The milk maven

05/29/2026

Things I’m doing differently this pregnancy 🤍

At 32 weeks, I finally started pelvic floor therapy after dealing with intense glute and hip pain and honestly, I wish I had done this sooner in my other pregnancies.

I’ve been learning so much about how connected our breathing, core, posture, hips, and pelvic floor really are. We’ve been working on:
• breathing exercises
• hip alignment + stabilization
• gentle mobility work
• cupping for tight muscles/fascia
• glute activation and pain relief

As an OT, I know how important it is to care for our bodies… but as moms, we’re so good at pushing through discomfort and putting ourselves last. This is one thing I’m really glad I chose to do for myself this time around.

Pregnancy discomfort might be common, but that doesn’t mean you just have to suffer through it 🤍

05/13/2026

Just a few things that I have been doing differently this time around. Grateful to be feeling good at 30 weeks!!!!! Check out http://thisisneeded.com/Mollie for the supplements I recommend

05/06/2026

Needed prenatal leaves out iron on purpose 🤍

Iron competes with other minerals and absorbs best when taken on its own—so separating it = better absorption + less stomach issues.

✨ Take your prenatal with food
✨ Take iron separately (empty stomach if you can) + vitamin C
✨ Avoid pairing iron with coffee, tea, or calcium

Not everyone needs the same amount—so dosing iron separately keeps it personalized 👌

04/23/2026

✨ Allow me to reintroduce myself ✨

Hi, it’s been a little while… so let’s catch up

I’m a mama of two, a hand therapist, and a lactation counselor who’s deeply passionate about supporting women through pregnancy, postpartum, and all the in-between moments we don’t talk about enough.

And… a little life update I’ve been quietly holding onto 🤍
I’m currently 27 weeks pregnant with our IVF baby 🫶

This journey has stretched me in ways I never expected, physically, emotionally, and professionally. It’s given me an even deeper appreciation for how incredible and sometimes overwhelming our bodies are during pregnancy and postpartum.

Whether you’re here for breastfeeding support, postpartum recovery, hand and upper extremity care, or just a space that gets it, I’m so glad you’re here.

Tell me in the comments where you’re at in your journey, pregnant, postpartum, trying, or just here to learn. I’d love to connect with you 💫

11/24/2022

➡️Scroll for some handy tips to prevent hand injuries this holiday season!

🚨Awareness and preparedness are the keys to prevention!

Holiday time is ripe with distractions, overstimulation and overall chaos …aka a recipe for accidents and injuries.

Burns
Cuts
Sprains
Repetitive stress injuries (carpal tunnel, mommy thumb, tendonitis)

Keep these tips in mind and avoid a trip to the ER (hopefully!)

As always…reach out with any questions or concerns !

11/22/2022

When my daughter was around 19 months old, I was given a free testing kit from Lactation lab to test my breastmilk. Now I know what you must be thinking… What does it test for? Why is it necessary? Do I need to test my milk?

Well, I am here to answer some of those questions. The sample kit that I was given tested for calories, fat, carbohydrates, proteins, iron, vitamin A, C and B 12. There are other kits with more/less in depth analysis of your milk.

For me, I was simply curious to know what was in my milk. My daughter was 19 months old at the time and I was not really in a mindset where I was concerned about my milk or her nutrition. As a lactation professional, it was simply interesting for me to do this analysis and the supernerd in me was curious to know the results. I did it for fun!

As a Lactation professional, I am also aware that all milk is good milk and beneficial for your baby!

That being said, I can see how a test like this might be anxiety inducing for a mom of a newborn who has concerns about their milk supply. This test is not a MUST for every single mom and is not by any means an indication that your milk composition is bad.

Many moms doubt their milk supply, and tools like this can be helpful but it doesn’t replace actual care. However if the results might help someone continue to breastfeed who might not otherwise because they are being told their milk quality has no value, maybe it would be helpful.

The test measures 30 ML of breast milk, that’s one snapshot of time from one pump session. Your milk is constantly changing throughout the day /week /month /year. It is very important for Moms to be aware of this so that they do not become alarmed if they do this test and find that some of their levels are lower.

I feel that information is POWER. So I will share my results and how it made me feel today on my stories.

If you are curious and want to test your milk please use code : MILKMAVEN for 30% off thru November 30th.

06/03/2022

Last week I listen to a fantastic lecture by IBCLC Jeanette from . The topic was all about fl**ge fitting and how so many mothers that pump are using fl**ges that are much too big and they have no idea.

The problem is that unfortunately, the majority of fl**ges that come with your pump are the “standard size” of 24 or 28. Those sizes are much too large for majority of pumping moms and what happens is that the ar**la gets pulled in, and it looks like an elastic ni**le. OR it causes swelling and damage to the ni**le etc.

The reality is that most women should be using WAY smaller sizes… Some even as small as 10 or 13mm. It is OK if the sides of the tunnel are touching your nip as long as there is no pain. In fact, the closer you get to your actual correct size, the more milk and less pain you will have.

There was a lot of discussion around the topic of silicone fl**ges vs hard plastic. The conclusion of this experienced IBCLC was that when a pumping mama is wearing the proper sized fl**ge, the hard plastic will be just as comfortable and yield far more milk than its silicone counterpart. This is due to the added pressure the hard fl**ge applies to the milk ducts behind your nips… resulting in more milk.

I have so much more to say on this fascinating topic and will try to post more about it in the coming weeks.

Have you ever used the wrong size fl**ge? Comment below about your experience ⬇️⬇️⬇️
**gefit

05/27/2022

Want to know a secret?

I will never pretend to know something and will fully admit that I knew nothing about formula until this past week. It was never part of my feeding journey so I literally knew ZERO about it! This repost includes some edits and clarifications thanks to my colleagues. I appreciate you so much!

Last week I listened to and ‘s amazing class on how to navigate the formula shortage and it was so informative!

I put together a couple of posts just on very BASIC information about using and handling formula.

I plan to do one more post tomorrow on where to seek out formula if you are currently struggling to find some.

I am praying for this shortage to soon come to and end. It makes me so nauseous and upset knowing how many mothers are suffering from the anxiety of dealing with this shortage.

05/27/2022

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd-vwgvDd0G/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

posted on their Instagram profile: “Save this to refer back to! 💘 . . . . . . . …”

05/26/2022

Want to know a secret?

I will never pretend to know something and will fully admit that I knew nothing about formula until this past week. It was never part of my feeding journey so I literally knew ZERO about it!

Last week I listened to and ‘s amazing class on how to navigate the formula shortage and it was so informative!

I put together a couple of posts just on very BASIC information about using and handling formula.

I plan to do one more post tomorrow on where to seek out formula if you are currently struggling to find some.

I am praying for this shortage to soon come to and end. It makes me so nauseous and upset knowing how many mothers are suffering from the anxiety of dealing with this shortage.