Testimonials

Emily & Jill, and baby Evelyn

From before I was pregnant, I always planned to breastfeed.  And when my daughter Evelyn arrived, she latched on right away, no problem.  But several days in, my nipples were starting to become damaged and breastfeeding was painful.  A week or two later, the damage was severe – about half of the skin on the nipples was gone – and clearly getting worse instead of better.  The pain was awful, and I felt hopeless.  I didn’t have a thought in my mind of giving up on breastfeeding, but I needed help.  My midwife recommended we contact Joan.  When I talked to Joan on the phone, she was so confident that by the time I hung up, I already felt more hopeful.  When Joan came to our house, she coached me on how to get a great latch, and also coached my family on how to best support me so that it was a complete team effort each time I nursed.  Because the damage was so extreme, it did take some time to heal, but right away I could see they were no longer getting worse.  While the damage gradually healed, Joan made sure Evelyn and I were doing well, and helped us adjust the plan when we weren’t.  She stayed in constant contact, and would check in if she hadn’t heard from me, until the very last bit was healed.  She was always available to address any questions or doubts I had, and encourage me when I was discouraged.  Joan is enthusiastic, confident, warm, and knowledgeable, and I would recommend her to anyone planning to breastfeed (BEFORE anything goes wrong!).  Today I feed Evelyn effortlessly, and I am so happy about it!  I honestly couldn’t have done it without the support of my wife, my mom, and Joan.

.

The Latter Family

Eagerly wanting to prepare ourselves for breastfeeding, we attended Joan’s breastfeeding class around the 32nd week of our pregnancy. The class was very informative. Joan was very knowledgeable, approachable and realistic. She gave us very tangible advice and we learned so much! During the class we discovered that Joan performs home visits after the birth. We decided a home visit would be a great way to put our minds at ease and help get us off to a great start since we were committed to breastfeeding exclusively.

We contacted Joan about two days after getting home from the hospital. I was experiencing sore nipples and our son Ryan appeared to have a shallow latch that I couldn’t seem to fix myself. To our delight, Joan was able to visit us later the same day! The home visit was so helpful. We were able to take pictures of Ryan in the ideal feeding position and Joan gave great advice and left us with tangible recommendations on which to focus. She stayed in contact with us via email to ensure we were making progress and, best of all, she was a great cheerleader! Our success with breastfeeding is, in large part, due to Joan’s assistance. Ryan, like many babies, lost close to 10% of his birth weight in the first few days of his life. Yet, unlike many babies, he had gained it all back (plus some extra!) by day 10. Joan is truly an expert in her field and we highly recommend her services.

Erin

You may think this photo is a bit ‘fuzzy’ – well that is how I felt after giving birth to my daughter Nora. It was an overwhelming experience. The only thing that was crystal clear was the tiny, beautiful baby in my arms.
I had taken two prenatal classes that discussed the benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and baby, and a breastfeeding specific course with a certified Lactation Consultant. The information I learned about breastfeeding prior to giving birth was foundational in establishing my desire to exclusively breastfeed my child. These courses also identified the necessity of meeting with a Lactation Consultant within the first days of feeding my newborn baby – to ensure that her latch was accurate and that she was feeding well.
Despite receiving guidance on breastfeeding while in the hospital, Nora was not gaining weight at an acceptable rate during our first week at home. It was at this time I began to meet with Joan. She watched me breastfeed Nora and helped me to make adjustments to her latch and my feeding techniques. She spotted potential problem areas before they reached a critical state, and kept my Midwives and GP up-to-date on Nora’s growth and progress.
After one visit with Joan, her positive approach and knowledgeable advice helped my husband and I to feel confident about our choices and decisions, and took the stress and worry out of breastfeeding.

The Boudreault Family

As a new mom and Holistic Nutritionist, breastfeeding is very important to me. Two days post-partum, my breasts became engorged, and with flat nipples breastfeeding was nearly impossible.   When Joan first visited, I was very emotional and anxious.  She helped me through the engorgement, and with her ongoing support baby Chase was successfully feeding and gaining weight within 24 hours. Breastfeeding is not always easy, but Joan didn’t let me give up and was a tremendous support for me and my new family.

Madonna

We went to Joan when Cyrus was 7 days old. At that time I was pumping and feeding him breast milk from a bottle because Cyrus wouldn’t latch on. I had not done a lot of research but I wanted to give it my best shot. On the first day Joan said to me that she would have him latched on before I left the clinic and she did. From there on started my amazing journey with breastfeeding my son and the best gift that I could give him. From day one Joan demonstrated her confidence, expertise and her passion to help Mums breastfeed. I knew I was in the best hands. It was not easy but Joan knows the challenges and how to overcome them. She supported me for a few months before she decided that we were good to go on our own. At a time when I was so vulnerable and sometimes second-guessing my abilities as a Mum she was a tremendous source of support and encouragement to Cyrus and me and she was with us all the way.