Victorian Wellness Doula Services

A lot of people will ask me if their baby’s lip tie or tongue tie will cause breastfeeding problems. The answer is unequivocally yes. The very definition of a t...ie is that it impacts function. Otherwise it’s just a normal frenulum. A lip tie, tongue tie, or buccal tie refers to a frenulum that is formed in a way that restricts function. Physical palpation and examination is one tool we use to determine whether or not the frenulum is tied. But we also look at range of motion and overall function of the structures the frenulum is attached to. So if your baby is FUNCTIONALLY breastfeeding, they do not have ties. That being said, many people don’t know what functional breastfeeding looks like. Functional breastfeeding means no air swallowing, a deep latch, no compensations (like nipple shields, special positioning techniques, etc.), and the muscles working properly to facilitate breastfeeding. Fixing ties isn’t about just getting them surgically treated, although that’s an important part of it. It’s about creating proper function and retraining the mechanics involved in breastfeeding to achieve full function. This is done through working with a skilled IBCLC and bodyworker. To be clear, you can have breastfeeding problems without having a tied baby. Just because your baby has symptoms of ties, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are tied. It just means you both require help with breastfeeding. When in doubt, get professionally evaluated by an IBCLC for a full functional assessment. If you’d like to work with me, I see patients locally in the Phoenix, Arizona area and online worldwide.

Airway issues are often the root cause of breastfeeding issues. In this informative interview with Dr. Sam Zink we explore the cases we see in practice, what ev...olutionary medicine tells us, and how airway-focused care can create optimal health for babies and beyond. Listen in to episode 33 of the Breastfeeding Talk podcast to hear more!!

We have to be honest about that, and in being honest about the way we feel, people can be more honest with themselves and find what they really need. Maryn @indiebirth said this last week in her podcast about interviewing with families for birth and midwifery support and I could not agree more. Here is the thing, doulas and birth workers struggle emotionally like all human kind does lol ! As a doula and human I take my role in life seriously so regular therapy sessions a...nd hard life questions about my behaviour are always showing up to be worked out and on, with that comes growth and heartache. The universe has truly shown up for me with the families that have come into my life and I have been honoured to support in some capacity and that has been a real gift and many life lessons, BUT something has shifted for me in my role as a doula now. It’s what Maryn refers to as being honest about how I feel. If I am being honest about how I feel, I have witnessed some really sad and horrendous behaviour in my opinion at births both hospital and home births. Maybe the families did not feel it, it could have just been me and my stuff, but it’s happened. Often and many times over and over I bear witness to sad outcomes and stories of trauma around births and postpartum care in both hospital and home birth settings. So as my role in doula care softly starts to emerge after being postpartum and families reach out to connect, I will start to be a bit more honest and in turn that may guide those families that maybe are not meant for either of us to find the support that is right for them. I hope this makes sense, I am so over trying to convince society about how valuable doulas are and the power of birth, because if I am being honest it should not need convincing. #doularants #doulacare #doulareflections @elliana_allon {re-edit} See more

Listen to your body, listen to your baby. Life is not dogmatic when you’re in it, for real. Intervention is only negative if you fear it; the true medicine can appear in any form, even though it can be humbling to our egos to admit. @indiebirth Maryn’s 10th birth story of Rumi is must read !! See link https://indiebirth.org/rumisol/ .

A year around the sun. I was this families doula just 12 short months ago and on the morning of her sons first birthday she sent me this beautiful message My dear friend. Thank you for being part of my birthing journey and beyond. I only knew you a short time and you helped me through the most intimate moments of my life. Your calmness, wisdom and your gentle soul made my birthing journey most enjoyable. I remember every bit of it and for all you did for me whilst my son was entering into this world. You took his very first picture and captured my little miracle in his purest. Utawaleza and I are happy and healthy and grateful you witnessed his birth day exactly 12 months ago. Love you mama #doulasmatter #doulacare #doulakw #birthimpacts #birthimprint

Rewriting our stories This was a text message I sent my mom desperate in my postpartum to understand why I was not able to breastfeed my baby. Did I breastfeed? Was I tongue tied; I was desperate to know? My mom with what she knew wrote back her experience. She was not able to latch me, put me on formula and here I am ....BUT here is the thing, I am tongue tied, I have lip ties too. How did I come to know this, through oral evaluations of Noble I have also asked to be asse...ssed. Here is the thing, I am not mad at my mom for not knowing this , Or La Leche League for not knowing about oral restrictions in the 80’s but I knew in my heart a part of my own story had to be rewritten with my son and not just to save our breastfeeding relationship but to save his myo facial abilities when he goes to eat, speak, learn and even sleep. I listened to a podcast today {will post link} https://podcasts.apple.com//breastfeeding-ta/id1497952285 it was excellent about oral restrictions but also spoke to when we don’t know we don’t know, we can’t beat ourselves up over this in parenthood. But we can get curious and if your heart is calling to know more, listen to that. Explore, and maybe you will rewrite a new health outcome for your family that you could have benefited from? Curious what stories have you rewritten in motherhood & parenthood? #oraltiesjourney #oralrestrictions #tonguetied #rewritingstories See more

