Vicky Jordan IBCLC

We’re excited to share our upcoming meeting schedule for Sept 2024! Whether you’re a new face or a familiar one, we warmly welcome you to join us.

Our meetings are lovingly guided by our dedicated LLL Leaders, who are experienced and qualified breastfeeding counsellors. These gatherings are more than just meetings—they're a space where you can find support, ask questions, and share your experiences in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Whether you’re joining us for a face-to-face session, an online discussion, a coffee morning, or a topic-focused gathering, there’s always time to discuss what’s on your mind. And remember, you don’t need to have specific concerns to be part of our community—sometimes, just being there is enough.

We embrace all who are breastfeeding, feeding their baby human milk, or planning to do so. Our meetings are a safe haven for you to connect, learn, and grow alongside others on the same journey. While children are welcome, our focus is on parent support, so if you have older little ones, feel free to bring along something to keep them entertained.

We’d love to see you at one of our upcoming meetings. To stay in the loop, join our local Facebook groups where you can receive invites, ask questions anytime, or reach out for one-to-one support from a Leader.

Join Our Facebook Groups:
Rochester and Chatham
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lllmeetingsinrochester/
Dartford and Gravesend:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LLLmeetingsinDartfordandGravesend/
Maidstone:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LLLmeetingsinMaidstone/
You can also post a question anytime in the Facebook groups, or call a Leader for one-to-one support http://www.lllkent.org.uk/lll-kent-leaders.html
Looking forward to connecting with you!
Warmly, Leaders of LLL West Kent

Today I had the privilege to meet a beautiful rainbow baby girl.

Today we celebrate all the Rainbow babies, born after the loss of another 🌈

We also remember all the babies who we hold safely in our hearts instead of our arms ❤️

Sending love, hope and strength to all the baby loss warriors ✨

Whatever society tells you about the idea that babies should be able to sleep alone, play alone etc, the biological reality is that they are exterogestates!
When babies are held in our arms they thrive. They are biologically programmed to expect to be in our arms (day and night). Unfortunately we usually aren’t told about that before our babies arrive with us. Therefore - if we put our baby down and they cry, we are confused. If our baby wants back to the breast frequently, even when we know they are well fed, we think there must be something wrong - when in fact babies are usually just indicating good attachment needs.

We understand more about these security and attachment needs now than we used to in the past. Unfortunately there is still a lot of parenting information out there encouraging us to put babies down, not spoil our babies, make them independent etc. This kind of information came from the earliest days of psychology and were common in the 19th century. We now know that this was misguided. A child cannot be independent until they have the physical and psychological capacity for that independence. We can’t force something that doesn’t exist yet. We can’t teach a child to settle on their own if they don’t have the brain development to do that yet.

For the first few months a baby is best described as an exterogestate. Part of their gestation is in the womb. Part of it is on a caregiver’s body. By providing those loving arms and body we allow babies to feel secure, which means they can switch on growth hormone, learn and develop.
It’s ok that your young baby is always wanting to be in your arms. This is normal. Overwhelming at times, but normal.

Here is our meeting schedule for August 2024.
Our meetings are led by LLL leaders who are qualified breastfeeding counsellors.
All our meetings whether face to face, coffee mornings, online or topic meetings will have the opportunity to ask any questions you have or to discuss any burning issues.
You do not need to have issues to attend our meetings, we welcome attendees for social contact and to share your experiences with others needing support.
All those who are currently breastfeeding, chestfeeding, feeding their baby human milk, or wanting to are welcome to attend meetings. Children are welcome to attend meetings, but the focus is for parent support, so please bring something to entertain older little ones.
Please join one of the local facebook groups to receive invites and for more details for the events.
Links to facebook groups:
Rochester and Chatham
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lllmeetingsinrochester/
Dartford and Gravesend:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LLLmeetingsinDartfordandGravesend/
Maidstone:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LLLmeetingsinMaidstone/
You can also post a question anytime in the Facebook groups, or call a Leader for one-to-one support http://www.lllkent.org.uk/lll-kent-leaders.html

☀️Guidence from first steps nutrition about water for babies during hot weather ☀️

You are heading on holiday with your breastfed baby 🤱🏖

What 3 things do you take with you?

