In the comfort of your space (or hospital room) I will help you troubleshoot your most pressing concerns (latch, low-milk supply, anxiety/complicated feelings around breast/chestfeeding, etc.) and answer any questions that you may have around infant feeding. I work with breast/chestfeeding families, bottle-feeding families, tube-feeding families and everything in between. The aim of the visit is to increase your skills and knowledge to support a self-defined feeding goal.
My visits usually take place wherever the feeding parent(s) is most comfortable--couch, bedroom, kitchen, or wherever you find that you spend the most time feeding. Usually we will take about 10 minutes to review your prenatal health history, your birth process (if you carried) and get an understanding of what your learning needs and goals are. I'll examine baby as I weigh baby with my hospital grade, regularly calibrated, super sensitive scale (Tanita 815U). If appropriate to the session, you will demonstrate how you've been feeding baby and I will use a hands-off teaching style to coach you to latch infant to breast/chest or bottle in a more comfortable and efficient way. I use a hands-off approach as it ensures that the parent(s) are able to replicate learned techniques without my help when I'm gone. I welcome you to invite partners or support people to be present during the visit, or for part of the visit--whatever will support you in reaching your goals. Having informed supportive people around is VERY helpful when you're trying to get things going in the early days, and in working to keep them going in the long run.
I am happy to discuss issues outside of infant feeding while I visit with you and your family so long as they are within my scope as an international board certified LC or Registered Nurse.
Absolutely not! Issues can arise at any point of the feeding journey. I have worked with infants that are hours old and toddlers that are years old. I also work with pregnant folks, those expecting by surrogate, those experiencing bottle refusal and those ready to wean. New issues can come up at the very start of your journey, a few months in or a year down the road and I am here to coach you through them and help you meet and sustain your goals.
In-home lactation consultants (IBCLCs) are able to work around YOUR schedule and come to you at a vulnerable time when you'd rather save your energy and get help where you most often feed, at home. The designation of IBCLC signifies a certain depth of knowledge and experience around understanding and managing infant feeding at the breast/chest/bottle/tube/etc
Home-Visiting LCs save you the time and energy of shlepping when you don't have much energy to spare and some (me!) provide unparalleled follow-up and support.