Let's Breastfeed

Choosing to be independent and offer impartial advice brings with it many challenges in the breastfeeding world! None more so than various breastfeeding bodies and organisations constantly telling mums that I am not qualified as I am not a midwife nor breastfeeding mother. However, my passion and successful track record for helping mums to be able to breastfeed over the last 13 years is proof in itself that if you are after honest, independent and unbiased advice, then you are in the right place. I want YOU to decide and YOU to have the choice………….just see what mums have to say:

Advice Line Case Study
Mum Karen heard about Let’s Breastfeed through her homebirth group. A telephone consultation was more convenient that a practice based consultation, so she made a call to the Advice Line. Karen called whilst I was unavailable, but I received an alert to call her ASAP. I called her back within minutes and proceeded to have a consultation. As a result of her consultation, her baby gained a staggering amount of weight the following week. Karen is able to call for quick chats as and when she needs expert advice from the comfort of her own home.

“Two weeks after Jude was born I found Geraldine’s website. In desperation I sent her a “help” email and we met the next day. I thought, any woman who drives a car saying “Let’s Breastfeed” must love her job!

For me, wanting to feed your baby and not being able to is incredibly stressful and all consuming. I’d fed my first son for a year and yet second time around I was back to square one. I dreaded every feed and had tried every number of pillow and chair combinations.

I’d been told in hospital Jude had a small mouth. Geraldine was reassuring, calm and compassionate. There was nothing wrong with Jude’s mouth! At our consultation he fed like never before with no pain and I was sitting like a normal person in a normal chair with no pillows! I left smiling.
Jude ended up needing an operation on his tummy at 4 weeks and at our second consultation Geraldine was the first person to spot his condition.

Her technical and medical knowledge impressed me immensely. We spent 5 days in hospital expressing every feed. Geraldine was really helpful on email post op guiding me on how to get my milk supply back up.

I wanted to give up feeding on Day 3. If I hadn’t met Geraldine I don’t think I would’ve survived the hospital experience. But I am still feeding and Jude is now a bonny 50% percentile weight at 3 months (18th percentile at birth). I will always feel indebted. Thank you!
Melanie Reid London”

“I cannot thank Geraldine enough for her straight-forward, accurate and unpatronising advice and support when it came to getting me back on track with breastfeeding.
For 4 weeks, I trusted numerous different professionals within ‘the system’ who had seen the trauma William had caused to my nipples from day one but had essentially told me to persevere.
One of life’s ‘copers’, I had fed on through the pain. Investing in Geraldine’s help allowed me in one session to feel in control of my recovery and begin to feed in much more comfort.
One week on and we are in a totally different place. Whilst I am still angry that it got so bad, I am SO pleased that I will now continue to breastfeed and will invest in her time again in an instant!
Fiona, Isleworth”

“Dear Geraldine,
It was lovely to speak to you yesterday. Things have been better since, so I don’t think I need to come and see you tomorrow. Fingers crossed that Maisie and I are getting the hang of it.
Thanks again for your help and support- it has been an absolute lifesaver.
Best wishes,
Lucy

“Going to see Geraldine was definitely the best decision I have made since my baby girl was born six weeks ago – I am quite sure that without her I would have given up breastfeeding in pain and frustration, despite being desperately keen to do it. She immediately saw what the problem was that was causing us to struggle, helped us work out an interim and a permanent solution, and sympathetically offered ongoing support by email as we worked to get on top of breastfeeding. I would recommend that anybody who is having issues of any kind with breastfeeding considers making an appointment with her as soon as possible, rather than gritting their teeth, trying to ignore the pain and thinking ‘it must just be me’ which is what I did! Thanks to her expertise and encouragement breastfeeding is now painless and feels absolutely intuitive – I’m so glad that we persevered but it might well have been impossible without Geraldine’s help”

“Hi Geraldine
It was lovely to meet you and I really appreciated your time and advice.
Things are much better with Jacob’s wind and the feeding.
I tried out your advice in relation to giving Jacob both breasts before his bath and then a top up after and then Adrian gave him his bottle and he slept through until near just before 5am! Wow!
Thank you again it is such a mission all of this new Mum stuff and it is so hard to know what to do sometimes but with wonderful people like yourself it certainly gives one so much more confidence.
Looking forward to catching up.
Cheers
Karen”

“Hi Geraldine,
Thank you so much for helping me, your consultation really gave me confidence and reassured me. Things are going well (fingers crossed!).”
Best wishes,
Polly Conway
“P.S. He loves the sleeping position you showed me!”

“Geraldine,
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my calls…and for devising a method that worked for William an me and provide an angst free method of weaning.
I cannot sing your praises strongly enough!
Danelle Dinsdale”

“I was at my lowest ebb when a friend recommended Geraldine to me. Then Geraldine arrived and quite literally changed our lives. Her gentle touch and incredible understanding meant we were quickly back on track. Breastfeeding would have been a completely miserable and short lived experience for me had I not met Geraldine and I now recommend her whenever I can.”

