“Words can’t express or truly show my deep gratitude for all the support you have given me. You have always gone above and beyond and demonstrated genuine compassion. You’re an angel”
— Kristin and Sophia
“You are amazing at what you do and so gentle and supportive in your approach”
— Julie
“Grace has just turned one and we’ve been reflecting on everything – wanted to say thanks very much for your early support with breastfeeding…We’re enjoying our quiet cuddle time together breastfeeding twice a day now with neither of us planning on quitting any time soon! Thank you”
— Rose and Chris
“… thank you so much for your support and care during Zoe’s first couple of weeks while we were having trouble with feeding. I’m very pleased to let you know I am still breastfeeding Zoe with no issues and are just commencing feeding solids. I have no doubt Zoe will continue to breastfeed well past her first birthday. She is growing well and meeting all her development milestones. We couldn’t have done it without you!”
— Mel
“With all the preparation for baby and birth, breastfeeding was a bit of an afterthought. I had a great pregnancy and natural birth and expected breastfeeding to be a breeze, after all it is a natural thing?!
From the first latch we had dramas. My daughter, Etta, would latch then fall off and cry. The wonderful midwives at the hospital tried techniques to keep her on but it wasn’t consistently working. I went home still fumbling through feeding on the breast or expressing and syringe feeding which made me feel like a failure.
After a few days it became excruciating to feed. I would try to get her to latch through toe curling pain and tears. My mother, partner and friends tried to provide advice but nothing was working.
When Julie-Anne walked through my door I am sure she could feel the tension in the air. Her gentle voice and kind words calmed me immediately and I am certain my daughter too. After a cry and good chat Julie-Anne examined the situation and determined my nipples were damaged and my breasts painfully engorged. Even with these problems she steered us through a successful infant led feed and helped to release some of the painful engorgement. Julie Anne instilled confidence in me not to give up, I took a big breath and realised that my daughter and I were a team – learning together.
After this first meeting I was much calmer, Julie Anne and I worked together to tackle the damage and establish a successful feeding relationship. Julie Anne really went the extra mile by emailing and texting me regularly, ensuring I kept focused and confident. After a couple of visits and a week or so of practice I was breastfeeding my baby successfully almost every feed.
My daughter is now 14 weeks old and thriving. Feeding is a breeze and I enjoy it. I am so proud of myself and my daughter for getting here! My advice to women struggling to feed is this, don’t give up on breastfeeding, stay calm and get help early. Breastfeeding is a natural thing but it can take practice…and a little help can make a BIG difference.
Thank you Julie Anne”
— Kristy
“Julie-Anne offered kind and gentle support when I needed it most – when I was being given a lot of advice but not a lot of encouragement from others. As a lactation consultant Julie-Anne has helped my little family immeasurably. She calmly assisted my baby to latch on properly after weaning him off nipple shields and helped me recover from two painful bouts of mastitis. She is generous with her support and guidance and her genuine kindness and wonderful service has made my breastfeeding journey as a new mother so much easier! I highly recommend Julie-Anne to any mother”
— Christa
“Since we met … when Zoë was a month old, we have gone from a Mum/daughter duo who was advised that ‘we would probably be giving up breastfeeding altogether by the time Zoë is 4 months old as it would be too much hassle and I would never have the supply needed’ to a fully breastfeeding duo by three months. I know we will face challenges again in the future, but with Zoë feeding like a trooper and being demanding instead of falling asleep, I don’t think she will let me get away with much! It’s nice that Zoë will take a bottle to give me a break or extra sleep every now and again, but honestly – I really love breastfeeding. It’s a rare moment in the day where I can just do one thing, not planning something, doing chores etc… I can just sit and relax and feed my little one and not worry about doing anything else at the same time, because she is the priority of my day. I would rather breastfeed and get someone else to sort dinner or hang the washing out, rather than give them a bottle to give her and me do those things.
So thank you Julie-Anne! If we hadn’t crossed paths, I am sure Zoë would be on formula by now and I would be ok with that, but I am so much happier we are still breastfeeding. You gave me the confidence to push through, and helped me step outside my comfort zone in a nice way – which ultimately led to a baby strong enough to suck, and a mum with enough milk to nourish her baby. Sure, I don’t have loads like some mums, and a growth spurt may take me a bit longer to adjust to than others, but we get there in the end (and I have … litres of EBM in the freezer….soon I will have to use some so I don’t throw it away!).”
— Charlotte
“Thank you again for your genuine and caring support with both breastfeeding but also this difficult and emotional time for us. I am feeling better every day, the sadness has lifted and I am happy with our way forward. You have been a helpful part of that process, I just wish I found you sooner.”
