I love that in my field I can make an impact, not only with my clients, but with friends and family too!

I was visiting friends from Michigan this weekend, and had the opportunity to help a friend with breastfeeding and be post-partum doula for them.

I like her husband's quote as I left: "I like how most people drop in to chat, and you drop in to save our lives!" Haha

I don't think I'm actually life-saving, but helping parents nap, and helping a painful latch might feel like life-saving measures for stressed-out parents! ;-)

If you need a lactation consultant or postpartum doula in Indiana, reach out!

This Thursday (Sept 22) is Car Free Day in Indianapolis! I'm going to try to take the bus or ride my bike to meetings and events.

http://www.carfreedayindy.com

It's a great opportunity to enjoy a bike ride with the kids, go on a walk with baby, or try a different way to get to work!

One of my clients had a pump that was new to me – the Spectra – so I thought I’d write a little review about it.

The home page of their website says their pumps “don’t SUCK, they SUCKLE!” which is pretty cute. This pump actually seems pretty great. If you have the option to get it through insurance, I would recommend it.

The Spectra S2 can be a double or single pump. The Spectra S1 plus seems like the S2 but with a rechargeable battery (why aren’t they both called S2? I’m not sure.)

The Spectra has a stimulation phase (fast) and an expression phase (slow) and you can toggle between them, if you need to, which is great. It also has buttons to adjust the suction. When you turn it off and on again, it remembers the last setting you left it on, which is a nice feature.

The parts were easy to clean and the pump came with bottles that fit both the pump parts AND the bottle nipples, so you can easily use the same bottle for collection as feeding your baby.

The website also states that it’s a closed system pump, which means you could safely pass it on to a friend (or donate it) after you’re finished. Most pumps now are made to be for a single user so the machinery inside the pump isn't completely impermeable to bacteria, viruses, etc. It's completely safe to use for one mom and her subsequent babies (as long as the motor is still strong), but isn't recommended between different mothers. Having a closed system on the Spectra is nice because it’s not something you need to toss when finished (which seems so wasteful!). The person you pass it onto just needs to buy the new pump parts (tubing, flanges, bottles, etc) and they’ve got a $200 pump for much less!

Are you planning to pump for your baby? Do you have more questions about which pump to buy, or how to use the pump you have? A lactation consultant can help you get set up and teach you how to pump to make it as comfortable as possible, as well as getting the most milk in the least amount of time. Are you pumping to get ready to go back to work? Or pumping to increase your milk supply? Or pumping and bottle feeding your baby for any reason?

If you live in the Indianapolis area, reach out with any questions you have! I’m happy to help new mothers get introduced to their breast pumps and learn how to express the most milk for their baby!

I got my flu shot today! Plus a $5 Target gift card and a cute band-aid for my troubles!

I always like to get them early in the season rather than waiting until Nov or Dec anyway, so I figured I'd jump on it!

Flu shots, pumpkin spice things arriving on the store shelves... I can't believe it's almost fall!

I'm sad summer is almost over, but fall makes me happy too. What are your favorite fall things?