On this second espisode in the WBGH series, Nicole talks with Dana, a mama in recovery, about her journey to sobriety and how it has affected her breastfeeding journey--currently 17. months strong! **This episode is NSFW and does contain content not appropriate for little ears.**

In the first of a series titled "When Breastfeeding Gets Hard", Nicole sits down with a mama named Britt who shares her journey with adoption and adoptive breastfeeding. As an experienced breastfeeder, Britt assumed this would be no big deal but found it was 100 times harder than she ever thought.

More about my guest: Britt is a homeschool mama of four, wife to a holistic doctor, and a follower of Jesus. She also serves other mamas as a certified doula and childbirth educator as well as a birth photographer. On Instagram, she shares her journey through motherhood and adoption as well as her favorite coffee tips and recipes as a former barista who is rediscovering coffee as a creative outlet! Her Instagram handle is @msbrittfisher.

In this episode, Nicole sits down with Mandolyn Crotts, educator, Certified Lactation Counselor, and mother, who founded Carry Them Ministries in Jos, Nigeria. She shares how she started her organization and how she and her team support malnourished babies in the region. They'll talk about the high maternal and infant mortality rates, the current state of feeding babies in Nigeria, and how the Nestle Formula scandal of the 1970's still reverberates today.

To find and support Mandolyn and her team, visit

www.carrythem.org

on Instagram at @carrythemministries

Supplies needed: reusable diapers (not disposable), clean (preferably new) baby bottles of any type, and manual (no electric) hand pumps.

Financial support needed: $200 supply bag sponsors, monetary donations towards their direct work with mothers and babies in Jos.

In this special episode, Nicole sits down with one of her idols, Christine Staricka, an IBCLC who has been in the lactation support field for over 2 decades. They'll talk about mentorship, social media, why the first 100 hours of breastfeeding matter so much, ethics in lactation, and Christines MUST READ new book that is coming out April 2!

About Christine:

Christine Staricka is a Registered, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant and trained childbirth educator. Christine is the author of the upcoming book, Evolving the Modern Breastfeeding Experience: Holistic Lactation Care in the First 100 Hours. She developed the concept when she worked as a hospital-based IBCLC for 10 years.Christine has over 22 years experience providing clinical lactation care and support both in the hospital and the community. She has been the facilitator of Baby Café Bakersfield since 2014, which was the first licensed Baby Café to open in California. As the host of Evolve Lactation Community, a membership and coaching program for aspiring and new lactation consultants, her current role focuses on training and coaching current and aspiring lactation care providers. Christine also hosts Evolve Lactation Podcast and writes a blog on Substack called Evolve Lactation. Christine is a Fellow of the International Lactation Consultant Association. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Phoenix. She has been married for 30 years, lives in California, and is the proud mother of 3 amazing daughters.You can find more information about Christine and access free resources and downloads at www.ChristineStaricka.com.

In this very special episode, Nicole sits down with two dear friends and fellow "heart moms" who both lost their infants to CCHD. They discuss their journey of breastfeeding through their babies' short lives, lactation after loss, and learning to do it all again when they both welcomed TWINS in 2023.

Learn more about Lo's foundation at

www.thelevilegacy.org

Instagram @thelevilegacy

Facebook @thelevilegacy

Learn more about Nicole at

www.mothernurturelactationservices.com

Instagram @motheringnurtured

Facebook @lactationnicole

In this full length episode, I talk with Caoimhe Whelen (pronouced "Keeva"), an Irish based IBCLC about the WHO Code, infant formula marketing, IBCLCs on Instagram, and why it all matters.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://www.who.int/tools/elena/interventions/regulation-breast-milk-substitutes#:~:text=The%20Code%20aims%20to%20contribute,through%20appropriate%20marketing%20and%20distribution%22.

https://boobingit.com/formula-marketing-lactation-consultants-and-the-rise-of-the-code-blind-epidemic

https://www.ibfan.org/

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Politics_of_Breastfeeding.html?id=qHXrAwAAQBAJ

https://www.lizbrooksibclc.com/

https://www.georgeinstitute.org/our-impact/policy-and-recommendations/digital-marketing-of-breastmilk-substitutes

Follow Caiomhe on Instagram at @latch.ie

Follow Nicole on Instagram at @motheringnurtured and @milkshakespodcast

In this solo episode, I will talk about the phrase "trust your body--it is meant to do this" from an evolutionary perspective. But what exactly is our body meant to do? What about "instincts"? Where do those fit in? What about our baby's body? And does any of this matter when we are talking about infant feeding? Sorry about the little editing glitch in the last few minutes!!

Sources:

Hrdy, S. B. (1999). Mother nature: Natural selection and the female of the species. Chatto & Windus.

Leonovicova, V. (1992). The sociobiological perspectives in the study of human evolution. Human Evolution, 7(4), 7–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02436408

Hill, K., Barton, M., & Hurtado, A. (2009). The emergence of human uniqueness: Characters underlying behavioral modernity. Evolutionary Anthropology, 18(5), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.20224

Hrdy, S. B. (2010). Mothers and others: the evolutionary origins of mutual understanding. Choice Reviews Online, 47(06), 47–3250. https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.47-3250

Creanza, N., Kolodny, O., & Feldman, M. W. (2017). Cultural evolutionary theory: How culture evolves and why it matters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(30), 7782–7789. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1620732114

Dahlqvist, A., Hammond, J. B., Crane, R. K., Dunphy, J. R., & Littman, A. (1963). Intestinal Lactase Deficiency and Lactose Intolerance in Adults. Gastroenterology, 45(4), 488–491. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-5085(19)34844-9

Volk, A. A. (2009). Human breastfeeding is not automatic: Why that’s so and what it means for human evolution. Journal of Social, Evolutionary & Cultural Psychology, 3(4), 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0099314

World Health Organization: WHO. (2022). Noncommunicable diseases. www.who.int. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases

In this bonus episode, which is sort of a prequel to Episode 2, I am sharing my story of milk donation after my baby died, and how through my experience I have come to value milk sharing more than I ever thought.

For more of my personal story, visit www.followthelions.com. To learn more about Share the Drop, check them out at @sharethedrop on Instagram!