Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Martin.
Heather, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Like many Lactation Consultants, my story starts with my children. I was expecting our fourth and volunteering as a Leader with La Leche League in 2009. We had a guest speaker at one of our monthly meetings and she asked me if I had ever considered working with breastfeeding families as an actual job. At the time I laughed, I didn’t think it was possible between family obligations, volunteering, my husband finishing his Master’s degree and my pregnancy.
I remember joking about with my husband later that night – “Why not?” he asked, You love what you do – look into what it takes and let’s go from there.” A few months later and I was taking classes specific to Lactation work as well as brushing up on Anatomy and Physiology.
In 2011, I sat the Lactation Exam boards while my sister and six months old played at a nearby park, three long months later, I had the confirmation of my certification and began the prep work of building my private practice. Ten years later, I still love what I do. I have met and worked with many families from a variety of backgrounds, each with their own unique needs and challenges. I’ve been blessed in the last few years to assist with the younger siblings of some of those first few babies. I’m preparing again to sit for the boards for recertification next year.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting a business from the ground up is never a smooth road. It has been equally rewarding and challenging. Similar to building a house, I had to ensure that my foundation was strong while ensuring my logo, business plan and mission statement was a clear reflection of my goals and values.
As an independent lactation consultant, it can be challenging to remember to refill my own cup and take time to refresh. It’s a balance between time with my family, with clients, and continuing to expand my knowledge so I can help families reach their breastfeeding goals. As a mom, a few challenges have been related to maternity leave-taking time off and then jumping back into work a few weeks or months later. We’ve added three more children to our family since I began my business – I’ll always remember answering an inquiry phone call while throwing a bag together just a few hours before my twins arrived.
The biggest challenges are still related to business management, it’s funny, I have a large family and manage to balance the budget, plan for needed repairs or new shoes and keep receipts but I’m still reminded frequently to make sure that I’m tracking mileage, saving receipts and evaluating purchases for my business.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Beyond the Breast – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
As an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), my job is to help families reach their feeding goals with their infants. Primarily that means breastfeeding goals, but it can also mean help with expression, bottle feeding, relactation, or inducing lactation. Over the last few years, I’ve learned a lot regarding tethered oral tissues or tongue/lip ties, in part because of the challenges I faced with my own babies but also due to what I was seeing with clients. I love working with families of multiples, probably because of my own twins- helping to reassure them that they too will survive those first few weeks and constant changes.
As a company, I’m most proud of the support that I offer families and of the relations I’ve built with local pediatricians, dentists and other care providers that families may also interact with – it’s so important to me that there’s a continuity of care for concerns that may arise. I try to ensure that each family I work with has an up to date list of local resources as well a concise, easy to follow a care plan that is tailored to their specific concerns when we finish a consultation.
What sets me apart? Probably my family – juggling seven kids, homeschooling and running a business is a challenge. I know that I’m not alone or unique in doing these things but I believe the experiences I’ve had as a nursing mom, including twins, tongue ties, and other nursing challenges, helps me to empathize with the families I work with. Ongoing education is extremely important to me so that I can continue to grow in my knowledge and share the most current information with the families I see.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
This past year, I started working with an intern, the changes in the last few months have made that work a little more challenging to allow her to visit with the families I work with. My goal in the next year is to help expand my mentorship abilities and work with others who are interested in Lactation work and hopefully help my current intern to sit for and pass the IBLCE Lactation Boards.
In the next few years, I’d love to open my own office and branch out to offer more community classes related to breastfeeding and the early years of parenting.
Pricing:
- Virtual Consults $95/hr
- Office Consults $145/initial, $125/follow up. Visits are held in Aledo @ The Chiropractic Place for Mommy & Me
- Home Consults $175/initial, $125/follow up. Travel charges may apply and are location dependent
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BeyondtheBreast.com
- Phone: 682-738-6455
- Email: heather@beyondthebreast.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/BeyondtheBreast
- Facebook: Facebook.com/BeyondtheBreast
- Other: Pinterest.com/BeyondtheBreast
Image Credit:
Business headshot @CassieNickle, Sweet Magnolia DFW Photography
Nursing baby in pink @Tamara Curry, RTC Photoworks
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