a midwife should never take for granted. Why? Because your birth experience matters and it’s an experience you’ll never forget!

We’d love to know what your experience with either your private midwife or hospital midwife was like?

Were you told that your baby’s reflux was due to your baby having a weak gastro oesophageal sphincter and not to worry about it because they would “grow out of it”?

To some extent, this is true - but not for ALL babies! Otherwise, why do most babies NOT spit up? Or suffer from reflux/silent reflux? If all babies have the same immature sphincter - why are some babies refluxy only? 🤔

This is why for the majority of babies - reflux is a symptom and not a diagnosis! What this means is that there is SOMETHING causing or triggering your baby to have reflux symptoms and causing your baby’s discomfort or pain.

There is only one way to help your refluxy baby and that’s by getting to the root cause of WHY your baby is experiencing their symptoms!

Unfortunately, reflux symptoms can have so many root causes - more than what is in our post! This is why it can be tricky to navigate this process on your own.

So, if you find that you’re needing help figuring out what is causing your baby’s reflux, we can help!

Were your concerns about your baby’s reflux taken seriously?

Continuing to stay silent to the atrocities that are occurring to innocent men, women and children after almost 7 months is beyond comprehensible!

“Neutrality is no longer an option- what are your values and how are they leading you to show up during these times- almost 7 months into this horror?

Staying neutral and distant is harmful to the collective. If we’re not going to stand together during a time like this, when will we?” - has said it perfectly!

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School holidays are creeping up again! This means our availability will be limited during the Easter holidays as we spend time with our little (not so little) babies.

Dates that will be affected 👇🏻

‼️ 28th of March 2024 to the 14th of April 2024 ‼️

During these dates our availability will be significantly reduced for in-home appointments. However, virtual consultations can be accommodated by contacting [email protected] or (08) 6404 4174

If you’re needing IBCLC or tongue tie support, now is the time to book as we only have a few days available over these next two weeks 🏃🏽‍♀️ ❤️

My little loves continue to stand by me for a ,they are here with me raising their voice to stop the killing and starvation of innocent men, women, children and babies!

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Do you know the history behind International Women’s Day?

The idea behind a women’s day originated in U.S. in 1909 pushing for a global commemoration. Events occurred throughout Europe after this and during World War I, women were protesting the war, from 1914 to 1918.

International Women’s Day was observed on March 8 after a massive protest in Russia on the 23rd of February 1917. This women-led protest led to Russia’s eventual withdrawal from the war, after women went out on the streets and protested for bread and peace! The commemorated this day, as a holiday in some countries in 1975.

So today’s theme for International Women’s Day is about - ironic considering what’s happening to women around the world, especially in Palestine and those who speak up about the inhumane murder and war crimes that are being committed to Palestinians.

Today, I’m honouring and celebrating the incredibly strong and brave female (and male) journalists in Palestine that helped open my eyes and have inspired me to raise my voice, like and .harazeen and for all the women around the world who are inspiring inclusion by speaking up for the people of Palestine, even when its cost them their jobs and safety! and so many more are helping change the world for the better! Because inclusion shouldn’t matter where you are from, your skin colour or religion! 🇵🇸❤️

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We love these positive outcomes! ❤️

One week review post tongue-tie release for 4 month old

Here’s a bub who had a rough feeding journey, that created a lot of stress for the family.

There were difficulties latching from the start. Mum tried everything - private lactation support, the breastfeeding centre, ni**le shields, expressing, triple feeding, chiro, different bottles. Eventually mum was forced to make the decision it was too distressing to continue breastfeeding.

Mum saw a social media video and recognised all the symptoms of tongue-tie and sought assessment with IBCLC Mel from The Gentle Village. She also sought osteopathic care from Dr Kate at West Perth Osteopathy.

The combination of oral exercises and osteo treatment improved her suction, reduced her clicking, and significantly released body tension prior to tongue-tie release.

At her one week post release review mum reported:

✅ Immediately more floppy and easy to hold
✅ Rolling and grabbing things now - all the things she was trying to do before
✅ A very different baby - it was good to see her more normal now
✅ More efficient and less frequent feeds and far less dribbling
✅ So quiet in the car now - wondering if she is alive as before she used to crack it all the time
✅ Making interesting sounds and blowing raspberries
✅ Can be put down and life has become much easier now

Disclaimer:

Any surgical procedure carries risk, and individual results may vary.
Before proceeding with this surgery, you should seek a second opinion with an appropriately qualified practitioner.

Mouth breathing: What every parent and child health care professional needs to know.

Here’s a patient story that I’m sharing to provoke greater attention to mouth breathing as a root cause of many child health and developmental issues.

I saw this 8.5 year old with his mother for consult yesterday.

His mother found us on an internet search around the following concerns:

• Chronic mouth breathing, despite 2 rounds of ENT surgery to remove adenoids, tonsils and insert grommets in early childhood.
• A dentist has confirmed high palate and overbite but dismissed this as an issue.
• He has always had behavioural issues incl a diagnosis of ADD. And they booked in for an autism diagnosis to get more access to more services.
• There is concern about his teeth ending up like dad’s – he had a long and narrow face and lots of problems with overcrowding, so she doesn’t want him to go down that way.

The biggest issues they want addressed are the mouth breathing and excessive teeth grinding.

