RTL Episode 78: Feed the Baby with Victoria Facelli
Victoria Facelli is an Internationally Board Certified Lactation consultant who just released a new book titled, FEED THE BABY: An Inclusive Guide to Nursing, Bottle-Feeding, and Everything in Between
Victoria is queer, Latinx, neurodivergent and raising a child with a disability. She wrote Feed the Baby to provide straightforward advice and evidence-based reasoning where bottle and breast are welcomed as equally valuable tools. Based on her years of experience in the field and as a lactation consultant who couldn't breastfeed, Facelli understands what families and babies need to thrive. She explains the science behind the various options, from how milks are made to how a newborn’s sucking and swallowing skills develop. There are dozens of nursing positions and paced bottle-feeding techniques, with suggested systems and methods for parents and partners, from those critical hours after birth through the early weeks and months to the first year.
Feed the Baby includes:
Detailed instruction on how to nurse, how to pump, how to formula feed – and, crucially, how to combine all of these tools, as almost all families ultimately will.
The science behind breastmilk (a wonder of the human body) and formula (a wonder of human ingenuity).
Accessible explanations of the ways a baby’s anatomy and posture in utero can affect their eating, and massage and therapeutic techniques to improve that posture.
Links to 49 original instructional videos linked in the book via QR code, featuring a diverse array of infants and parents, and demonstrating feeding techniques from latching to hand-expression, to paced bottle feeding, to infant massage.
75 original illustrations featuring diverse families and useful techniques.
In this episode, you’ll hear from Victoria about:
Victoria’s personal experience with breastfeeding
Identifying expectations and goals as it relates to feeding your baby
How to let go of expectations when it comes to feeding your baby
How to prioritize one’s mental wellness postpartum
How Victoria’s book, “Feed the baby” is different from other baby feeding books on the market and how it can help you
Ways to connect with Victoria:
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781682686928
IG: @victoria.facelli.IBCLC