Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenn Boulay.
Hi Jenn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m Jenn Boulay and I live in a suburb of Austin Texas, called Pflugerville with my husband, three kids, and two dogs. We journeyed here from Massachusetts about four years ago, where both my husband and I were born and raised. We wanted a change of seasons, culture and community. We are so glad we took the leap of faith and moved here when we did, we absolutely love it here and have been settling down our roots ever since.
I have been a registered nurse for the last ten years and have been a maternity nurse for the last seven, with a focus in postpartum. Over these years I have had the opportunity to share all of my tips and tricks with both new and experienced parents during those first few days with their newborn.
I have always had a passion for breastfeeding, even before I had my own children. I always knew I wanted to breastfeed and thankfully I was able to exclusively breastfeed all 3 of my children. I pumped for one year, for each child, while working full-time and they were all exclusively breastfed and did baby-led weaning. In total, I breastfed for 50 months between all three. It is from my own successes and challenges, I have been grateful to share everything that I learned with the hundreds of women I have had the opportunity to help.
But over the years I have noticed a pattern, and it’s not a good one. Almost every woman that came in on admission that had a strong desire to breastfeed, unfortunately, was supplementing with formula by the day of discharge. I couldn’t believe how low our breastfeeding rates were. I knew we could do better. It broke my heart to see so many women leaving the hospital feeling discouraged and blaming themselves for their “failed” breastfeeding experience. And when Covid hit, it got worse.
More and more women were coming into the hospital full of fear, anxiety and overwhelm when it came to breastfeeding. Before they had even given themselves or their baby a chance, they were already thinking, “I’m not going to have enough milk” or “I’ll never be able to breastfeed my baby”. The fear related to breastfeeding was getting worse. And then April of 2022 happened, the formula shortage.
Women were coming in on admission already in tears and questioning if there would be enough formula for their baby if they needed it. They instantly closed up and were so fearful to even TRY to breastfeed. Some didn’t even give it a chance. And others were so stressed out, on top of being sleep deprived, that they couldn’t focus and were constantly worried. My heart broke for them. Plus due to covid concerns, the hospital stays were even shorter. Vaginal deliveries were being discharged at 24 hours and c-sections within 48 hours, leaving little to no time to do any teaching.
I would come home every day constantly thinking of ideas and how I could help encourage and empower these women. How could I help them learn to trust their body again and get in tune with their baby and natural instincts to breastfeed. I knew I had the passion and experience to help these women go from feeling overwhelmed about breastfeeding to confident and empowered!
Then one day, after a long shift, I came home and I had this epiphany. I remember sitting on the counter in the kitchen while my husband Evan sat across from me listening to a podcast. I thought, “What if I could be the one to help these women, not after birth when they are struggling, sleep deprived and overwhelmed, but before birth. To help educate them on everything they need to do in those first few days of life to set them up for success and decrease their anxiety and fears. To educate them on all of the breastfeeding challenges that might arise in those first few weeks so they will know how to overcome them confidently.”
Evan stared are me confused and asked, “What’s wrong?” I said, “Nothing! I just had the best idea, I know how I can help!”
In those next few minutes, I poured my heart and soul out to my husband with all of my ideas and how I was going to help not just the women in the surrounding Austin area, but all over the world. Because I knew this wasn’t just happening locally, but in every city, town, and country.
That night I couldn’t sleep, my mind kept racing about all of the videos I could create and how I could help in so many ways. The next day I changed my Instagram name to The Lactation Expert and started sharing educational videos that I felt would help women with breastfeeding.
And ever since then it has been a whirlwind of emotions and feelings of hope and excitement. I enjoy making these videos and content so that I can share all of my best breastfeeding tips and tricks. And connecting with women from all over the world has been so rewarding!
Since then I have created a six-week course called the Breastfeeding Masterclass which helps moms navigate those first few weeks with their newborn so they can thrive, have an abundant milk supply and learn the skills and techniques to successfully breastfeed.
