What to Expect at Your First In-Home Lactation Visit
If you’re booking your lactation consult postpartum, you’re not calling because everything is going perfectly.
You’re calling because breastfeeding is harder than you expected. Your baby is crying, your nipples hurt, and you’re worried about milk supply and weight gain. You’re exhausted and wondering if you’re doing something wrong.
(If you’re still pregnant, this is one reason I recommend getting prenatal lactation support on the calendar before your baby arrives. It gives us a chance to talk through your goals, make a feeding plan, and set you up with support before things feel urgent. For more on preparing for breastfeeding before baby arrives, see these posts:
So one of the first things I want you to know is this:
Lactation home visits are judgment-free.
Messy house, everyone crying, screaming toddler: I expect it all. I also want you to know that this is a problem-solving visit, and we’ll figure things out together.
Visits are personalized for your unique family, but here’s a breakdown of a typical in-home lactation visit:
We Start With Your Story
Before I even look at feeding, we talk about history and goals. I want to know:
How your birth went
How feeding has been going so far
What’s feeling hard
What you were hoping feeding would look like
Your feeding goals, including breastfeeding, pumping, combination feeding, formula feeding, or a combination of these.
How you’re sleeping, eating, hydrating, and healing
How you’re feeling emotionally
What kind of support you have at home
Feeding a baby is not just about milk supply and latch. It’s about recovery, sleep, mental health, partner support, and what the rest of your life outside breastfeeding looks like. All of that matters when we make a feeding plan.
We Weigh Your Baby
I bring a medical-grade scale to your home and get a naked weight for your baby. This helps us understand how weight gain has been going and gives us a starting point for a weighted feed.
We Do a Weighted Feed
A weighted feed means we:
Weigh baby before feeding
Feed
Weigh baby again after feeding
This tells us how much milk your baby consumed during that feeding.
This can be incredibly reassuring if you’re worried your baby isn’t getting enough milk, and it also helps us make very specific, personalized recommendations instead of guessing.
I Perform an Oral Assessment for Baby
As part of the lactation visit, I look at your baby’s mouth, suck, and feeding function.
This includes:
Possible lip and tongue ties
Tongue movement
Suck pattern
Reflexes related to feeding
Baby’s jaw and palate
Facial, neck, and body tension
This helps me see if there are any structural or functional issues (like tongue tie, a tight jaw, or suck dysfunction) that might be affecting feeding.
I also look at your whole baby, not just the mouth. I examine your baby for signs of body tension, torticollis (head turn preference due to tightened muscles on one side of the neck), head flattening, and overall comfort in the body, all of which can affect breastfeeding.
We Look at a Feeding Together
During the visit, I watch you feed your baby (breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping, or more than one of these), and we make adjustments together based on what I’m seeing and how you’re feeling.
This might include:
Positioning changes
Latch adjustments
Bottle feeding technique
Pump flange sizing
Pump settings
Nipple and breast care
Oral motor exercises or other activities for baby
Milk supply support
For a comprehensive flange fitting, which takes 15-30 minutes, we sometimes schedule a separate appointment so we have enough time to do it thoroughly.
We Make a Plan Together
At the end of the visit, we come up with a manageable plan for the next few days.
I never recommend overwhelming plans that require you to stay awake all night feeding your baby.
Your family’s plan needs to work for your body, your mental health and nervous system, your existing support system, and your family.
The plan will include:
How often to feed
Whether to pump and how
Whether to supplement and when
How to protect milk supply
How to get more rest
What to watch for
When to follow up
The goal is not to create a perfect plan. The goal is to create a clear, realistic plan that helps you know what to do next.
Lactation Visits Are Long Enough That We Don’t Have to Rush
My visits are about 90 minutes, which gives us time to slow down and look at the full picture.
During that time we can:
STEP 1
Talk Through Your Concerns
STEP 2
Assess Feeding
STEP 3
Weigh Your Baby
STEP 4
Make Adjustments
STEP 5
Create a Plan
STEP 6
Answer Your Questions
That time matters. Feeding challenges are often emotional, physical, logistical, and relational all at once. A rushed appointment usually cannot capture all of that.
It’s Not Just About Feeding
Yes, we talk about milk supply, latch, pumping, and bottles. But my time with you is about so much more than feeding mechanics.
The families I work with rave about how they feel seen as whole people during our visits, not just as bodies responsible for feeding babies.
That means I’m also paying attention to
How you’re doing emotionally
How your body is healing
How much sleep you’re getting
Whether you have real support at home
How your partner is doing
What feels sustainable and what doesn’t
What kind of feeding plan will work for your nervous system, not just in theory
Because feeding doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens against the backdrop of postpartum recovery, changing relationships, identity shifts, your mental health, and your overall well-being.
That’s why our visits are 90 minutes. That’s why I come to your home. That’s why we make decisions together. And that’s why the plan we make is designed to be realistic, flexible, and sustainable.
You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone
If you’re in the Austin area and want personalized, in-home breastfeeding support, you can learn more about my prenatal and postpartum services here:
I offer concierge support packages for families who want ongoing, high-touch support before and after their baby arrives. I also offer more limited single visits for families who only need one visit or aren’t yet sure if they need a package.
