This week Monique welcomes Arnikka de Kort to the podcast, to chat about breastfeeding and infant sleep.

Arnikka is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Neonatal Nurse and Founder of SuckleBubs - a space that reimagines how women and babies are supported in the early weeks of newborn life. She is also the creator of In Bloom - a postpartum and breastfeeding mentorship program guiding mothers through their transition to motherhood, from pregnancy and into postpartum. Drawing from her clinical and lived experience as a neurodivergent mother, Arnikka blends her clinical skills with a deeply attuned and compassionate approach to the care of mothers and babies.

This ep is packed with knowledge gems direct from Arnikka’s brain, so flick it on to anyone you know who is pregnant or postpartum, neurodivergent or not!

Monique and Arnika cover:

What is an IBCLC?
What neurodivergence means to Arnikka and her personal journey to discovering her own neurodivergence and the self-acceptance that came with that.
Arnikka’s personal experience as a neurodivergent mother with birth and breastfeeding.
The variability in infant sleep needs.
The interrelationship between infant sleep, feeding, and baby’s sensory needs.
Some of the key challenges parents face in their infant feeding journey, including those specific to neurodivergent mothers.
Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex (D-MER).
Arnikka’s tips for parents experiencing infant feeding challenges.
Tips for problem solving issues with infant sleep and supporting infant circadian development.
Elements of pregnancy, birth, and infant care that can be particularly challenging for neurodivergent mothers and tips to manage these.

Things we mentioned:

Before the Letdown: Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex and the Breastfeeding Mother by Alia Macrina Heise
The NDC institute – free resources and a practitioner directory.
Motherkind by Zoe Blaskey
Mama Rising by Amy Taylor-Kabbaz

Connect with Arnikka through her website, Suckle Bubs, or on Instagram @sucklebubs.

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