The Breastfeeding Diaries is a podcast sharing real stories from moms who’ve overcome challenges to breastfeed their babies. From NICU stays and tongue ties, to low supply and emotional hurdles, each episode features one mother’s journey - proving that even when the beginning is tough, breastfeeding for a year or more is possible. Hosted by Haley Laurence, this show is a space for encouragement and hope for moms at any stage of their breastfeeding journey.
Episode 12: Failure to thrive and parasites with Haley Laurence
I am once again sharing my personal breastfeeding journey, this time about my 2nd baby. I was right in the middle of starting my podcast when my baby was diagnosed with "failure to thrive" because of his weight gain issues. I had plenty of milk - had even donated! - but here he was below 1st percentile, struggling to gain weight. That was around 6 months, but before that we dealt with what I thought was a dairy allergy that turned out to be a parasite! I didn't give up on breastfeeding even when I had so many reasons to stop. We made it through and continued to nurse beyond 12 months.
21 Aug 2025
Episode 11: Instinctive breastfeeding, nursing strikes, and cultural differences with Bente Riehn
When Bente Riehn was learning how to latch her first baby, a lactation consultant's advice changed the game for her. She learned how to feed in a natural, instinctive way, instead of a rigid position. From there, she went on to nurse her 2nd and 3rd babies for over 12 months each, even while struggling with an autoimmune disease. She talks about her move from the Netherlands to Texas, the cultural differences in birth and breastfeeding, and encouragement to not give up even when babies go on a nursing strike.
31 Jul 2025
Episode 10: Bereavement pumping with Laurel Herron
When she was 14 weeks pregnant with her first baby, Laurel Herron received devastating news that her baby would not be able to survive outside the womb. She continued plans to carry the baby to term, but at 17 weeks, baby Elijah's heart stopped. Hospital staff gave her instructions for drying up her milk, but Laurel decided instead to pump and donate her milk. She was able to pump for 3 months and donate to a milk bank. Today, a year later, she is nursing her rainbow baby, equipped with the lessons she learned about breastfeeding from that time, and continuing to remember and celebrate the life of her first child.
17 Jul 2025
Episode 9: Pregnancy after loss and breastfeeding after the NICU with Brittany Suell
With her 4th baby, Brittany Suell suffered a stillborn loss at 40 weeks, despite having an otherwise healthy pregnancy. She entered her 5th pregnancy with new fears, focused on having a living baby no matter what. At 29 weeks, she found herself back in the ER waiting for the doctors to tell her if the baby was OK. She was rushed to an emergency c-section, and her baby was taken to the NICU for a 6-week stay. She had to keep track of pumping on top of driving back and forth to the NICU daily, but she was able to build a milk supply. When her baby got out, she was able to transition him to exclusive nursing successfully and continued to nurse into toddlerhood! Today she helps women stay fit and healthy even while breastfeeding. Her story is one of healing, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
10 Jul 2025
Episode 8: Surprise babies, body image, and donating milk with Jane Howell
With her first two babies, Jane Howell barely made it to 12 months of pumping and nursing - both times finding out she was pregnant and having to stop suddenly and use up her freezer stash. On top of that, her weight loss goals also took a hit to her milk supply. But with Baby Girl #3, she was able to continue long past 12 months, nursing at home, pumping at work, and even having so much leftover milk she donated to another mom in need! She discovered that "bouncing back" was more about her mental acceptance of her body, and even though she didn't force weight loss, she felt fitter the 3rd postpartum than she did before.
19 Jun 2025
Episode 7: Twins, tandem feeding, and nutrition with Allegra Gast
Lactation consultant Allegra Gast shares her breastfeeding journey, discussing latching struggles, tandem nursing, and maintaining optimal nutrition while nursing multiple children, in this interview.
12 Jun 2025
Episode 6: Nursing a preemie after the NICU with Haley Laurence
Haley Laurence recounts her breastfeeding journey after delivering her baby prematurely, detailing her transition from exclusive pumping in the NICU to successful nursing, offering insights for mothers facing similar challenges in this interview.
29 May 2025
Episode 5: Breastfeeding as a physical therapist and mom of teenagers with Miranda Harvey
Physical therapist Miranda Harvey recounts her unexpected pregnancy and successful breastfeeding journey after thyroid cancer, highlighting her strategies for maintaining milk supply while working, in this interview.
22 May 2025
Episode 4: Entrepreneurship and oversupply struggles with Maggie Awalt
Maggie Awalt is an entrepreneur and coffee-shop owner who had to reshape her business and her identity when becoming a mom. She shares how she navigated the demands of the business while wrestling with oversupply and mastitis. What does it mean to find balance as a working mom in the early days of motherhood? How do you prioritize your baby and your business, when both depend totally on you? Maggie shares her story in this episode!
15 May 2025
Episode 3: Breastfeeding through sepsis hospitalization with Shera Evans
Breastfeeding seemed to be going smooth for Shera Evans - until she was hospitalized with a severe infection for 7 days. Separated from her baby and waiting for a surgery in the hospital, no one would have blamed her if she had given up. Breastfeeding seemed pointless when she was even having to pump and dump her milk down the hospital sink. But she didn't give up and after she got healthy, she went on to nurse her baby for 12 months and beyond!
8 May 2025
Episode 2: Exclusive pumping to exclusive nursing with Kara Blessing
Kara is a full-time mom, and part-time doula, so birth and babies are a huge part of her world. If you saw her nursing her toddler until she was almost 2 years old, you would never have guessed that her breastfeeding journey had a rough start. Despite having a beautiful, unmedicated birth at a birth center, her baby was found to have mouth and tongue ties and Kara’s dreams of nursing exclusively, turned into exclusive pumping. The temptation to give up was strong, especially when she wa...
1 May 2025
Episode 1: Persevering through low supply with Casie Britt
Casie Britt faced an under supply, but through determination, she was still able to continue pumping and providing her baby milk all the way until almost 12 months. After losing her milk supply at 6 months with her first baby, Casie had hoped to go farther with her second. But after returning to work and finding her milk supply wasn't meeting her baby's needs, she had a choice to make. Her baby wouldn't take formula, so she used donor milk, and continued to pump even when she wasn't making 10...
Who has been a guest on The Breastfeeding Diaries
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Allegra Gast
Haley Laurence
Miranda Harvey
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
71
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
51
Social presence
0
YouTube
63
Engagement
0
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