Meet SDBFC's Newest Lactation Consultant - Nicole Kreps!

We are so thrilled to introduce you to our newest lactation consultant at SDBFC! Nicole Kreps joined us on April 10th and started to see her own patients on May 8th. Here is my interview with Nicole.  I can't wait for you all to meet her!

Nicole, tell us about yourself!

I was born in New Jersey but raised in the Los Angeles area. After high school I moved to San Diego to attend San Diego State University where I graduated with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing.  I worked as an RN in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Recovery Room and as a critical care transport nurse. I have 6-year-old twin boys and a 4 year old daughter. After my youngest was born I took a couple years off to be a full time mom. I eventually complete my Lactation Consultant training at UCSD Extension and am happy to now be working in a field that I am passionate about.

IRC Donation Drive Success!

IRC Donation Drive Success!

Written by Anna Choi, BS, IBCLC

On March 1st, we asked our community of mothers, families, and friends to help us #givehope to refugee families in San Diego by supporting our effort to collect diapers and women’s hygiene kits for the International Rescue Committee in San Diego. Our initial goal was to collect 500 diapers and 50 hygiene kits in 50 days. Within the first ten days, we had surpassed our diaper goal and were overwhelmed with gratitude as more diapers and hygiene kits continued to be delivered to our office throughout the following weeks. We are thrilled to announce that our final totals were as follows:

3,050 Diapers

40 Women’s Hygiene Kits

$400 in Walmart/Target Gift Cards

Meet SDBFC's Newest IBCLC - Debbie Murai!

We are so thrilled to introduce you to our newest lactation consultant at SDBFC! Debbie Murai joined us on March 6th and will be doing office visits starting today!  Here is my interview with Debbie.  I can't wait for you all to meet her!

Debbie, tell us about yourself!

I was born and raised in Southern California and grew up in Orange County. I moved to San Diego after marrying my high school sweetheart, Mark. I attended San Diego State University and enjoyed working at the Fallbrook Community Clinic. One month after graduating from the nursing program at SDSU I gave birth to my first child, Kyle. About 2 years later I had my daughter Katie and 5 years after Katie I had my third child, Miles.  I really enjoyed being home raising my kids, but I always had the desire to return to nursing when they went off to college. Now that my youngest child is attending college, I am looking forward to helping moms start their journey into motherhood too!

Donation Drive to Support the International Rescue Committee of San Diego

Donation Drive to Support the International Rescue Committee of San Diego

Anna Choi, BS, IBCLC

Here at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center, we love women; we love moms; we love our community. And perhaps most of all, we love helping the women and mothers in our community. When we heard about the recent travel ban put forth by President Trump’s Executive Order, we knew it was time to reach out to our friends at the International Rescue Committee of San Diego to see what we could do to help. In our discussions with IRC San Diego staff, we learned about the devastating effects the Executive Order was having [and would continue to have] on the ability of the IRC to provide support and basic necessities for refugee families who have resettled in San Diego.  As we read about the decision of the U.S. Appeals Court to uphold the suspension of the Trump travel ban, we celebrated with our friends at the IRC. 

,

Introducing the Top 8 Allergens to Infants

,

Written by Rachel Rothman, MS, RD, CLEC

A frequent question I encounter in my practice and in my Introduction to Solids classes, is how to introduce foods that may be allergenic to babies.  The last 15 years have brought significant attention to allergens, and most parents are now keenly aware of the risks.  However, a drumbeat of new research published on the causes of allergies and allergy prevention has brought new strategies to light and debunked old myths. Until 2008, the American Association of Pediatrics recommended that parents delay exposing infants to certain allergens until after one year of age. The guideline changed because after a review of research and patient outcomes, there was no evidence for waiting. I help many moms and dads make sense of this new world, as they are understandably cautious about what this all means for their child.

Happy #GivingTuesday! Gift a Local Low-Income Mom with a Breastfeeding Consultation!

Happy #GivingTuesday!

Did you know.....

  • While 93% of moms start breastfeeding exclusively at birth in San Diego, only 56% continue doing so at 3 months, largely due to a lack of access to ongoing lactation support.

  • Lack of financial resources is reported as one of the main barriers for women to receive qualified breastfeeding support to help feed their babies.

You can help local low-income women gain access to critical breastfeeding support on this #GivingTuesday.

, ,

Age-appropriate Portions for Toddlers (and Moms)

, ,
Age-appropriate Portions for Toddlers (and Moms)

This post is by Rachel Rothman, MS, RD, and is the third post in the three-part blog series about introducing solids to your little one.  Rachel is a mom to a toddler, a pediatric dietitian and instructor of “Introduction to Solids” and “Nutrition for Toddlers and Preschoolers” at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center.  Join us for the next Nutrition for Toddlers and Preschoolers class on October 29th at 10:00am.  More information and registration can be found here.

In case you missed it, I discussed the feeding relationship in my previous two posts, and these may be summarized using the division of responsibility. Parents are responsible for the “what, when, and where of feeding; children are responsible for the how much and whether of eating” [1].  In this third post we discuss age appropriate serving sizes – however, as with all nutrition advice, sustainably learning the behaviors associated with this division of responsibility will be as important, if not more influential, than simply choosing specific serving size, as all of our young ones progress at slightly different paces and individual ways.

Most of the food we eat- and the nutrient measurements we rely on – use the idea of serving sizes. But what does a serving look like?

Fall Diaper Donation Drive to Benefit the IRC in San Diego

Fall Diaper Donation Drive to Benefit the IRC in San Diego

San Diego Breastfeeding Center is excited to announce our Fall Diaper Drive, which will benefit the International Rescue Committee in San Diego! Beginning on Wednesday, October 12th and continuing through Wednesday, November 30th, we will accept donations of new, unopened packages of diapers at our office in Hillcrest [3355 4th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103]. Diapers can be dropped off during our weekly Breastfeeding Support Group, every Wednesday between 11:30am and 1pm. If you would like to make a diaper donation, but are unable to drop off during this time, please contact Anna Choi of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center to arrange a pick-up of your donation [annachoi@sdbfc.com].

How to Help Your Little One Feel Full with Solids

This post is by Rachel Rothman, MS, RD, and is the second post of a three-part series about introducing solids to your little one.  Rachel is a mom to a toddler and a pediatric dietitian. Rachel is the instructor of "Toddler Nutrition" and “Introduction to Solids” classes at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center. Join us for the next Toddler Nutrition class on October 29th at 10:00am.  More information and registration can be found here.

In my previous post, I addressed a parent’s responsibilities for the “when” (setting meal time) and the “what” (the food to be served) of feeding.  This approach is generally referred to as the feeding relationship: Parents are responsible for the “what, when, and where of feeding; children are responsible for the how much and whether of eating” [1].   The relationship is between parent and child, and between the child and the food they eat.  Now that we’ve established the parent’s responsibilities, we can move to the child’s responsibilities – whether to eat, and how much to eat.