Can I share my story for a second? My experience as a first-time parent started out differently than I expected. I did all the right things: I waited until I was ready, took classes about childbirth and breastfeeding, read all the books, and even started attending La Leche League meetings when I was just four months pregnant. I'm an over-preparer, but mostly, I just wanted to do this right.

Personal Story: And then I became a mom.

I knew having a baby was going to be hard, but I wasn’t prepared for how overwhelming it would be to feel inadequate to be responsible for a tiny human.

I loved my baby, but he didn’t behave like the books said he would. He didn’t give me 'feeding signs'; he went from asleep to full-on hangry in 10 seconds. Sleeping was hard; he couldn't sleep without me holding him. Feeding was confusing, tummy time was a no-go, and the latching pain was unbearable. It all felt impossible.

It felt like I must be doing it all wrong, but I was just doing what I was taught.

I asked for advice from four different people and got four completely different answers. Nothing worked or felt right to me. So, I started looking for my own answers and found out that much of what I was told wasn’t based on actual science; it was just 'the way things were done.'

I struggled through my first baby, and with my second, I followed the same advice and got the same frustrating results—painful feeding, exhaustion, self-doubt, and shame. I even wondered if my own baby hated me.

This started my journey into learning more about infants because I was sure there had to be a better way. I didn't know much about babies before I had one, but with a Master's in Biology and Science Education, I knew this much pain and difficulty with feeding a baby didn't make sense.

So, I started finding answers on my own. I became a lactation consultant and dove into a multi-year journey learning about infant feeding, newborn brains, and reflexes. That’s when it happened.

I made a big discovery that changed everything. I found that touching a baby's chin cues them to open their mouth wide, a reflex that was overlooked by common practice.

This simple change—touching the chin instead of stroking the nipple down the mouth—stopped latch pain and nipple damage almost instantly.

Mothers who had been struggling for weeks suddenly found relief, and feeding quickly became the positive experience they had been hoping for.

As I learned more, I found other reflexes we had missed. Letting babies guide the latching process through their natural steps was crucial. Skipping these steps is like fast-forwarding to the end of a movie and wondering why nothing makes sense.

Today, I help overwhelmed new parents transform their painful, stressful feeding sessions into an empowering, pain-free experience so they can meet their feeding goals, bond deeply with their baby, and truly enjoy their maternity leave, even when feeding has been painful and difficult since birth.

My journey from an overwhelmed first-time mom, who had never even changed a diaper before, to an expert in infant feeding was not one I would have predicted over a decade ago, but I'm so glad I'm here.

If you’re feeling frustrated, exhausted, and unsure, you’re not alone. There is a better way, and together, we can find it. You deserve to enjoy this precious time with your baby, free from pain and full of joy.