On today's show I chat to the wonderful Katie Mugan, also known as Nursing Mama. Katie is a mum to 4, and nurse by profession; more specifically a Registered General Nurse, Paediatric Nurse , Public Health Nurse and Lactation Consultant who offers invaluable advice online for all feeding journeys. In this episode we discuss why our breastfeeding rates in Ireland are so low, the judgment and benefits surrounding extended feeding, weaning from feeding to sleep, breastfeeding for bonding, comfort, pain relief and beyond. We also cover the differences in baby sleep depending on whether you breast or bottle feed, supply and demand, cluster feeding, harvesting colostrum, expressing, combination, and of course formula feeding. This is a jam-packed episode that I hope offers the information needed to start a successful feeding journey. I always hoped to breastfeed, and after experiencing birth trauma it became even more important to me. As someone with a large following and online platform I think it's integral that we continue to advocate for, normalize and support breastfeeding. If you know anyone who is interested in breastfeeding, experiencing difficulties, or dealing with a feeding journey that didn’t go how they had hoped, perhaps you can share this conversation.  If you have any further questions, or topics we didn't have time to cover today, please send them on to [email protected], I'll also leave Katie's contact details below. Katie Mugan https://nursingmama.ie/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nursingmama.ie