MOM’S STORIES:

It’s my privilege to support moms and babies...nourish and guide families…

Because babies did not come with instructional manuals and parenting is the toughest job EVER!

These are real women who wanted to share their story. Their struggles were real. I thank them for their honestly and trust in me!

EY...Some tongue tie issues can be resolved quickly with the right help

Dr Darlene and Lynda Kirby have been true lifesavers! As soon as our daughter arrived I attempted to breastfeed - assumed that the pain and open wounds on my nipples were part of the breastfeeding "experience".  Within 24 hrs my nipple pain become so unbearable I couldn't feed my baby.  No matter how much I tried to endure the pain, my nipples were damaged, bloody and sore with pain that made me cringe at the thought of feeding my own baby!

I was referred to Lynda for lactation consult by my Pediatritian, and Lynda connected us with Dr Darlene.  The power combo of learning how to latch from Lynda and the essential muscle training and toning Dr. Darlene performed on our baby was the key to successfully breastfeeding our baby!

Amazed at how quick the entire process took us, within a week we had her tongue tie released, proper latch/feeding techniques trained (both mom and baby) and muscles toned for baby for optimal latch!

We are so thankful for the team of Lynda and Dr Darlene - thank you so much from both mom, baby and dad (who also found out he has a tongue tie from this experience) for everything!!
-Glen&EY+baby Madyson!

KEMI...Our breastfeeding journey

My son was born at 32 weeks 1 day.  Before he was born I was determined to breastfeed him. However, because he was born early, he spent his first month after birth in the hospital. During that time I was dedicated to pumping milk for him, maintaining my supply, and trying anything and everything to help my baby boy latch.  We continued this way for the next three months.  During that time, we saw numerous lactation consultants, and visited numerous doctors. He also had a tongue tie release, and I tried using nipple shields, a feeding supplementer, and took several herbs to keep up my breast supply. Despite the challenges, through it all my son and I spent a lot of time, cuddled together, skin to skin, so that he always knew that his time on my chest was his safe place.  

It wasn’t until my son was about 4 months old that we were introduced to Darlene, through a lactation consultant.  The first time that we saw Darlene, she recognized and released all of the tension in my son's jaw and throughout his body.  It was like a miracle. On that day my son breastfed on his own for the very first time. Before that he had tight big puffy cheeks, and that day before my eyes, his cheeks drooped and you could see the tension release. Over the course of the next month we continued to see Darlene and work with our lactation consultant, and my son eventually had a second tongue tie release.  Eventually he went on to perfect his latch.  My son turns one in a few days, and I am proud to be able to say that we successfully reached our goal of breastfeeding for one year.  At this point I can’t even see us stopping anytime soon. We have bonded so much through this experience, and I feel relieved to know that my son received all of the beneficial nutrients he could from breastfeeding.  I am convinced that had it not been for that initial work that Darlene did with my son, alongside the consistent support of our lactation consultant – we would never have been able to enjoy such success.

LEYA...Another determined and dedicated mom

Nursing was definitely a struggle for us at the beginning. At 5 days old, I had a lactation consultant come over to evaluate us. I was experiencing a lot of pain when she was latching. I had cracked and bleeding nipples. The baby was frustrated because she wasn’t getting a good feed. She wanted to nurse constantly and the pain was so intense I couldn’t bear the idea of breastfeeding. The LC determined that our baby had a lot of tension in her jaw and that her tongue was not relaxing. This was preventing a good latch. She recommended that we see Darlene, a paediatric chiropractor, together with her. 

We worked with Darlene and Lynda, our LC, over the next couple of months. Darlene was so relaxed with our baby. Holding her and gently working to release tension in her jaw, neck and back. She helped us with working on a good latch. We had her tongue tie released at 3 weeks and Darlene worked with us to maintain the release and prevent any tension. We were definitely a challenging case, but together with the support of Darlene and Lynda, I was determined to breastfeed. After months of finger feeding and chiropractic treatments for both myself and our baby, we got the hang of it. Darlene helped me with my milk flow and blocked ducts using ultra sound and chiropractic techniques to release tension. 

I nursed for 15 months. It was the best bonding i could have asked for with my daughter. I know I would not have been able to do it without the support of Darlene and Lynda. I am so grateful for the start that they gave us. For the encouragement to stick with it. She found the time to fit us in whenever we needed it both at her offices and at my home.  I am so grateful to Darlene, who as a fellow mom, was compassionate and kind. I would not have gotten through it without her support. 

YELENA...Continually overcoming challenges

I cannot thank Darlene enough for helping me and my son on the journey of motherhood and breastfeeding challenges. I've been under Darlene's care for over a year and the first time we came to see her my son was 3 days old. My son was just release from a tongue-tie, but his jaw was not opening to its full capacity and because the the tongue-tie he managed to cause a lot of damage to my nipples. Darlene did a gentle treatment on him and my lactation consultant Lynda assisted me to ensure that his latch was correct. I repeated these combo sessions 3-4 more times and I found it being extremely effective. The ladies were so supportive and encouraging throughout the entire breastfeeding journey and I have to thank them for their advice, support, knowledge, availability and care that I have been able to continue to breastfeed until today (he is15 months old now).

During the 15 months of breastfeeding, I had experienced an array of breastfeeding challenges: nipple damage caused in the first 24hrs after birth by my tongue-tied son, plugged ducts, blisters, blebs, etc. Darlene's ultrasound and chiropractic treatments have always helped me to resolve my plugged ducts issues, which reassured me that I can continue to breastfeed my baby. We need more therapists like Darlene and Lynda who care so much for mommies and their babies.

I was very fortunate to find Darlene and would recommend her to all breastfeeding moms facing challenges. She was proactive at all times, responded to my concerns in a sensitive and timely fashion, which I really appreciate because in breastfeeding a small hiccup can turn into a big problem very quickly. There were instances where my ducts were so plugged, the pain, the tears, the emotions took over, but the only calming thought was that I knew that Darlene would help me to resolve my issue. Thank you Darlene for being such a Darl-ing!