— Nicole
“I just wanted to say thank you, you have been an incredible help to me. I feel that Zara and I have a relaxed and beautiful relationship because of your help. Your warm and gentle approach has helped me through this challenging breastfeeding process. There was many times I thought I wouldn’t get it right but I am so grateful for your support and advice.
I can’t thank you enough!
I will be recommending you to all my friends who need help with BF.”
— Kim
“My breastfeeding experience was horrid … flat nipples, cracked bleeding nipples, four lots of mastitis, and a lot of pain and tears. One of the midwives at the hospital suggested I might be one of the few unable to feed, and my GP suggested we formula feed. When my baby would cry for a feed, I too would cry in anticipation of the pain ahead. Thankfully a friend of a friend told me about Julie-Anne from ‘A Little Help’. I was in such a bad way when I phoned Julie-Anne that I couldn’t even talk without crying. I was absolutely miserable and so was my baby.
From the moment I spoke to Julie-Anne, I knew she genuinely cared, and was so relieved to find feeding much easier and not at all painful after spending time with Julie-Anne. Julie-Anne’s approach is non-invasive, compassionate, gentle, and professional. Her service goes above and beyond, and doesn’t end when she leaves your house – I was pleasantly surprised when Julie-Anne touched base via email to see how we were going and to recap on our meetings. Thanks to Julie-Anne, my son is exclusively breastfed, is absolutely thriving, and is now a very happy and content baby. Julie-Anne didn’t just give us a little help, she gave us a lot!”
— Angela
“Our baby girl had trouble latching properly and refused the breast to a point where we were helpless and frustrated so we were going to resort to formula. But after just one visit from Julie-Anne, bub started latching well and she showed us the babyled method rather than forcing the baby onto the breast. Within no time following Julie-Anne’s advice and tips bub was breastfeeding well. Julie-Anne was so kind and professional, she definitely knew what she was doing and followed up many times to see how we were going. It was the best money we’ve spent!”
— Tina
“Julie-Anne is amazing! By the time we called her in my husband and I were at our wits end, our daughter wasn’t feeding well off me, she was losing weight even though we were topping up with formula. Julie-Anne helped us with attachment techniques but more importantly – she was constant support – celebrating every 100g gain and with her help Emily went from 15th percentile up to the 45th. Julie-Anne helped us so much that we were able to stop topping up with formula and go to 100% breastfed, we truly believe that without Julie-Anne’s support, Emily wouldn’t be the healthy 1 year old she is today. We recommend her to every new mum we know and will continue to do so because we know first-hand how fabulous she is.”
— Leah
“I was having a difficult time breastfeeding. It was extremely painful and it got to the stage where I was dreading each feed; a situation that is quite debilitating for a new mother. I contacted Julie-Anne and was impressed with her immediately. Our first contact involved her listening to all my problems and she spent a long time during our phone conversation getting to know my baby and I. Julie-Anne has a gentle & caring nature, and listened to all my concerns with compassion. She carefully guided us through baby-led attachment. She also spoke with us about sleeping issues & showed us settling techniques. I highly recommend Julie-Anne and can honestly say she saved my breastfeeding experience. I can now feed my baby painlessly and I no longer dread feeding him. “
— Naomi
“I called Julie-Anne when my little boy Cormac was 5 days old. She came at 7pm and worked with me until 11pm. I had a really rough start to breastfeeding but with Julie-Anne’s support my now 8 months old and not so little boy is still fully breastfed. Julie-Anne is a very dedicated, professional and non-judgemental lactation consultant. You will never feel alone because she is very prompt to answer e-mails or phone calls. Her follow up is exceptional. She is worthy every single cent”
— Zuzana
“I called Julie-Anne a week after giving birth to my second child, I was in tears (and agony,) and was very close to throwing in the towel with breastfeeding. I had Breastfeed my first born successfully for 12 months and I just expected with our baby daughter that it would be easy, boy was I wrong. Julie-Anne was wonderful on the phone and made me feel at ease immediately, she listened and arranged to visit me the next day, ( she even called that night to make sure I was going ok!), that to me speaks volumes.
Having a new baby is such a wonderful and stressful time and as a new mum any “extra” stress is definitely not helpful. Julie-Anne came to visit and was so caring, helpful, experienced and calm…. I was at ease immediately. She assisted my daughter and I and by the end of the session I was well on my way to succeeding in feeding my little bundle of joy. She gave me useful advice and most importantly the confidence I needed to believe in myself It wasn’t easy and there were still more tears, but I truly believe that if i hadn’t called A Little help I would have given up and regretted it. Thankyou Julie-Anne you are worth your weight in gold”
— Cass