Christy Shields, IBCLC

10/09/2026

Power outage? Let’s talk about protecting your breast milk stash.

With the storm approaching, we know many breastfeeding families are worried about protecting their frozen breast milk. Here’s what to know before throwing anything away!

❄️ Still has ice crystals? You can safely refreeze it.

🍼 Completely thawed but still cold? Refrigerate and use within 24 hours of when it completely thawed. Do not refreeze.

🚫 Not sure if your milk is safe? Check the CDC breastfeeding storage guidance before deciding to keep or discard.

A few power outage tips:
- Keep freezer doors closed as much as possible.
- A full freezer can stay cold for about 48 hours, and a half-full freezer for about 24 hours, if unopened.
- Keep your freezer at 0°F (-18°C) or below.

THE FROZEN COIN TRICK!
Want a simple way to check whether your freezer may have thawed during a power outage?
1.) Fill a cup with water and freeze it solid.
2.) Place a coin on top of the frozen water.
4.) Leave the cup in your freezer.
If the power goes out and the coin is found lower in the ice or at the bottom of the cup when you return, it may indicate that the ice melted and refroze while you were away.
⚠️ Important: This is only a warning indicator, NOT a reliable way to determine whether your breastmilk is safe. It cannot tell you how warm the freezer got or how long milk was thawed. Check the milk itself for ice crystals and use an appliance thermometer whenever possible.

We know how much love, time, and effort go into building your stash. Take a breath, mama. A power outage doesn’t automatically mean it’s all lost.

From our GGF family to yours, we’re thinking of you as we weather this storm together. Please take care of yourselves and your little ones. 🫶

Share with a breastfeeding friend who may need this!

Learn more from the CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/infant-feeding-emergencies-toolkit/php/special-considerations.html

09/18/2026

If you’ve ever said that sentence, this event is for you. 😂

Next week, we’re hosting a FREE Car Seat Check where certified car seat safety technicians will take a look at your child’s seat and installation, answer your questions, and help you make any adjustments that may be needed.

No judgment. No embarrassment if something isn’t quite right. That’s literally what the check is for. 🤍

Whether you’re installing your very first infant seat, moving into a new stage, switching vehicles, or you’ve simply had that little voice wondering “Is this actually right?” — come get some peace of mind.

📅 September 21 8:30-11:00 am
📍 Growing Green Families
💚 FREE

Bring your car seat and your questions, we’ll help with the rest!

09/08/2026

08/21/2026

They really are the authority and will answer your questions about medications and breastfeeding!

08/07/2026

United Healthcare is making a huge change in lactation coverage next month.

From the article:
Beginning September 1, 2026, the nation’s largest health insurer will halve payment for skilled lactation care, a change the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE), the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), warn will limit new families’ access to care.

IBLCE urges affected families, clinicians, and employers to make their concerns known before the September 1 effective date.

A change to how a single lactation visit is reimbursed effectively halves payment for care delivered to both parent and baby, threatening access to the most highly credentialed lactation providers.…

07/12/2026

We need to talk about the “is he a good baby?” question.

Because somewhere along the way, “good” became code for sleeps through the night, settles easily, and doesn’t need much. And by that logic, half the most normal newborn behaviour on earth gets quietly filed under “bad.”

So here’s your official guide to telling the difference. On the left, all the things that get a baby unfairly labelled difficult, the night feeds, the contact naps, the 3am parties for one. On the right, actual bad behaviour. The white-collar crime. The tax evasion. The Ponzi schemes.

Notice your baby isn’t on the right side, mama. Wanting you is not a character flaw. It’s just a baby being a baby.

Tag a mama whose “badly behaved” newborn has, to date, a completely spotless criminal record. 🤍

07/09/2026

Taking inventory and making sure I have all of the new shapes and sizes ready for fl**ge fittings.
PUMPING SHOULD NOT HURT!

07/04/2026

There are three nerves that exit the base of the skull and travel past the top bone in the neck - the glossopharyngeal nerve, the spinal accessory nerve, and the vagus nerve. Sucking/swallowing, muscle tone in the neck, and the majority of our “rest/digest” regulation are coordinated through these nerves. So what happens when uterine contractions are pushing baby head-first through mom’s pelvis, and when either vaginally or surgically, a midwife or doctor pull on baby’s head to get them out during birth? What happens when the compression and traction forces exerted on the upper neck in labor traumatize the upper neck, disrupting the nerves as they pass through this sensitive region? Poor latch and difficulty breastfeeding. Tightness and restriction in movement, leading to torticollis and flat head. Fussiness, poor digestion, colic, sleep issues, and a child stuck in “fight/flight”. These are some of the most common complaints parents of newborns have and they are often left with limited options, told their child will “grow out of it”, or offered expensive surgeries and treatments to minimize symptoms when it gets bad enough. It doesn’t have to be like this - our children don’t have to struggle, our parents don’t have to be so overwhelmed! Chiropractic offers gentle corrections, subtle adjustments, to restore the normal motion in the upper neck to allow the nerves and blood vessels to regulate and coordinate function freely without interference from unresolved birth trauma. We can do better. Parents and our children deserve better. It’s time to make pediatric chiropractic a routine aspect of care.
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Find a pediatric chiropractor at icpa4kids.com
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Leni sleeps peacefully during her first adjustment 👶🏼❤️

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms.

To the biological moms.
The stepmoms.
The foster moms.
The bereaved moms.
The adoptive moms.
And the chosen

Some moms are celebrating today.
Some are grieving today.
Some are simply trying to make it through the day.

But every mother deserves to be acknowledged.

Happy Mother’s Day to every kind of mom.

©️Momming On Empty

04/03/2026