"""Which brand of formula should I use?""

Lets imagine you're in a situation where you need, or want, to give your baby some formula.

You stand in the supermarket and are met with a sea of options. Red or blue? comfort? Soy? Organic?

And the prices! Do they reflect the quality of the milk?

Maybe you remember that the red brand sent you a soft toy in the post, so that memory sways you towards them just because they're the most familiar option in your exhausted and overwhelmed state.

Maybe someone told you the blue one is closest to breastmilk - and it's more expensive, so perhaps that's the best option to grab?

Stop. Breathe. lets run through some quick facts to help you.

In the UK, if an ingredient has been proven to be beneficial for babies, it MUST be in all standard formulas.

All of the other stuff that is unique to different brands is NOT proven to be necessary or especially beneficial in general.

So we can immediately dismiss the brand that's telling you they have a different type of omega whatever in it. Because if that was genuinely important, they'd all have it in.

Comfort milks don't do a whole lot either. Most issues we see with wriggly, grunty babies is either normal ""WTF is this digestive system thing?"" behaviour, or it might be due to overfeeding, a touch of reflux or any other list of common baby things that don't need you to spend extra money on milk to solve.

Soy milk is not recommended - and it isn't vegan. It will have fish oils in it. If your baby seems to have a dairy allergy, they may well have a soy allergy too. Your best bet here is to get a prescription milk from your GP.

Stage two milk is just clever marketing, because they are not allowed to advertise milk aimed at babies younger than 6 months. So they make and sell stage 2 which is slightly higher in some nutritional elements... things that babies will be eating in their solid food at 6 months anyway.

So, that leaves you with a slightly smaller sea of stage one milks...

My general recommendation?

Choose the cheapest one that you will be able to get your hands on at your nearest shop in an emergency.

Because when we strip away the marketing - we are left with cost and availability.

First Steps Nutrition Trust is a great resource for all things baby milk. I really recommend checking them out.

Sleep deprivation can be brutal when you have a new baby. Research suggests that parental sleep is disrupted for around 6 years (Richter 2019). I definitely think that was true for me. Some of us cope with that better than others - I’m one of those who didn’t cope well so I get it when I see other struggling mums in the clinic.

One difference between those who manage better and those who struggle is how we feel about uncertainty. Human brains like a mix of predictability and novelty. Some like more novelty than predictability. Some like more predictability than novelty. It’s this group (me included) that struggles more with the adjustment to having a baby - because so much is unpredictable.

Our reaction is often to put huge effort into trying to create predictability. We google routines & the sleep tips, we work hard at implementing them, we analyse each nap and night to figure out what to repeat and what to avoid - but often the harder we work the more out of control we feel.

The reason…. Babies sleep how they sleep. Some babies need less input than others. Some sleep longer stretches than others and for a young baby it is generally NOTHING to do with what techniques you are using (yes this plays a role later but definitely not in the first 6 months and arguably longer tbh). It is about their nervous system development and it will happen in it’s own time regardless of what we do. We cannot speed up brain development. We cannot speed up when their body will secrete more melatonin.

Feel out of control ->Try to exert control ->Baby sleep still unpredictable -> Feel out of control

What if you don’t define the issue as baby’s sleep but rather as your reaction to unpredictability? What if you were able to flow a little more with unpredictability? If you weren’t googling and analysing what enjoyable thing could you do instead? Something relaxing? Seeing friends? Would you enjoy your baby more? Could it mean you cope with tiredness better? You might never become someone completely at ease with uncertainty, but your comfort zone might shift and that might change everything. Who knows… your sleep might even improve too!

