Jen Berryman IBCLC

Aloha!

After a beautiful hiatus from this space, I'm thrilled to reconnect with you all. This space that used to feature my birth and newborn photography will now be primarily focused on feeding babies and a sprinkling of family adventures and island life.

Where have I been for the past 3 years? Well, we moved to Oahu in 2021 where I continued homeschooling my 3 kiddos while embarking on a home remodel project. I began supporting families as a lactation consultant working part time at a lactation clinic and doing home visits through my private practice. In 2022, I caught island baby fever (occupational hazard?) and we welcomed our 4th babe, a girl, July of 2023!

My previous experiences breastfeeding my tongue-tied kiddos with little guidance and support is what inspired me to become an IBCLC. Now I find myself navigating this challenge again with our current babe, but with a much deeper understanding of the importance of a team approach that addresses the whole body and a reignited passion to connect all families to the resources they need to reach their feeding goals - whatever they may be!

So, if you like making tasty, nutritious food (that you can share with the tiniest eaters in your family), island life, or babies, there will be something for you in this space! Let's reconnect and share the journey together!

Between lactation consults and prenatal meetings with some stellar families I will be supporting through birth, I've been creating some imagery that makes my heart so very happy. I mean...how can you look at this and not smile? The simplicity, the warmth, and the embrace: connection illuminated ✨

This moment, frozen in time with the assistance of a sliver of light streaming through the curtains in an otherwise dark room, was captured on the cusp of quarantine nearly a year ago.

It was my immediate favorite image from this birth (and there are some pretty rad standing delivery, ‘baby summersaulting into waiting provider hands’ photos) because if the tenderness and strength it portrays, as outside these walls our world was full of unknowns and about to come to a halt.

To all those who have birthed this past year and all those who are birthing in the coming months, I see you, hear you, and validate all the complexities of your journey into parenthood with limited access to connection and support.

If you are a new parent in search of community, I invite you to join Brave Birth's virtual New Parent Group every Monday morning. I'll be there to answer any feeding questions along with another Brave doula. In this space, we build each other up, commiserate about the challenges of each stage of parenting, share bits of ourselves and grow in the process.

https://www.bravebirth.com/pregnancy-new-parent-support-groups

Oh, the joys of nursing a 4 month old baby! Sometimes it is all about sweet, snuggly connection, but often the long, sleepy feeding sessions of the newborn stage can become distracted, minutes long snacks, with babe popping on and off and twisting this way and that to check out every little sound or movement in the space around them. Around this age, babies are becoming much more aware of the world around them. They are literally unable to eat and take in the world at the same time! Rest assured, once they get a little older, they’ll find it easier to both nurse and be in tune with the what is going on around them.

In the meantime, this behavior is understandably frustrating for the lactating parent. They may worry that their baby isn't getting enough to eat, in addition to having the discomfort of baby's quickly turning head and frequent detaching.

Until this stage has passed, your baby may need a quiet, darkened place to nurse and/or more night nursing until they've figured out how to deal with distraction. Take advantage of night nursing during this time – it doesn’t matter when baby takes in their calories during a 24-hour period.

Nursing while in motion (walking, rocking, in a carrier) can also help baby to focus better on nursing. Try to catch your baby when they are more willing, such as when they're just waking up, already a little sleepy, or actually asleep.

Whereas some babies will be less distracted if the parent talks quietly or not at all, some babies may stay more focused on the task when the lactating parent keeps them engaged by talking to them, playing little games with their hands (my daughter found great joy in hold my finger and flapping my entire arm up and down!), or wearing a nursing necklace that baby can hold and play with while feeding.

Remember, baby’s initial pulling off is probably not an indication that they are finished – just a sign that they saw or heard something interesting across the room. When they pull off, try to coax them back to the chest a few more times before giving up on the feeding session.

Parents with older babes, do you have any tips to share with parents going through this distractible feeding stage?

[Image description: Closeup photograph of a woman sitting on a bed, viewed from her left side. Her long blond hair is falling in front of her face as she looks down at her baby laying in her lap. She is wearing a white dress and holding the hand of her baby while he nurses.]

Sneaking out from behind the camera to say "Hello!" after a break from this space in which I've been listening, learning, and growing in many ways.
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I'm currently booking birth clients (both photography only and combined doula care/birth photography) with Spring and Summer due dates AND supporting families through their infant feeding journeys as a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)! All the details can be found on my website www.jenberryman.com.

[Image ID: Jen, a white-bodied person with long brown hair, is wearing a dark floral patterned cloth mask, black short-sleeved shirt, and a white burp cloth on her left shoulder. She is looking down at the swaddled newborn she is holding on her shoulder with her right hand on his back.]