Blissful Babies Lactation LLC

BREAKING: What does it take to win an ultramarathon? For Stephanie Case, it meant covering 100 kilometers over brutal terrain while stopping three times to breastfeed her 6-month-old daughter.

Yes, you read that right.

At the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia in Wales, Case wasn’t aiming for a podium. After a three-year break from competition, she just wanted to feel like an athlete again. Instead, she crossed the finish line as the first female finisher, clocking 16 hours and 53 minutes on a course with over 6,500 meters of elevation gain.

Her journey to this race wasn’t just physical it was deeply emotional.

After two miscarriages and the birth of her daughter Pepper through IVF, Case wasn’t sure if she could ever call herself an athlete again. She had questions. Doubts. Fears. But she kept moving forward. She began running again in her second trimester and carefully trained to maintain her milk supply while preparing for this demanding race.

Throughout the course, her partner met her at 20K, 50K, and 80K checkpoints so she could breastfeed Pepper a logistical challenge that required special permissions and a lot of heart.

Stephanie Case’s story is one of resilience, strength, and rewriting what motherhood and athleticism can look like.

Her next goal? To return to the Hardrock 100 the same race that once felt like the end of a chapter. Now, it marks the beginning of a bold new one.

Nice shot!

Still made the shot!

🎉 We congratulate Clarisse Agbegnenou, French Judo champion, for her successful advocacy work - athletes at the 2024 Olympics in Paris will be offered hotel rooms they can share with their breastfeeding children close to the 10,000 population athletes' village. 🥋

🧡💙💚 Clarisse said "To put things in perspective, I've decided to breastfeed my daughter until she's weaned. She hasn't yet, so I'm following her. I've made sure that I feel good physically, because of course there's an element of tiredness. But as a mother who needs to be very present for my daughter, I asked for the opportunity to have her with me during the Olympics." 🤱🏻🤱🏽🤱🏿

Image credit 📷 clarisse_agbegnenou on Instagram, from October 2022.
[Image description: smiling mother wearing judo kit sits on a bench in a sports hall breastfeeding her baby. She smiles broadly at the camera.]

Seriously, no you don't need to be always 'in the moment' when your baby is feeding. And let's face it, they've often got their eyes closed 🤷‍♀️

The newborn need to be held constantly, near 100% of the time- Awake and asleep -Is shocking for most parents.

When babies continue to need this for the first 3-6+ months, parents continue to be surprised.

And when infants continue to need closeness, daytime and nighttime, up to age 3 (and beyond) it is also unexpected.

Parents will say - “our newborn is doing great BUT there is a problem that we can’t put her / him down” or “Our baby is doing great BUT they need someone with them to sleep” or “Our toddler is doing amazing BUT they still need us”

I always say “This is not surprising to me at all because nearly every baby has this need.”

We need to support parents to expect this from their newborns and babies and teach them how to enjoy this season of their babies life.

Humans are a carrying species. Babies expect this care and when they get it, they grow their brains to health. So do parents.

When parents don’t expect this, and expect that their baby can be put down it is very stressful. They constantly fight against this biological need, buying endless products, and trying endless strategies to make it happen. This sends babies and parents into stress states - exactly what we don’t want. This does not benefit the developing baby brain or parent brain.

When parents do expect babies to need constant holding they can prepare to use baby carriers, set up safe sleeping environments, ask family or hire people to take part in holding the baby. Set up their day to bathe in the safety states they create when they hold their baby with presence.
This is how the developing baby brain and parent brain grow long lasting wellness. 🧠💜🧠

Learn more in my workshop tomorrow! This is your last chance to join!

Comment BRAIN and I’ll send the info you need 🪷🪷🪷