So much worry about babies swallowing air, or passing gas, or feeding patterns.
Something to think about…

From next week, Vicky Jordan will be holding clinics at my unit on Box City. Vicky is a very experienced certified lactation consultant and tongue tie practitioner who has helped many parents and their babies.
Please see her page or her website https://www.tonguetiepractitionerinkent.com/ for more information and how to book.

Available now xx

https://www.tonguetiepractitionerinkent.com/store/p1/Breastfeeding_Journal.html

The new episode of the LLLGB Podcast is out now with special guest Professor Helen Ball.

In this episode, our breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova discuss Infant Sleep with Professor Helen Ball, one of LLLGB’s professional advisors and Director of the Durham Infancy & Sleep Centre. They discuss what's normal about how, where and when babies sleep and how breastfeeding and sleep are linked.

Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lllgb/episodes/Discussing-Infant-Sleep-with-Helen-Ball--Professor-of-Anthropology-and-Director-of-the-Durham-Infancy--Sleep-Centre--who-is-one-of-the-members-of-the-LLLGB-Panel-of-Professional-Advisors-e2hg93k

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/breastfeeding-matters-by-la-leche-league-gb/id1724724703?i=1000650557648

Are you looking for the Safe Sleep 7? LLLI has published this revised Safe Sleep 7 infographic in multiple languages for downloading.

https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/safe-sleep-7-infographic/

It is based on information in LLLI's essential sleep guide, Sweet Sleep – Nighttime and Naptime Strategies for the Breastfeeding Family (available here: https://www.lllgbbooks.co.uk/store/p89/SweetSleep.html)

Believe it or not, just this week this came up again - a client was told by an HCP that she needed to drink more milk to make a good milk supply. It is astonishing that this myth continues to circulate.

OK - let’s deal with this. How do apes make milk without drinking cows milk? Mmm… In fact, how do the cows make milk if they aren’t drinking milk? What a nonsense!
Milk is made in your breast. Some nutrients (e.g. lactose) are made within the breast itself in cells called lactocytes. Other nutrients (e.g. vitamins, minerals, proteins and the water component) will be moved from the blood to milk. Do you need to drink milk to have these nutrients in your blood? No! In fact in lots of parts of the world dairy does not make up a big part of the diet - yet people continue to be able to make breastmilk.

What about the calcium? Well, there’s no doubt that your calcium needs are high when breastfeeding- but that doesn’t mean you need to drink milk either! Calcium isn’t exclusive to dairy. Calcium is in fish, fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts and even in water. The body also adapts during breastfeeding by taking some of the calcium from your bones to put into the milk (yes you are liquifying your body to feed your baby).

You can have a perfectly healthy diet, and have a full milk supply without dairy. You don’t HAVE to drink milk to make milk.

It will arrive from the printers very soon.

I have been working on this project for some time now. The fear of letting it 'get out there' is real. Will it be helpful, will people like it? What if it's rubbish? But I have been encouraged by enough people to get this journal out there - so I am finally doing it. Particularly with the support of Sarah Wood at Bump, Baby and Beyond.

But I also have to thank La Leche League, Deborah Robertson IBCLC, Liz Elderidge Peer Supporter, Emma Gates - Birth Art Cafe facilitator, Aileen White - My Birth Kent, Sally Smillie - Birth Art Cafe, Tamara Donn

Next Friday we'll be hosting our Celebration Event - the perfect opportunity for expectant Mums to find out about local services!

IBCLC Day celebrations are beginning TODAY in many parts of the world 🌍✨

ILCA is proud to celebrate all of the wonderful IBCLCs that help contribute to such an important cause, and you should be too! Spread the love and show us how you are celebrating the day by tagging ILCA and/or using in your social media posts!

Be sure to check out our IBCLC Day resource page for graphics, celebration ideas, and how to share your IBCLC story: https://ilca.org/ibclc-day-2024