Hi there, I’m Liba!
I’m mother to two adorable sons, a Certified Lactation Counselor, a data and research nerd, and a committed educator—I taught high school English for many years before becoming a parent. I’ve lived all over the US and Europe, and I am deeply passionate about supporting new and expecting parents with compassionate, evidence-based support for feeding, postpartum, and beyond.
I assumed breastfeeding would be easy and intuitive.
My mom was a childbirth educator and active member of breastfeeding support groups. I grew up watching her nurse my baby sister, and I was surrounded by other breastfeeding families as well. When I entered my twenties, I watched many friends and my older sister breastfeed their children with seeming ease. When I got pregnant, I thought I would read a few books, baby would crawl up my chest and latch, and that would be that.
My breastfeeding experience ended up quite differently than I expected.
After an unexpectedly complicated birth, my son needed to be immediately resuscitated using mechanical suction and a CPAP. Instead of my hoped-for golden hour of skin-to-skin and learning to latch, we had 90 seconds together. When we were finally reunited and trying to breastfeed, it was very difficult for him to latch. For the first few weeks of my son’s life, he was fed with a combination of donor breastmilk, my expressed milk, and continued attempts to nurse directly. We struggled with slow weight gain, reflux, and other challenges.
As we worked together with the support of our doula and lactation professionals, we started to get the hang of things.
Direct nursing became easier over time with practice and with lots and lots of support. But breastfeeding was incredibly painful—and I knew it should never be painful. I continued to push for answers, doing my research and seeking the right lactation support. When my son was seven weeks old, we learned he was dealing with tethered oral tissues (TOTs, also known as lip and tongue ties). After having his ties released, we connected with providers who could give him the necessary bodywork and aftercare.
Nursing became painless, intuitive, and enjoyable.
My difficult early experiences led me to pursue education as a Certified Lactation Counselor through the Healthy Children Project with certification from the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice. I am thrilled to have taken this journey, and I find it incredibly meaningful to support parents on their own feeding journeys.