#Repost @lulibebe.world with @Rep0stApp but I feel it and could not have written it any better myself ! Plus COVID has had a huge impact on how mothers and babies have been seen and released efficiently! Tongue ties f**king suck! This whole experience with ties and frenectomy has sucked. It’s literally taken the life out of me. It’s mentally overloaded and overwhelmed me. It’s frustrated me. It’s drained my bank account by thousands, and it’s seen me sp...end most days sitting on my couch like this uncontrollably crying; tears of defeat, tears of exhaustion as I continue to try and breastfeed my baby. Throughout this process it’s been so encouraging hearing other mums stories of undergoing a frenectomy and their babies latching properly straight away, but that’s not been the case for us. I know it can take time, and other mums have shared this too, but I guess I was just hoping we’d be one of the lucky ones where we’d see that improvement straight away. My lactation consultant said to be prepared for 6 weeks of retraining. 6 weeks! It sounds like a lifetime, but then again I know even babies without ties need this long to learn. I’m trying to remind myself that although it’s hard we’ll get through it, we always do. But I’m also reminding myself it’s ok to feel it all, to process my emotions because although some people are going through a lot worse, I’m going through this and it’s still pretty f**king hard. So whatever you’re going through right now, no matter how big or small it might be remember it’s real for you and you’re allowed to feel however you feel; angry, upset, frustrated. Feel it all, process those emotions and remember you’re not alone. Did your babe suffer from a tongue or lip tie? Comment below and share your support for the mamas and babes who might just be in the midst of their own journey. : @eliseknowles #nestedmag #thisismamahood

"Oh boy, where do I start. Point blank, breastfeeding didn’t really work out for me ... as much as I wanted it too. It was really an uphill battle for me the entire time, you wouldn’t believe the stuff I’ve gone through. Bc this is your profession here’s the juicy details. I hired a doula and was very upfront from the beginning I needed breastfeeding support because I didn’t really know what I was doing. She said she had over 20+ years experience so that was great. She worked... for le leche etc. When N was born, her first available time to come and see us wasn’t until 5 days after so that was really shitty. Bad timing. From the beginning, he struggled to latch. In hind sight and what I know now, it was probably pretty normal. But as a first time mom I was like what am I doing wrong? He’s not eating, he won’t stop crying. But, at our 48-hour check in, Our pediatrician recommended we supplement with formula until my milk fully comes because he said Nolan sounded hungry. So despite breastfeeding him before the appointment and in the waiting room, he clearly just wasn’t getting enough. He was eating like a sumo wrestler, almost 25-30oz a day within a couple weeks. So we started supplementing, but he got super fussy at the boob, probably because he wanted the satisfaction of the bottle flow. Again, in hind sight I understand this is pretty common. My doula was perplexed and suggested I hire a lactation consultant. So I hired LC who came recommended by you and 2 other women I know. She was amazing, but basically left me with those feeding tubes to attach to my boobs. After 1 day of trying those and crying multiple times staring at Nolan with tubes in his mouth, I couldn’t do it. It was like a 10-man operation full of stress. I tried to contact LC to get a plan B but she went MIA for 5 days and finally reached out and told me her cell phone broke, and she couldn’t check messages or emails. Well as you know if BF world 5 days can make a world of a difference. So then I said to myself, I’ll just pump and feed him my milk via bottle, but 1) I still wasn’t producing a ton and 2) I was feeding him and pumping in-between and I was miserable continued in comments...

How did you come to name your babies? Tell me !!! A little about my sons name Noble One Easter when I was 4 years old I have a home video of me collecting Easter eggs, and under my breath I whisper o my Nobles each time I found a heap of eggs, my mom is home recording this and gently asks me Victoria, where did you learn this phrase? I calmly reply well I not allowed to say shit laughter of adults erupts on home video! ... Then I met my husband who grew up in a beautiful community called Nobleton , he loved Nobleton! So I guess in both ends of our childhood Ryan and I had been calling or channeling a version of Noble our whole lives without even knowing it. Ryan surprised me with this beautiful necklace by @young_huron He even made sure each charm represented us, the lighting bolt he told me was for my witchy charm, the waning crescent represents the moon the night Noble came to us and the heart represents the love I have for oh my Noble !! #namingbabies #doulasbirthingin2020 #doulashare See more