Babies have always had a special place in my heart. I’ve always felt a special connection and been drawn to them. Even as a young child I found myself always trying to make babies smile and giggle or trying to talk their parents into letting me hold them for a few minutes. When I was in my early twenties, a close family member gave birth to a beautiful preterm baby boy. One day when I was visiting her and her new baby in the hospital a nurse came in explaining the importance of her pumping (since he was early). That collecting the colostrum, and feeding it back to him was vital to his growth and health. The rest of the family quickly vacated the room to give her some privacy, but I figured this all sounded very complicated and thought she might like for someone to stick around and lend a hand. I was there to help her with the baby and facilitating the milk collection as well as helping to clean the pump and anything else she might need. Helping out seemed like second nature to me.
I forgot about this moment for a long time until I gave birth to my first son. Everything went great in the hospital, but when we got home that first night everything seemed to fall to pieces. I thought: “How did women do this on their own?” As I began to go through a series of challenges myself, I became obsessed with researching everything about breastfeeding. I was always on the computer trying to find the answers to what seemed like a never-ending list of questions. By the time I had my second son I stumbled across a program to become a lactation consultant. After reading a bit about it I knew this was it. I already had the burning for more knowledge, was increasingly becoming a breastfeeding advocate, and somewhere inside just felt like the perfect fit for me.
So that is where my journey began. It wasn’t until I was finished with the program and starting my own practice a family member said to me “it seems you were always meant to be in the field.” When I asked why they thought that they recalled the time I stayed back to help out with the preterm baby. It brought a smile to my face because it really reiterated the path I chose. I genuinely hope that for every family I work with that I am able to offer them the gentle support and assistant they need to make their goals a reality.
In 2011, I moved from San Francisco back to my home town of San Luis Obispo and opened Lactation LuLu where I have the pleasure of working with central coast families ever since. In addition to my work I also am a member of the Central Coast Breast Feeding Coalition, where I enjoy giving back to the community and further my education on the latest practices and studies. Aside from breastfeeding advocacy I enjoy spending time with my 3 wonderful children, taking advantage of the wonderful outdoor life the central coast has to offer, and spending time with family and friends.