I also created a Lip & Tongue Training that helps parents learn everything they need to know about tethered oral tissues (TOTS). They also learn how to know if it’s affecting their breastfeeding experience and two different solutions to help them fix it.
I struggled with my first son back in 2015, who had a severe lip and tongue tie that went undiagnosed for 4 weeks. I want to prevent any mother from going through all of the same pain and breastfeeding struggles that I went though. My goal is to help educate parents about them before they cause any issues, since they can negatively impact breastfeeding and milk supply.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been a smooth road. There have been some tears, frustrations and learning curves about running an online business. One of the first troubles I had was with my emails. For months I thought I was sending out an email sequence that would help people get to know me better and build rapport, but somehow it had gotten messed up and for months none of my emails were sending. I cried and was super frustrated, but after talking with the amazing company I have worked with, things were resolved shortly and it was just another bump in the road.
Keeping consistent with content has also been a struggle. For the last four years, I have been the main income of our family while my husband killed it in the stay-at home dad role. I was having to balance working full time, being present with my family plus showing up on social media. The balance has been tough and I found myself sleeping less and getting more burnt out. I have found a better routine now that my kids are in school and I can dedicate those weekdays when I’m not at work to connecting on Instagram and making new videos.
It was also a struggle trying to get everything organized for a small business. Getting an EIN number, business bank account and setting up a business budget. I never thought I would have my own business because I come from a family of blue collared workers and I have struggled finding guidance on what to do next and make sure I have everything in line. But through trial and error and some help from a close friend, I have gotten everything together and organized!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In December 2020, I had the amazing opportunity to step away from the bedside and become a Clinical Nurse Coordinator (Supervisor) over both our NICU and Postpartum Units. I had been a relief charge nurse 1-2x a week for the previous year and after several years as a bedside nurse, I was ready for the next adventure in my nursing career.
In this role, I have an amazing opportunity to work with everyone and also jump into some other roles as well, like transition where I help with the newborns right after birth for the first few hours until they transfer over to postpartum. I am also now cross-trained in NICU and continue to learn from the amazing nurses I work alongside every day.
I love being able to jump in and help my nurses whether it’s with breastfeeding or helping with a bath. My role allows me to be present and have the freedom to still do bedside nursing each shift.
I am especially known for my passion when it comes to breastfeeding. If there is a breastfeeding challenge on the floor, I love to go and see if I can help in any way I can.
I am most proud of those moments when I can do a mini “breastfeeding crash course” with parents and within that short time boost their confidence and show them some of my best tricks to help them successfully latch and breastfeed. It’s in those moments where I feel the most joy and the most fulfilled, knowing I was able to help in some small way.
I feel I am a really good listener, that’s what sets me apart from others. I like to sit down on mom’s bed, get to know her, and really understand her goals for feeding her baby. I like making a feeding plan with them so they can feel confident about taking care of their newborn and releasing some of those fears and anxieties. I am passionate about breastfeeding and will help them as much as I can, but it has to align with their goals and what they plan on doing when they go home.
Not all moms want to exclusively breastfeed and that is okay. But for the moms that do, who want to do everything in their power to get that special bond and experience they dreamed of, I am here for them. I am here to educate and empower them! To help them learn to trust their body and get bak in tune with their natural instincts when it comes to breastfeeding.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Yes, it made breastfeeding more difficult for women delivering in the hospital. The hospital stays are shortened to 1-2 days, leaving little to no time to do all of the breastfeeding teaching, no matter all the newborn care teaching too.
If a mom was Covid + she was under full isolation and it was even harder to support her and her breastfeeding goals.
Covid made it very difficult for these moms and they didn’t receive the support and education they deserved. Times were tough. There were constant shortages and the fears surrounding the unknowns of Covid increased postpartum depression and anxiety thus decreasing breastfeeding rates even further.
Pricing:
- $7
- $147
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jennboulay.com/optin
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelactationexpert/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/breastfeedingsecretsforsuccess/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thelactationexpert
- Other: https://www.jennboulay.com/TIES
