Amanda was introduced to me through one of my closest friends who had used Amanda’s breastfeeding programme herself and praised how amazing it was and how wonderful Amanda is. I always wanted to breastfeed because it is the most natural way and also comes with so many benefits for both baby and Mum.
During pregnancy the research I did showed that breastfeeding might not be as straightforward as I originally thought and therefore Amanda’s services really interested me. I also wanted my sleep pattern to be as good as it could possibly be with a newborn, and thought that if my breastfeeding journey wasn’t easy my sleep would be more disturbed. For those reasons I decided to engage in Amanda’s services.
I met Amanda at 37 weeks for a pre-birth consultation and it was clear that her knowledge and experience was fantastic and extensive. She was very warm and I knew she was going to have my back if things got tough. We started colostrum collection the following week which I froze and took with me to hospital which was so beneficial as Poppy wouldn’t latch and I was so tired from a 12-hour labour that it came in handy at the initial stages so I didn’t have to hand express immediately after birth.
Amanda would make contact every day and check in with us. She even carried this on for me whilst she was on holiday which was so kind and professional!
Before birth Amanda sent over messages containing all the equipment needed to help breastfeed so you would be prepared for any scenario. One of these items was nipple shields which were an absolute lifesaver! Without these Poppy would not be breastfed as she has depended on them through our breastfeeding journey due to being unable to latch. Amanda did first rule out the possibility of tongue tie as she recommended a doctor who could confirm whether she had this or not, which she didn’t.
The nipple shields did restrict some of the milk flow and we needed to get back to Poppy’s birth weight so Amanda created an action plan to help with that too and she regained her birth weight in no time at all.
Amanda would also help when Poppy wouldn’t stop crying and we thought we had tried all methods to soothe her – Amanda always had a solution and she would always tell us about previous case studies as examples where her ideas had worked.
Amanda would always come back to you no matter how busy she was and would contact and communicate with you as much as needed in those two weeks. She still maintains contact now and also set up a group with mums that had used her a year before who are always there to help if you had any questions.
Without Amanda’s help I would have given up breastfeeding and I’m so grateful for persevering with her assistance. Whilst the journey had bumps it is now smooth and I enjoy breastfeeding, particularly because of the bond it creates between mum and baby but also knowing that baby is getting all the good stuff they need from Mum’s Milk. Poppy is now in much more of a routine and has had a good period of sleeping 7/8 hours undisturbed at night. Amanda has been an absolute gem and is an asset! I’m looking forward to working with her again on her food and sleep programme in the new year.
