“It was the Friday before going into a holiday weekend-my week old baby had not yet reached his birth weight, despite his great latch and our constant nursing and I had began to hear the word “supplement”. Brandi insisted on seeing me immediately and was at my home, suitcase, scale and wisdom in tow, in a matter of hours! I can still remember the love and grace that entered my home as Brandi walked in. She sat with me, inquired about my life and my birth story, while I sat across from her and nursed my son (what I would later come to know as a weighted feed). I shared with Brandi my fears and deep concerns about infant formula and my desire to exclusively breast feed. Having had a breast reduction 15 years prior, I was experiencing Insufficient Glandular Tissue. My body knew how to make milk for my son, but my breast could only hold about an ounce at most. Brandi went to work, prescribing a triple feed nursing plan- a two hour rotation of nursing, pumping and bottle feeding. She also let me know she may have some donor milk and would be in touch. I was left with the words “Keep that baby on your breast!” Within 4 days, I tapped out of the dreaded triple feed. I had no support from my partner, I was barely sleeping and could not keep up with the schedule. I could however, KEEP THAT BABY ON MY BREAST! I supplemented with donor milk from my midwife and nursed around the clock. The tenderness, empathy and solidarity Brandi showed me when I told her I couldn’t continue to pump changed the course of my breastfeeding journey. Brandi continued to visit me, connected me with MULTIPLE donor mamas, made sure I was thought of and loved on and continued to encourage me to keep that baby on my breast! I remember asking her, “What if he’s not getting any milk? What’s the point?” She reminded me, it didn’t matter how many ounces of milk my breast produced, my son was in love with me and in love with nursing! Brandi Gates-Burgess was literally a Goddess send. She saw me during one of the most uncertain times in my life and simply loved on me. When I cried because I “only” produced and ounce of milk, she celebrated me, my ounce, my body and my baby. I am the confident mother, birth worker and woman I am today, because of the way Brandi saw me. I remember driving ALL over the Bay Area making multiple milk pick up stops, feeling like a brave, confident, proud, milk receiving mama! I had the strength and resources to nourish my baby in the ways I chose, because Brandi empowered me to do so! My son continued to be nourished by donor milk until he was 15 months old. And he we are 2 years, 3 months, and 19 days into our breastfeeding journey. The only difference now, when I ask him if there is any milk there, he can say “Yes mama!” Clearly, there some undeniable, honorable, ancestral wisdom behind “KEEP THAT BABY ON YOUR BREAST!”