Jessica graduated with her nursing degree in 2003 knowing she wanted to work with babies. After working in the NICU at Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital for almost 2 years, she and her husband had their first child and through her breastfeeding experience with her, her passion for breastfeeding began. She stayed at home with their first child and then went on to have another daughter 19mo later. Just as she found out she was pregnant with their third child, she returned to work as a RN, at St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital, in the NICU. After cross-training to the postpartum unit, Jessica found joy in helping moms and well-babies just beginning their breastfeeding journey. This is when the path to becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant truly began. This path would hold many obstacles and life events halting her progress, and even pauses in working in the nursing world to open and run a CrossFit gym with her husband, also a RN, in 2011.
Then in 2015, after a 3-year stint away from the hospital, Jessica returned to St. Luke’s, but as a Postpartum Nurse, in order to begin accumulating the required contact hours for the IBCLC exam. About 6 months later, she was given the opportunity to work on their lactation team, while she continued to accumulate contact hours. She also ran their weekly breastfeeding support group for the almost 5 years she was there as well as teaching the monthly prenatal breastfeeding class. During her time at St. Luke’s she had child #5 and #6, boys that were both tongue and lip tied. She truly believes that she was given these experiences so she can better serve those mommas and babies facing similar challenges in their breastfeeding journey.
Being a homeschooling mom with 4 schooling and 2 littles, she decided once again to leave the nursing world in March of 2020, just before the COVID shutdown. But God had other plans, and out of the blue, just a few months after leaving the hospital, she was offered the opportunity to do what she has always dreamed of; `working with moms and babies on a more personal basis, through private practice with Bayou City Breastfeeding Lactation Consultants as well as working on the lactation team at the office of Dr. James, Liu, ENT, who specializes in diagnosing and treating oral restrictions. In her role at the office, she provides pre and post-frenotomy support for families dealing with feeding problems caused by lip and tongue-ties, something she knows personally from having had children with oral restrictions.
Jessica strives to pursue advanced training in lactation to provide the best support possible for families dealing with complex lactation and infant feeding issues.
“I have had a heart for helping others from a very young age. Over my years of being a RN, and then becoming a mother, God has molded me for this time; where I can connect with other moms and offer them expertise, understanding, empathy and grace, something all of us moms need daily. I am so privileged to get to live out my passion; helping to increase each mother’s confidence in their ability to care for their baby, through feeding, however they chose to feed them.”
Jessica graduated with her nursing degree in 2003 knowing she wanted to work with babies. After w...
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“I want to meet parents wherever they are in their infant feeding journeys, coming alongside them with encouragement and helping them to navigate whatever situation they find themselves in with information and support.”
Lisa knew she wanted to be a nurse from a young age. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in Fall of 2012, from SFASU. In 2013, she started her career working for a Neuro-Oncologist in Houston who specializes in treating brain cancers. She married her husband, Brian, in 2014. Lisa worked in the private practice setting for two years, administering chemotherapy and learning not only much about medical practice but also life. It was fulfilling work, though very heavy at times, facing the losses of patients she had come to know and love. She took a break to change fields of nursing and moved into pediatric home health for a year while pregnant with her firstborn. It was after suffering through the painful effects of breastfeeding her own tongue and lip tied baby that her journey towards supporting breastfeeding dyads began. In 2017, She returned to work and began her new role as a postpartum-mother/baby nurse and shortly thereafter became part of the lactation team, having the privilege to enter into many families’ first feeding moments and experiences with their newborns. In 2018, she gave birth to her first son, who was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect and who spent 1 month in the level IV NICU. During this time, she experienced exclusive pumping until she was allowed to breastfeed him in the NICU and continued to pump while separated until he came home, where she was able to exclusively breastfeed him. In 2020, she became pregnant with her 3rd child. She had some complications early on and was put on bedrest for many weeks, during which time she obtained her CLC while working towards obtaining her IBCLC. She gave birth to her second son that Fall and awaited her IBCLE results. She has been a licensed IBCLC since January 2021, and later joined Bayou City Breastfeeding. Lisa has successfully breastfed all three of her children through various challenges including returning to work.
Lisa’s approach as an IBCLC is to bring empathy, evidence-based information, and support to her clients as they navigate the many facets of infant feeding. She is eager to continue her education to better support and meet her client’s needs throughout their feeding journeys, however it looks from infancy to weaning.
Lisa and her husband, Brian, have 3 young children. They enjoy spending their free time with family and friends, and training in Jujitsu. Her husband pastors a church and Lisa stays at home with their children, now homeschooling her oldest while working part-time.
