Heather Kinsy was born and raised in Arizona and now residing in Oregon. She is married to Michael and mom of 2 boys, Joseph 2 years old and Vincent 4 months. She is an Associate Director in Technical project management for an International Clinic Research Organization and enjoys the flexibility of a home based working arrangement She enjoys cooking and baking exercising is an advocate for natural birth and breastfeeding. Heather had a very tight knit community with her classmates and extended family living within 1 mile of the house that she grew up in. She is just now realizing what a blessing it was to have both sets of grandparents who lived close and were healthy for many, many years. Heather has a younger sister who is an amazing support person for her. While she misses her Phoenix family and friends, she does not miss the heat.

Heather Kinsy shares with us her story of the births of both of her sons. She had natural childbirths with both her babies and was very pleased with her experiences. Heather had a difficult time with breastfeeding her first son Joseph and hoped for a better experience with her second son Vincent. Joseph was tongue tied and she suffered with poor latch, a high level of pain and low milk supply in this breastfeeding relationship. She worked very hard to keep up with pumping when she returned to work, and yet at a certain point, her supply began to gradually drop and she discontinued pumping and breastfeeding in his 8th month. When Heather was pregnant the second time, she took steps ahead of time to ensure that she educated herself during her pregnancy and she also made sure she connected with an IBCLC before giving birth.

After an evaluation by a specialist, Heather Kinsy was told her son was tongue tied. While she was not happy that this was something she was going to have to deal with, she was happy to know that she was with the right pediatric practice who was familiar with babies with tongue tie. She had the procedure done and within a day, she realized that breastfeeding was so much better. She could really feel that her baby had a good latch now and there was very little soreness, if any. Heather could also tell that Vincent had a better, more productive feeding. He seemed more at ease and she could tell his belly was full. From that point on, she was able to breastfeed Vincent.
With all the difficulties she had with Joseph, the pain and the low milk supply, she was pleasantly surprised to have a very different experience with Vincent and thrilled that she was making plenty of milk. Almost too much milk. Heather talks to us about how making too much milk can sometimes be a problem and what she did to work through this.

Lesson learned: I would say that now I have seen both sides as a mom who struggled with breastfeeding and pumping and bottlefeeding and formula feeding. I feel like I understand both sides of the story and the struggles that moms go through. I don’t pass judgment on how any given mom chooses to feed her baby. I just look to give support to moms in whatever way works best for them. What you are doing may not be what you necessarily want to, but may be out of necessity.

Funny stuff: Joseph has seen me pump many times and once I am set up and turn the machine on, he likes to come over and adjust the dial for me. He likes to turn it higher and lower and he feels it is very important work he is doing and he is very helpful in making “Cincint milk”

I am frequently nursing at home and there have been times where we have unlatched with Vincent and Joseph has been in close proximity and has gotten sprayed with some milk and sometimes I playfully squirt him with milk to see what he does and he gets a kick out of it. It is also fun to see how far your milk can spray and we tend to have a lot of fun with that.

Confessions of a Breastfeeding Mother: I nurse in public but I don’t use the cover so much while feeding Vincent. I use it more when I am driving and pumping.

Words of Wisdom to a new mother: I probably put myself through a little more heartache that I should have. Trying to be prepared to be a good mom and actually like living it. Meeting those basic requirements for your baby in whatever shape or form they take is good enough. If you are feeding them and changing their diapers and at the end of the day, you are doing a good job.

Contact info: heather.kinsy@gmail.com