It's amazing how fast time goes.  This podcast started as Katie Oshita began her traveling journey in an RV summer 2021.  Katie traveled to 40 states, 3 Canadian provinces and met with many wonderful providers along the way.  Then in 2023 Katie sold the RV and settled down in western WA.  With this podcast Katie is still able to travel, tho most is virtually now, and meet with skilled providers all over the world.  Listen here as Katie recaps the last 4 years, 100 episodes and podcasts guests.

Spoiler alert‼️ It's NOT normal to pee when you sneeze, or when you jump or when you exercise!  Not even after having babies.  So many people are told that this is normal and just something they will have to live with.  Thankfully there are knowledgeable PT's out there focusing on exactly this issue and more.  Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialized field, not something that should be preformed by any physical therapist.  In this episode Katie Oshita and Rachel Doza discuss what pelvic floor PT really is all about, including covering the new diagnosis of Genitourinary Syndrome of Lactation (GSL) and how this effects postpartum parents.

Historically, having a baby was not a solitary endeavor. The partner was involved of course, but the parent's family, friends and whole community would come together to support not just the gestating parent but the whole family during this transition.  As a midwife and IBCLC in Australia, Kellie Eason sees the consequences of lack of support for families.  In this episode Katie Oshita and Kellie Eason discuss strategies of supporting families and finding ways to decrease isolation for parents.   

Breastfeeding is universal, however the options for support are not.  In the US an Osteopath has very different training than in Australia, where all Osteopaths are trained in Osteopathic Manual manipulation (OMM) unlike in the US where it's difficult to find an Osteopath with any manual training at all.  In Australia there's also no prescribing from an Osteopath.  Kirsten Hannah is not only an IBCLC but also an Osteopath supporting families in the AU with her immense knowledge.  Listen as Kirsten Hannah and Katie Oshita discuss biological norms, root cause support and tongue tie in the US and AU.

Pregnancy and postpartum nutrition are not just helpful but essential to milk supply.  Thyroid issues, PCOs, insulin resistance, gut microbiome dysfunction all cause problems in milk supply and nutritional status.  Learn how working with an IBCLC RD can help to uncover those issues and get parental health, nutrition and milk supply on the right track.

Podcast Guest: Allegra Gast is a functional registered dietitian and international board certified lactation consultant passionate about helping families navigate both their postpartum health and their breastfeeding journeys. Allegra offers virtual nutrition and breastfeeding consults for families all around the world. She started her business, Aloha Nutrition, when she lived in Hawaii but currently resides in Texas with her husband, and 4 children including twins. 

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine.  While Katie sees clients locally in western WA, Katie is also a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs.  Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply.  Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com 

Learning about oral ties and airway dysfunction hasn't only helped Katie's clients and practice.  Along the way Katie and her family have benefited from this knowledge.  Since learning more about lip and buccal ties, Katie and her Kidds all had these released.  Listen for details on why and the results.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine.  While Katie sees clients locally in western WA, Katie is also a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs.  Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply.  Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com  

Craniosacral therapy (CST) is something that few people understand.  CST comes from Osteopathy and is a gentle, rhythmic movement to support bones and the cerebrospinal fluid moving within us.  CST is gentle and focuses heavily on the head.  Meaghan Beames is not just a practitioner of CST, but a leader and teacher, who wants to help many more providers learn this gentle bodywork to support babies.  Katie Oshita and Meaghan Beames discuss how this gentle therapy helps with feeding difficulties, tongue tie, mastitis and more.

Breastfeeding is universal and lactation support is needed everywhere.  Katie Oshita and Kyrie Hickey discuss pumps, providers and paid time off in Australia and how those things differ with what's offered in the US.  Listen here for more.

Frenectomies are much more common now, there are more providers learning and  doing releases.  Rarely though does anyone discuss or offer a guided release, many don't even know what it is or how it's different.  Dr Kundel has been doing guided releases with Dr Geis (Ep 79) for years, they have learned together how to feel and listen to each other to get the most profound result for clients.  Katie and Dr Kundel discuss how guided releases work, anatomy vs function, how to develop good oral function and Serrapeptase.  Listen here for all the details.

It's not often you meet someone who has gone from a very allopathic profession to extremely holistic.  Adina Popov lives in Romania and started her career as a Pharmacist.  After having her children she felt passionate about lactation, studied and became an IBCLC.  Still seeing so many dyads struggling with wellness prompted her to study traditional homeopathy.  Listen as Katie Oshita and Adina Popov discuss why and how this radical shift happened for Adina and how she uses her holistic training to support new parents.

