We gave birth to our first child, a son named A. While we were in the hospital after a c-section delivery, A went back and forth to special care a few times for blood sugar, and we met with several lactation specialists to try to help him get enough nutrition in him. When we left the hospital, we were triple feeding and hoping we would get A’s weight back up. At his first few appointments, however, he was not getting back to birth weight, and we were referred to a lactation cafe. At the lactation cafe, we met Steph, and she was extremely empathetic and approached us from a stance of inquiry to try to understand our unique circumstances. She identified that there might be more going on in A’s case and invited us to schedule a one-on-one appointment with her. That started a beautiful relationship over the next 6 weeks in which Steph continuously checked in with our goals, maintained a focus on mental health during a challenging time, remained an empathetic cheerleader, and provided us with a wealth of information. When we decided we wanted to seek additional assessment for oral functioning, Steph was generous with her time, connecting with our other team members and coming up with next steps. Throughout our work together, we had some ups and downs, but we were able to keep working towards our goal of terminating triple feeding and moving towards breastfeeding with an occasional bottle supplement. A has continued to get stronger and develop skills each week. Last week at our appt, A had gained and was at 11 pounds and went from a very small transfer to being able to transfer over 100ml of milk in a setting. It was with tears of pride and joy in both of our eyes that we decided it was time for A to graduate from weekly lactation appointments and that we’d be able to discontinue triple feeding. I am 100% sure that without Steph, I would have switched to exclusive pumping or formula feeding (which is totally fine, since fed is the most important!). However, we were able to meet our personal goals because of her. In addition, I was able to share so much of the insight she shared with me with other mom friends to encourage them. A common phrase in our household has become, “Steph says…”, “What do you think Steph would say?” We will certainly be telling A about his friend Ms. Steph when he grows up! Thanks, Steph!