Anna Bartle
London

“Within minutes of walking in to our home Geraldine had spotted the problem, and with a few simple tips, our son was feeding at the breast for the first time since his birth. It was such an emotional moment that I will never forget.

After days of head-scratching with the hospital midwives, it seemed we had found our guardian angel. Geraldine gave me the confidence to realize that my son and I could breastfeed successfully.

We will always be grateful for Geraldine’s fantastic support and knowledge, we would never have done it without her. I truly believe that every mum-to-be, should read her books & website.”

Johanna Brotherstone
London

“As far as I am concerned, Geraldine Miskin in the best breastfeeding specialist in London. I refuse to send my client’s to anyone else.”

Patti Good
Founder of BabyJourney in Harley Street.

“When I was at my lowest point in those first few weeks after my daughter Sophia was born, Geraldine came highly recommended through a friend of a friend (the trusted mothers’ network!) Her book re-enforced a lot of what she shared with me in my initial session so it was great to have a quick and easy reference guide to turn to almost on a daily basis in those early weeks. 3 months on I am still referring to it for advice on how to drop feeds for bottle feeds. It all just makes such logical sense. What Geraldine preaches is what every soon to be mother should know before giving birth but generally don’t.”

Linda Olivier
Wimbledon

“Geraldine is incredibly warm and, most unusually, completely non-judgemental when it comes to making decisions about whether or how much to breast feed versus bottle feed. She instantly made me feel comfortable and reassured that I was in professional and knowledgeable hands.”

Sara Jaffee
Dulwich

“My baby was 4 days old when he suddenly refused to latch and just started crying constantly. In a complete panic I consulted Geraldine’s e-book and within minutes I had my exact question answered. I realized my milk had not come in, my baby was hungry and we needed to get formula fast. The minute we got the milk into him he settled immediately. I was hoping not to feed my baby formula but at 11pm that evening with a screaming newborn, Geraldine’s e-book was a godsend. It later transpired that due to complications I would not produce enough to exclusively nurse Max. Knowing how to assess whether he was getting enough and what to do if he wasn’t, spared us a trip to the hospital and certain dehydration.”

Patti Geary,
mum of Max

“I have been recommending Geraldine to Baby Concierge clients for more than five years and have only had positive feedback. Geraldine always seems to know how to handle any issues clients may have with breast feeding and her calm manner and expert knowledge helps you feel confident and back in control. Although she is often called out to help clients fire-fight when things have gone wrong, I would recommend anyone to invest some time with her in advance of the birth so that you feel empowered and in control right from the start and will know how to respond to different situations without panicking.”

Caroline Cosgrove
Founder of Baby Concierge
London

“Geraldine helped me to breastfeed both my sons and I can honestly say I couldn’t have done it without her. With my first boy, I was a bewildered new mother, unsure of myself and how to get my baby feeding but worst of all, I was surrounded by conflicting – and often stern – advice from midwives, health visitors and doctors. Geraldine was kind and calm and it was such a relief to have one trusted person to turn to. She helped me again with my second son – who was an entirely different kind of baby, with a different feeding style and so different problems arose. When you are tearful and hormonal after the birth of a baby, Geraldine’s gentle, kindly and confident approach is just what you need. I have recommended Geraldine again and again – to my colleagues at work, to all my NCT mums, to my neighbours and friends. Hers is the first number I call from hospital!”

Susie Steiner
West Hampstead

“Geraldine Miskin is like a fairy godmother for breastfeeding mums!”

I first met Geraldine when she came to speak to Lolly Stirk’s pregnancy yoga class in Notting Hill. Her enthusiasm and friendly manner inspired me to contact her when I was having difficulty breastfeeding my baby girl. My daughter, Rania, was born by caesarian section and was very alert from the start, latching on quickly on her first attempt to breastfeed. However, as she was quite small when born — dropping down to a little over 4 lbs after birth — the nurses insisted that I top her up with formula after each feed to ensure that she gain weight. Once we returned home, our maternity nurse carried on with the formula top ups — increasing the amount of formula incrementally and discouraging me from trying to breastfeed exclusively. When Geraldine came to us, it became clear to her that while my milk supply was adequate, the maternity nurse was over feeding my daughter, resulting in a compromised milk supply — and an insecure new mum!

Geraldine instilled much-needed confidence in me that I would be able to wean my daughter off of a dependency on formula top ups — she was incredibly supportive, returning phone calls and e-mails quickly and answering each of my questions with patience and detail. She showed me the best ways for Rania to latch on, got me pumping regularly and drinking fenugreek and fennel tea to increase my milk production, and most importantly encouraged me to have faith in my body’s ability to breastfeed my baby. Rania is now 8 months old and I am amazed to be able to stay that I am still breastfeeding her, and moreover enjoying being able to do so.

I’ve recommended Geraldine to all my pregnant friends — I can’t praise her highly enough!”

Sanda Lwin
London

“Hi Geraldine,

Thank you very much again for your advice. I offered the bottle first every time I fed him. Four weeks later, despite a slow start, Henning now takes the bottle and I have stopped breastfeeding completely! I have now moved onto solids, hoping that the nights would get better too.”

Sandra Reicherter
London