Meet Alice
Who I am and a little more about my approach.
I have never found being a mum easy!
I thought before I had children that I would love being a mum. I couldn’t wait to be one! When my first child arrived breastfeeding didn’t come as naturally as I thought it would. I struggled to cope with overwhelming exhaustion and I began to realise my expectations of motherhood were completely misaligned from the reality I was living. When I had my second son, I thought I would be able to relax and enjoy it a bit more but the experience was completely the opposite. Suffering with reflux, he cried endlessly, never slept and I felt overwhelmed and full of guilt. I didn’t know how to help him and that I was a failure as a mother.
Leaving a job in nursing which I loved to try and balance having a career and children, I became a Health Visitor. I realised my passion lay in infant feeding and supporting families with complex parenting or feeding issues. I began to think that no parent should feel as isolated, lonely and helpless as I had, and that there must be a better way to support families. However, I felt that my experience wasn’t matched by knowledge or the training necessary to create the foundation of support I wanted to give to the parents I worked with. I needed to support families in a different way.
The choices we make as parents should be informed ones!
There is so much information thrown at you when you become a parent and just about everyone seems to have an opinion on your baby! Much of this information and advice does not come from a sound evidence or research base!
Have you been told your baby needs medication because they have reflux?
That they are allergic to your breastmilk so need to stop breastfeeding?
Or that all babies have colic and you just have to ride it out?
You do not have to accept advice or treatment methods if you do not feel it is right for you or your baby, more so you deserve to have all the facts to inform your decisions on the best way forward for your family.
I wanted to have the evidence-based knowledge to truly compliment my experience. I am passionate that the choices we make as parents should be informed ones. I undertook my training to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and now am working independently to provide individualised, holistic, evidenced-based care and support to the families I work with. Identifying and addressing the underlying causes for the challenges you are facing, not just treating the symptoms! Bringing you the evidence so you have more control over the decisions that you feel are right for you and your baby.
I created Baby et Al for all parents!
Your family does not deserve a one size fits all solution.
Babies are not ‘all the same’!
Responsive, child-focused and gentle strategies that are in alignment with your parenting values are possible.
To support families with their infant feeding challenges and understanding the root causes of why their baby is unsettled. I follow a 4 step holistic approach. Often it is not one specific ‘thing’ that is leading to your current issue. Many things affect our infant feeding and parenting journey. This approach allows us to identify root causes, plan indivualised care and support that are right for you, whilst ensuring it is evidenced-based and developmentally appropriate for your child. This is the foundation of my service.
These 4 steps utilise my experience and knowledge to identify all these aspects and support you, but most importantly empower you, to have the confidence to take your journey in the direction you want to go.
If, 'This is Normal and will pass' does not sit right for you, here are some of the ways we can work together.
Download my Freebie or head to my social media pages for FREE infant feeding and parenting information.
Follow the link below if you are looking to find out more about groups, courses or 1:1 support.