Candace has worked in pediatrics since 2012. Her own personal struggle while nursing her son has made her enthusiastic to help others with their breastfeeding journey. Every breastfeeding relationship is different & beautiful in its own way whether nursing at the breast or pumping. She feels it is important for every mom to be encouraged & cheered on for being the best mama she can be for her baby!
She is an IBCLC (Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant) which is the gold standard in lactation care and is studying to be certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C). She is also a La Leche League leader & feels that peer support plays a role in both success & confidence.
She is married with a teenage son & they have two fur babies Lilly & Gunner. Candace attends Grace Baptist Church with her family & enjoys the many programs they have for the kids. She loves to travel, go out on the boat at the lake with her family & attend UGA football games. Go Dawgs!
I have the best job getting all the snuggles from sweet babies while ensuring they're being properly nourished no matter how their parents choose to do so. While I love the smell of a newborn & their tiny littles toes, my passion is to be a Mama Mentor cheering her on to take care of herself & be the best mama she can be for that tiny little soul. Every time a baby is born the attention gets shifted to the baby even though that mama just labored through all those long, excruciating hours & growing that precious gift for nine months, give or take. We lose sight of ourselves once our kids come into this world & shift our attention, focusing more on the tiny human being ensuring they are taken care of to the best of our abilities! In doing so, we put ourselves second. We push down those feelings of sadness. We throw out the nagging need for quiet & we shove away the possibility of depression because it's not allowed!
I have personally struggled with anxiety, depression & OCD for years. On top of that, I was learning to cope from pregnancy loss, so I put a lot of pressure on myself as a new mother. Everything needed to be perfect for this gift from God I prayed so diligently for. When my son was born, things worsened because the focus shifted from me to him & it didn’t help that breastfeeding was more than a struggle, to say the least. I felt I wasn’t doing a good job or being a good mom unless I was focusing solely on his needs. Little did I know, the best way to care for my sweet rainbow baby was to remember that I was important as well, ensuring to tend to my mental health & well-being.
My goal is to empower Mothers to embrace taking care of themselves first, knowing that if they do, they will be rejuvenated & refreshed, ready to take on the day with their precious gift. Postpartum depression is so very real & so is the anxiety & pressure that we put on ourselves as Mother's once that little baby is put into our arms without any instructions on how to take care of them. I aim to normalize our frustrations as Mom's, reassuring that it is normal to have these feelings and still be a wonderful Mama.
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