Many parents do not realize that breast fed infants and formula fed infants have different growth patterns. The breast fed babe tends to grow quicker during the first four months of life than the formula fed babe. At around four months, many breast fed babies' growth tends to slow leaving parents feeling as though something is wrong or that moms milk is inadequate. They then choose to supplement or introduce solids on recommendation of their pediatrician. Unfortunately, many pediatricians are also unaware of the difference in growth. One of the most commonly used infant growth charts was created decades ago and used formula fed babies to come up with the standard growth. Because of this, many breast fed babies look as though they are dropping off from their growth curve when their growth is actually physiologically normal. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a revised growth chart in 2006 which uses breast fed babies as the standard. Many pediatricians still do not use this revised chart so many parents are told that their infant has inadequate growth. If you have had a similar experience, ask your pediatrician which growth chart they have been tracking your child's growth on. A link to the WHO charts can be found here: http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/en/

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Welcome!

Our names are Cassandra Bickford and Amber Roy and we are a team of DONA trained Doula's and Certified Lactation Counselors. Cassandra and her husband have two little girls and Amber and her husband have three little girls. We met eight years ago and it just so happened that we were at very similar points in our lives. We both were finishing up our Bachelor Degrees in Psychology but both felt like we wanted more. Through our journey, we have found that our passions are whole-heartedly with mothers, babies and families. It took us both a while to gain the courage to move forward in the field that we knew that we loved and now that we have, we have not looked back. Through this process, we have discovered how much we enjoy spending continuous time with the laboring mother and her partner and feel as though we are traveling along the paths that not only leave us feeling fulfilled, but also a path that brings out the best in us. We are enjoying every moment of our time as doulas and lactation counselors and feel honored to be in such an amazing field. We know that every birth is unique and deserves to be treated as so. We enjoy working with families to help create an environment that best suits their individual wants, needs and goals.  

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