Hello!
I'm Jasmine Feamster, MS, CCC-SLP, IBCLC, your go-to guide for your breastfeeding journey! I'm excited to support you. As a mom of two breastfed children and a seasoned professional, I blend my personal experience with my expertise as a speech-language pathologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. My journey includes navigating challenges like breastfeeding after a C-section, low milk supply, tethered oral tissue, vasospasms, pumping and bottle feeding, tandem nursing, weaning, and more, ensuring I can provide well-rounded support for various breastfeeding situations.
About Me
I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, and moved to San Marcos, Texas to attend Texas State University where I graduated with my Bachelors in Communication Disorders in 2009. I then attended Texas A&M University—Kingsville and graduated with my Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2010. I completed my clinical fellowship year at a pediatric speech therapy clinic in the Rio Grande Valley, before deciding to make the move to Corpus Christi, Texas in 2012.
It was here in Corpus that I continued to hone in on my skill-set as a speech language pathologist. During my years here working for a home health agency, I gained extensive experience in the area of pediatric feeding and working with a variety of patients with speech/language and feeding challenges. This experience in addition to the personal experience I have obtained with over 7 continuous years of nursing my own children through a myriad of challenges has been invaluable in not only becoming the speech pathologist and infant feeding expert I am today, but in shaping the person I have become. I am able to see infants, babies, and children as well as their families through a unique lense, especially when it comes to the impact of feeding. Feeding is a significant part of human life that is associated with the vast majority of social activities. Experiencing feeding-related challenges, particularly with breastfeeding, can be distressing for both baby and the lactating parent, but you do not have to face them alone! I'd love to be a part of your breastfeeding journey to help get you and your baby off to the best start possible.
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Finding My Calling
In September of 2017, I gave birth to my first child. It was through this monumental life-changing event that I obtained personal first-hand breastfeeding experience and could view feeding from an entirely different perspective. I always knew I wanted to breastfeed, but it was not until I had my son that I could truly comprehend not only the various benefits of human-milk feeding and it’s importance in the breastfeeding parent/infant dyad, but also the multitude of ways in which ones breastfeeding journey can quickly go awry.
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Throughout the weeks and months of troubleshooting various breastfeeding challenges we were faced with, I became increasingly invested in soaking up all the factual breastfeeding and pumping knowledge I could manage to increase my milk supply, help my son gain weight, and improve his ability to effectively transfer milk at the breast which was the root of all the issues were were encountering.
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With the ongoing support from a local breastfeeding peer-support group (La Leche League), a care plan following a visit with an IBCLC to increase my supply, tethered oral tissue revision by a local breastfeeding-savvy pediatric dentist, and active wound care, we were eventually able to get my son transitioned away from supplementation and were successfully able to meet my own personal goal of exclusively feeding at the breast.
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Breastfeeding may be a biologically natural act, but realistically speaking, it is not typically a skill that is just automatically acquired with ease for all nursing parents. Breastfeeding did not initially look the way I thought it would, but going through that experience substantially altered my perceptions on infant-feeding as a whole. It has certainly changed how I approach my clients regarding expectations and allowed me to better guide them through modification if we come across circumstances in which that is necessary.
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Overcoming my own personal breastfeeding challenges was the driving force behind me seeking out a shift in my career path and pursing lactation-specific education. I became a lactation peer-support volunteer as I ventured towards becoming a lactation consultant. I became a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist in August 2018 and then obtained my International Board Certified Lactation Consultant certification in July of 2021.
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Infant feeding, specifically the area of lactation, is truly my passion. My experience as a pediatric speech language pathologist has also provided me with a much broader scope of knowledge regarding developmentally typical feeding skills versus feeding skills that require intervention and a unique professional lense when approaching challenges I encounter with my clients. Every journey will look different for every dyad. This is why it is so important to have an IBCLC on your team that is looking out for you, your baby, your specific feeding goals, and approaches their clients with respect, empathy, and compassion. I would love to be a part of your journey. If you are interested in a lactation consultation, please contact me and we can work towards getting you on a feeding path that works for you and your baby.
Contact Me:
Let's connect! I look forward to hearing from you and being part of your lactation journey!
(361) 332-4302