“I want to meet parents wherever they are in their infant feeding journeys, coming alongside them...
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“I have a true passion for helping moms breastfeed their babies, I can’t believe I get to do what I love for a living. I am truly blessed.”
Tessa has been helping parents and babies with breastfeeding since 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Maternal and Child Health and Human Lactation and became an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2010. She is a member of the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA) and the Houston Area Lactation Consultants and Educators (HALCEA) group.
She began her career in Lactation as a hospital-based lactation consultant at the largest delivering hospital in Houston (The Woman’s Hospital of Texas). Along with providing personal direction for parents, during that time she was also integral in establishing the first Baby Friendly (BFHI) hospital in Houston, Texas. In 2015, Tessa also began working in the lactation clinic in the office of Dr. James Liu, ENT, a well-known pediatric Ear Nose and Throat physician that performs frenotomies on babies diagnosed with tongue tie. This provided her with extensive experience assessing lip and tongue ties and assisting these patients with managing and recovering from the frenectomy procedure. Her family life directly led to her interests in cases and conditions connected to tongue tied babies as both her daughters were born in need of intervention.
In 2016, Tessa, along with Suzanne Juel, established Bayou City Breastfeeding to provide advanced in-home lactation support for patients in the Houston area. Since that time, the practice has grown, and now has two office locations and has expanded to include several other IBCLCs.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and four wonderful children, cooking, taking road trips and crafting. In addition to family time, she is active in her church and enjoys catching up with longtime friends, running outdoors and improving her yoga practice.
“I have a true passion for helping moms breastfeed their babies, I can’t believe I get to do what...
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I believe that when mothers receive the right type of support and are empowered as the expert on their baby, the whole family benefits. I aim to help each mother meet her own unique feeding goals by offering support and expertise throughout the journey.
I believe that when mothers receive the right type of support and are empowered as the expert on ...
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“I believe that when a mom and baby are struggling, whether it be with feeding, sleeping, colic, reflux or other issues, it is important to look at the whole picture to find the root cause of the problem. You can treat symptoms all day long, but as your baby grows, they will just develop into new symptoms. If you don’t find the root cause, you will always be chasing a new treatment.”
Suzanne began her career as a Breastfeeding Educator and founded Merry-Go-Round in Kingwood in 2003. Merry-Go-Round quickly became known as the go-to resource for new parents in the area as it provided everything from private lactation consultations to breast pump rentals to hosting a weekly breastfeeding support group. While in private practice, Suzanne provided lactation support to numerous local mothers in the North Houston area and became known for her expertise in handling complex breastfeeding issues. In 2010, she received the Family Time Woman of Achievement in Business Award, recognizing the contributions that her business had made to the community.
In 2014, Suzanne transitioned from private practice to working for The Woman’s Hospital of Texas. While working at the hospital, Suzanne not only provided lactation support to mothers in the early postpartum period, but was instrumental in helping the hospital become the first Baby-Friendly (BFHI) designated hospital in the Houston area. A hospital can only receive the BFHI designation when they implement specific practices that have been shown to support successful breastfeeding.
In 2015, she was approached by Dr. James Liu at Adult and ENT & Allergy of The Woodlands to establish a lactation practice in his office to provide support for parents and the babies being seen in his office for lip and tongue ties. In her role at the practice, she wrote the infant frenectomy discharge guide, established procedures and protocols for the infant frenectomy procedure, and recruited and trained other lactation consultants for the practice.
In 2016, Suzanne returned to Private Practice, this time with Tessa Gardin, IBCLC, founding Bayou City Breastfeeding to provide in-home lactation consultations to mothers in central and north Houston. Since that time, the practice has grown, and now has two office locations and has expanded to include several other IBCLCs.
Over her lactation career, Suzanne has continued to pursue additional lactation training and certifications, becoming a Certified Lactation Counselor in 2006 and eventually an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2016. She continues to pursue advanced lactation training to further her knowledge by taking classes and attending conferences. She is a member of ILCA (International Lactation Consultant Association), USLCA (United States Lactation Consultant Association), the American Laser Study Club, and IATP (International Association of Tongue tie Professionals). She also serves as co-Vice President of HALCEA (Houston Area Lactation Consultant and Educator Association).
Suzanne and her husband have been married 20 years, and together have three children. She enjoys spending time with her family, is an avid runner and enjoys working out, reading, biking, cooking and painting.
“I believe that when a mom and baby are struggling, whether it be with feeding, sleeping, colic, ...
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