Here’s some other issues I discover:

• He cried from the day he was born, until he could start running and ran away from everyone – he was medicated with Losec for reflux, he failed to put on weight, and at 6 months he wouldn’t take foods so was offered Pediasure
• Even now there are concerns with weight gain and they are on waitlist to see a nutritionist
• Taking Ducolax stool softener, and Benefiber to help address constipation
• Likes to lick his hands or objects like pencils, or chew on rope and rubbers
• A history of trips to the hospital for asthma attacks when he struggled to breathe, and a history of Ventolin
• Speech delay and 2 years of speech therapy to address speech delay, but he still has a stutter
• He’s had dental decay and extractions and fillings, and there are clear signs of erosion related to reflux disease on this teeth
• At night, he sleeps with his mouth open, neck hyperextended, breathes heavily and with some gasping. He has light, fragmented sleep. A sleep study has previously confirmed obstructive apneas.
• He takes Clonidine to help him wind down and get to sleep or he would stay up until 1am
• He is on dexamphetamine to help him get through school days
• He has been prescribed Intuitiv to help manage anxiety – the pediatrician said it would help but it hasn’t. He fears losing his loved ones.
• He still wets at night - his nappies are wet. He has been on Solicare for 2 years to see if can address an overactive bladder but this has not resolved the bedwetting
• He has been discharged from OT as they couldn’t help him any further
• Concentration and attention at school is difficult despite him having educational aides.
• There are lots of meltdowns throughout the day. Outbursts could be 10 mins or an hour. He is loved by all, yet he is exhausting for the entire family.

This is completely heartbreaking to me to hear. I can only imagine the exhaustion and desperation this family have experienced in finding answers. No one wants their child medicated, yet his life has been one medication after another, seeing multiple health care professionals, and he is still not close to thriving.

Yet it’s immediately obvious to me, that the underlying problem is this child is under chronic stress from difficulties breathing.

He has a narrow v-shaped palate, tongue-tie, and lip incompetence (his lips can’t seal without strain) – all risk factors for poor breathing and sleep.

Here’s what I want every parent and health care professional to know:

• Rule out tongue-tie and excessive intake of air before medicating children for reflux, and consider it when medications don’t alleviate symptoms.
• Rule out sleep and airway problems before medicating for ADHD.
• Understand that ENT surgery is never a cure. Airway problems are multi-factorial and we need to address all the risk factors including poor jaw development and oral dysfunction and restore nasal breathing for long-term resolution.
• Check your speech therapist is screening for sleep and airway problems, poor mouth structure and oral dysfunction function before commencing therapy. The growing number trained in myofunctional therapy are best equipped to do this.
• If a child has multiple decays – rule out or address any underlying mouth breathing or breathing related reflux and the presence of acid in the mouth that could be increasing risk.
• Bedwetting and teeth grinding are strong red flags a child is not breathing well during sleep. Rule out and manage airway problems before medicating.
• When there is poor weight gain, don’t overlook the importance of restful sleep. Growth hormone is released during the deep phases of sleep.
• When a child’s breathing is dysfunctional, it can be linked to a chronic activation of the fight or flight response. This can be linked to symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, and digestive issues.
• Mouth breathing is also a risk factor for asthma, sleep disturbed breathing, and sensory processing issues, further highlighting the importance of addressing it in children's health.

If you have read this far THANKYOU!

I hope that it can inspire more curiosity from both professionals and parents and encourage you to take action. Please share it with anyone you think may relate to this story.

We can help children by promoting healthy breathing, sleep, and airway development as early as possible. We just need to know what to look for.

To fill this void, please help spread word about Breathe, Sleep, Thrive (my book) and Inspiration by Integration 2024: A Practical Guide to Children's Airway Health - my upcoming integrative children’s airway health event for health care professionals in Melbourne.

Together, let's strive to create a healthier, happier future for our children.

Did you know that your tongue literally connects all the way down to your toes through the deep front line fascia?

The deep front line fascia is important for infant feeding because it plays a crucial role in the coordination and movement of the muscles involved in sucking, swallowing, and breathing.

When your baby feeds, they need to coordinate their sucking and swallowing actions with their breathing to effectively extract milk from the breast or bottle. The deep front line fascia connects various muscles involved in these actions, including the muscles of the tongue, jaw, throat, and diaphragm.

In the presence of a tongue tie (the lingual frenulum is a part of the fascia of the mouth), the fascia may be affected by the restricted tongue movement. This can lead to tension and strain in the fascia, affecting its ability to provide proper support and stability to the muscles your baby uses to feed - this is when your baby may begin to compensate to keep feeding!

Seeing a bodyworker for myofascial release in your baby before a tongue tie release can help release body tension and improve overall function, especially of the tongue and mouth. The aim of bodywork is to address any restrictions, imbalances or compensations in your baby’s body that may be contributed to the tongue-tie.

When we begin to reduce these compensations, we start to see feeding (especially breastfeeding) improve in your little one, even before a tongue tie release! 🙌🏼

Bodywork is ultimately the parents choice. However, health care professionals trained in ties know that a tongue tie release is not the quick fix to improve how your baby is functioning because we know that the release may not automatically result in relaxation of your baby’s chronically contracted tongue muscles or automatically improve your baby’s tongue strength and function.

⭐️This is why they may recommend bodywork for your baby following their assessment! It’s all about that holistic approach for optimal results!

We’d love to know…did you do bodywork and oral therapy for your baby and saw any improvements BEFORE their tongue tie release?

Sadly, we’ve had to start over on Instagram! Make sure to follow our new page!

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Rushing To Release - Hallie Bulkin Tongue and lip tie release timing is critical. The success of a tongue or lip tie release depends on proper timing and preparation.