All about Bump, Birth & Beyond

13/10/2026

Explore a more current clinical perspective on maternal care. Free, live and practitioner-focused.

13/09/2026

Oh how true this is!!

A three-hour stretch of newborn sleep is approximately 27 minutes of sleep for Mom.

First, you have to finish nursing.

Then you burp the baby.

Hold her upright because you’re terrified she’ll spit up the second you lay her down.

Wait until she’s really asleep.

Attempt the transfer.

Freeze with your hands still underneath her for five minutes because she moved one eyebrow.

Slowly back away from the bassinet like you’re leaving a crime scene.

Now you have to p*e.

Your water is empty.

You’re suddenly starving because nursing apparently burns through the meal you ate 20 minutes ago.

There are pump parts in the sink.

You remember the laundry in the washer.

You finally make a snack, refill your water, wash everything, check that the baby is breathing twice, and crawl into bed.

Then your brain needs another 15 minutes to stop listening for every tiny newborn grunt.

You finally close your eyes…

And from across the room you hear:

eh… eh… EHHH.

Congratulations! The baby slept for three hours.

You slept for 27 minutes. 😂

12/09/2026

Please sign this petition..we can’t continue to water down women’s rights.

Women in Australia have the right to birth where they feel safest, and some women view the risk of birthing in hospital as higher than any risk factor that may be attached to their pregnancy status. To ensure all women and babies have immediate access to a trained health professional, all women, not...

12/09/2026

This is amazing product.

I’m a Myo practitioner. Reach out. Chewing is so crucial for development.

11/09/2026

What an amazing mama..you are truly inspiring and the support you received is amazing.
Thank you for sharing your story and feeding journey.

I would grab a box of tissues before reading this one. 🥺

Via Amanda’s Angels ALS

“Nobody knew if I would be able to breastfeed. My doctors couldn’t find another case like mine.

But I knew I was going to try.

I was 29 when I went to a neurologist hoping to rule out ALS before starting a family. My mom, grandma and other family members had died from it, so deep down, I knew what the answer might be.

Then I found out I was pregnant.

Two weeks later, genetic testing confirmed I had ALS.

In just five months, I went from running races, working in a lab and firefighting to being unable to move anything except my head and depending on a ventilator to breathe.

At 24 weeks pregnant, I was admitted to the hospital. I spent the next four months in the medical ICU.

My doctors didn’t know how my body would handle pregnancy, a C section, or even if I would live long enough to meet my daughter.

But at 39 weeks, our beautiful, healthy little girl was born.

As soon as I was brought back to my room, Peanut was placed on my chest.

And she latched.

She just knew.

The nurses who had cared for me knew how badly I wanted to breastfeed her, and they became determined to make it possible.

They figured out how to position her against my body while I lay in bed. Lactation came to see me every day. My family learned how to position her, latch her and hold her to my breast because I couldn’t do it myself.

It took pillows. Blankets. Extra hands. A whole lot of patience.

But we breastfed.

One of my biggest goals was to freeze as much milk as possible so my daughter could still have my breast milk after I was gone.

Pumping while completely paralyzed wasn’t exactly something there was an instruction manual for.

So we made our own.

Two people would hold the pump flanges against my breasts, and when they filled, the milk was transferred out with a syringe and tiny tube.

And little by little…

I filled the freezer.

Breastfeeding wasn’t easy. I had cracked ni***es, milk blisters, decreased supply and eventually a baby with teeth who couldn’t understand that biting hurt me. Because I couldn’t move or react quickly, by the time I could type that something was wrong, I could already be bleeding.

Eventually, I had to stop nursing directly and exclusively pump.

I delayed pain medication when necessary because producing milk for her mattered that much to me.

I couldn’t change her diaper.

I couldn’t dress her.

I couldn’t pick her up when she cried.

And for a while, that broke me.

During that first month, I worried she wouldn’t even know that I was her mommy. I felt like the only thing I could physically give her was milk.

But slowly, we found our own ways to connect.

We listened to Disney songs together. We played animal sounds on my eye tracking computer. We watched sign language videos. She would sit at the end of my bed and play beside me.

Then something happened.

She started looking for me.

When someone asked, “Where’s Mommy?” she would turn toward me.

She would wave at me.

Point to me.

And every morning when she woke up and saw my face…

She smiled.

She knew.

I was Mommy.

ALS is not the life I pictured for myself. It breaks my heart that I cannot mother her in all the ways I dreamed I would. And it crushes me knowing she may have to grow up without me.

But I know this much.

I grew her.

I fought to meet her.

I nourished her when people weren’t even sure my body could.

And when I could no longer use my arms to hold my daughter…

I still found a way to give her a piece of me.

I will keep pumping until my body decides it is finished.”

11/09/2026

Thank you Bobby Ghaheri MD for your advocacy for babies and families.

11/09/2026

11/09/2026

Thank you.
Important information.
If you are thinking of weaning please contact me. I can help.
Please message me on my mobile.

We talk about weaning like it’s a logistical problem How do I drop feeds? How do I manage my milk supply? What will my child eat instead? How do I help them emotionally?

While those things matter, there is another person going through a major transition who often gets left out of the conversation: The mother

Weaning isn’t just the end of breastfeeding. Clinically, it is a hormonal and neurophysiological transition. During lactation, prolactin and oxytocin are part of a complex system supporting milk production, milk ejection, bonding, stress regulation and maternal behavior

As breastfeeding decreases, that system changes. Ovarian hormones are changing too, particularly as ovulation and menstrual cycling return or become more established. Estrogen and progesterone fluctuate again, and for some women, those hormonal shifts can have a very noticeable effect on mood and the nervous system

For some this can amplify or trigger symptoms of:
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Irritability or emotional volatility
• Intrusive thoughts
• OCD symptoms
• PMDD or significant premenstrual symptoms
• Sleep disruption and nervous-system dysregulation

We shouldn’t treat weaning like flipping a switch and assume the mother’s brain and body will simply carry on as pre pregnancy. This is a recalibration

We can reduce vulnerability during that transition by:
🌱 Gradually reducing breastfeeding when possible rather than abruptly stopping
😴 Protecting sleep as much as possible. Sleep deprivation and hormonal changes together can be brutal
🍳 Paying attention to nutrition, including adequate calories, protein, iron, B vitamins, omega-3 fats
☀️ Sunshine
🏃‍♀️ Exercise
📅 Tracking menstrual cycles to recognize patterns in mood and symptoms
💊 Reviewing medications with your HCP. Hormonal changes can affect symptoms and medication needs, and some medications may require additional consideration during or after weaning
🧠 Knowing what to watch for: persistent sadness, escalating anxiety, intrusive thoughts that feel frightening or difficult to control, significant irritability, hopelessness, obsessive symptoms or a feeling that you don’t feel like yourself

10/12/2025

Getting excited 😀 You are invited to join us on the bus or meet us there!