Hi, I'm Emma
I’m a queer + nonbinary wife, parent of two, Certified Lactation Counsellor and Registered Nurse and I used to want to be a midwife to serve as a safe birth worker for my queer family - and then I gave birth myself. And I realised that that career path was absolutely not for me.
But I still wanted to serve the queer community in some way, and thus The Milk Route was born!
When I was pregnant with our first baby, I knew I didn’t want to feed formula but I also knew I didn’t want to nurse, so the only option for me was to express and feed some other way.
I’m not a hundred percent sure why I didn’t want to nurse. I thought it might have been a bit of chest dysphoria or sensory issues (I don’t really like to be touched) or both. All I knew was even the thought of nursing gave me feelings of revulsion and I didn’t want to pass that on to the baby. I was happy with my choice to exclusively pump and I ended up expressing for my now toddler for 15 months, had an incidental oversupply and she had my milk for over two years! It became my whole personality (lol not really, but also…) and massive special interest which led me to completing 95 hours (twice) of lactation studies with the goal of becoming an IBCLC.
When I was pregnant with our second, I thought – you know what, this time I want to nurse – and it hasn’t been nearly as overstimulating as I expected. I think part of that is because I’m very stubborn, and also knowing I had the option of returning to exclusively pumping made it far less stressful. So far it’s been a very different journey than my first with different challenges (and some of the same challenges!).
I tell you one thing though, I sure am sleeping more.
My passion for lactation hasn’t waned in the slightest, and I am now a Certified Lactation Counsellor and I’m super excited to continue sharing my own journey while helping you on yours.
When I’m not thinking about milk and how to better serve you, wrangling a toddler, or working at my day job as a nurse in a little General Practice, I enjoy pretty much anything to do with wool (knitting, spinning, crochet, sheep - I want to have my own sheep and learn to shear one day), other crafts like quilting and sewing, reading Queer books, cooking, travelling, Australian native flora and fauna, and hiking.
Thank you for being here
What do i do
How I can support you
Flange sizing
Expressing (by pump or by hand)
Antenatal colostrum collection
Weaning
Postpartum nutritional needs
Managing an over- or under-supply
Milk storage and handling
Milk donation (receiving or giving)
Bottle and other alternative feeding methods
Help with formula
Conservative management of mastitis and inflammation ('clogged ducts')
General support and encouragement
Safer binding of your chest while lactating
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The Milk Route acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we live, work, and play - the Yuggera, Waka Waka and Gubbi Gubbi peoples. We pay respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past, present, and emerging.
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