Ever wondered what happens at a lactation visit?  What does an IBCLC do with the parent and the baby?  What types of visits are there?  What is different for a returning to work visit or a visit with a tongue tied baby?  In this episode, Katie Oshita addresses these questions and more, going into detail to help you understand some of the many things that can happen in a lactation consult.

It's not often you meet someone who has gone from a very allopathic profession to extremely holistic.  Adina Popov lives in Romania and started her career as a Pharmacist.  After having her children she felt passionate about lactation, studied and became an IBCLC.  Still seeing so many dyads struggling with wellness prompted her to study traditional homeopathy.  Listen as Katie Oshita and Adina Popov discuss why and how this radical shift happened for Adina and how she uses her holistic training to support new parents.

Breastfeeding is a universal biological right.  It is what humans have been doing from the beginning of time.  While it is biologically normal, that doesn't mean it's easy.  Some places in the world have more support than others.  Indonesia has very few IBCLC's, bodyworkers and release providers.  Listen as Ingrid Siahaan and Katie Oshita discuss the joys and struggles of supporting families navigating feeding issues without the necessary support system.

For many parents, exclusive breastfeeding is difficult and supplementation must happen.  Many do what is referred to as "triple feeding" to breastfeed, bottle feed and then pump. It's exhausting and not sustainable long term.  While many IBCLC's know about at breast supplementation, most are either too intimidated or not knowledgeable enough to teach families how to use it.  Johanna Sargent is not only a huge advocate of at breast supplementation but also teaches IBCLC's about this method.  Making breastfeeding easier and more sustainable is always the goal.  Listen as Katie Oshita and Johanna Sargent discuss this and more.

Most of the time sleep and breastfeeding feel like opposing forces, but they don't have to be.  Joy MacTavish is an IBCLC and a holistic sleep consultant who supports families to balance both wants and needs of their growing family.  Joy also supports many Queer families  and addresses their unique needs.  Listen as Joy MacTavish and Katie Oshita discuss managing all of these in ways to help each family thrive.

In this episode, Katie Oshita addresses many of the topics new parents need to know about.  From prenatal lactation to weaning, telehealth, and gut microbiome, lactation is a time of questions and concerns for most families.  Many aren't even sure what to ask or when to seek support.  If you have questions about skilled bodywork, galactagogues, or other new parent questions, this is the episode for you.

Type 1 diabetes in infancy and toddler years is rare, but when it happens most families are not just encouraged but forced to wean from breastfeeding.  Erin Hayden-Baldauf has personal and professional experience with breastfeeding a T1D baby, and has written a book about the challenges this brings.  All IBCLC's supporting families need to know about these signs, options and resources to support these dyads.

Breastfeeding, chest feeding, body feeding, bottle-feeding.  There are many ways to feed an infant (this list doesn't even include cup feeding, finger feeding and more!).  Gender diverse and queer families need unique support when expecting and as new parents.  Their lactation consultant needs to be knowledgeable about inducing lactation with herbs or medications, alternative feeding methods and many other feeding options to support their needs.  Jacob Engelsman has written a book not only to help queen families, but to help lactation consultants and other providers learn and support these families better.  Listen as Katie Oshita and Jacob Engelsman discuss supporting Queer families in many different ways.

Bottles are actually not an innate skill.  Babies are born knowing how to breastfeed, and with many reflexes to support the process.  However bottle are not like the breast (no matter how much the packaging claims it's "just like the breast") and it is a skill that needs to be taught and learned, by both parents and babies.  Unfortunately most hospitals and Pediatricians hand out a bottle without any thought into the design, flow rate, or teaching the skill.  Susan Howard works with a lot of bottle refusal babies, and has many classes for providers to learn more as well.  Since new bottles are always coming out on the market staying current on new products is essential to supporting dyads with feeding.  Much of the common "strategies" for bottle refusal usually make things worse, such as "wait until baby is very hungry" or "constantly wiggle the bottle to keep baby feeding".  Learn more about bottle skills here.

Being born is quite difficult and traumatic, even in the best of situations.  It's hard- on both the parent and newborn.  Chiropractic care helps get the dyad moving and feeling better, and this means breastfeeding better as well.  Katie Oshita and Dr Rachel Kuperus discuss what skilled bodywork looks like for a newborn (**hint- it's not 5-10 min visits**) and how this helps with tongue tie, torticollis and feeding challenges.  Supporting dyads through skilled bodywork and lactation leads to easier breastfeeding and calmer, happier families.