Surfcoast Breastfeeding Coach & Naturopath

Hi, I’m Leiset, a Naturopath and Breastfeeding Educator. My goal is for every family to feel the joy and deliciousness of meeting their newborn and those early weeks. I believe that our children are to be delighted in; for their health and for ours.

My own story began when I came back to Australia on a high. I was pregnant. Second trimester. My husband and I had spent the last two years living in a tent and cycling across several continents. Our last few months took us to heights of 5000m. I was fit. I was ready. I was overjoyed…. and a little tired.

I thought I knew a lot about breastfeeding and came from a family who valued it. My husband and I, and all 9 of our collective siblings, had been breastfed. Easy.

Our little boy screamed like his body was on fire.

He screamed every evening and then during the day. I read statements that babies can cry for up to 5 hours a day “without cause” and knew, as all mothers do, that this simply isn’t true. I refused to accept these ideas. I observed. I experimented. I eliminated. I cuddled.

There had been clues along our path. Food triggers, sensory factors, microbiome changes, positioning and latch aspects. None told the full story.

The answers sat somewhere in the middle, like a bundle of wool that couldn’t be disentangled.

I came to learn a lot about these triggers. My son started speaking very young and he would, when exposed to his triggers, beg me to take the pain away while he beat his head against the wall. But I also knew that avoiding triggers was not a total solution. I had not yet recovered his health. These restrictions were a strain in so many ways.

The fear of making a mistake was a heavy daily burden. 

I continued searching for health well past our breastfeeding journey. I became a breastfeeding counselor and heard stories from many other families with similar threads. 

For most families slight changes are enough to bring peace and health to their baby. Understanding our babies expectations brings us so much closer to meeting them. Discovering their innate and individual communication. Meeting their neurodevelopmental needs. Understanding what safety and nourishment means to them. 

But then there are others. Families where that is not enough. Where some disturbance is happening underneath and further investigation is needed for that baby to flourish. And as a result the whole family is prompted to unravel their tangle of wool and rediscover true health.

Wherever you sit on this spectrum, this period together is precious. Let’s uncover how to meet your babies needs so that you can experience joyful parenting.

The Birthing-day of my second child. Skin-to-skin needs can be met by any family member!