Michelle feels strongly that every new family needs a community of support, especially during the postpartum period. Developing a strong community with and alongside new parents is Michelle’s passion. Listen to the recording to learn about the name “Your Milk Story”, the new Story Time support group, and why Michelle thinks prenatal lactation consultations are critical to ease the transition postpartum!
Kiara Aponte (00:01):
Hello, this is Kiara Aponte, the lactation intern at Your Milk Story, and I’m here today with Michelle Fassell, IBCLC and founder of Your Milk Story. I’m excited today to get into some of the nitty-gritty details on the background for Your Milk Story, the name change, the idea behind it, and some of those new exciting services that you’ll be offering coming up.
Michelle Fassell (00:29):
Great. I’m so happy to be here. This is amazing. I’m so excited about Your Milk Story.
Kiara Aponte (00:34):
Yeah. So let’s start off, why don’t you tell me first about the name? Why did you choose the name Your Milk Story?
Michelle Fassell (00:42):
For Your Milk Story, I really want a community feeling for new families. I know how hard it is to have a new baby and to feel isolated, you, your partner, your new baby. I want everyone to learn how to build their own community. “Your Milk Story” is focused on families. What are your goals? What do you want to accomplish in your infant feeding journey? It really places that empowerment in your hands. I am the educator, I am the IBCLC, but you are really the one or the family that figures out where you want to take your journey. So that’s where the name comes from. It’s your story and not mine.
Kiara Aponte (01:42):
Yeah, I think that’s great. And I think it’s important when you’re talking about supporting families on their own journeys and really having that sense of community amongst each other and with us. And I want to talk more on the topic of building a stronger community with and between new families. So can you tell me a little bit more the upcoming support group that you’re launching?
Michelle Fassell (02:11):
I’m very excited about my support group. Support groups are so important! I feel that when you’re a new parent – back to that isolation we talked about – suddenly you have this little dependent person, and it can feel very overwhelming. Are you doing the right thing? It might be totally fine, but you don’t know because you have no one around you to know. So, a support group where there’s other like-minded families that can learn and help you and you can encourage them is important to reaching your goals. And so there’s going to be a new support group, it’s going to be four times a month, three virtual, and it’s going to be around the theme of mind, body, heart. What does that mean?
Kiara Aponte (02:58):
Yeah, what does that mean? I love that.
Michelle Fassell (02:59):
We’re going to have several providers come to the support groups. For the “mind” topics, I’ll invite therapists, potentially postpartum therapists as well as other providers that can help you to understand how you are feeling. They can give you some tools to help you to reach your goals. And then for the “Body” topics, I’ll invite physical therapists, occupational therapists, pediatricians, and chiropractors. These would be providers that could come and talk to you about exercises that could help you or your baby to develop or to gain skills.
And then the third topic is the “heart”. The heart is all about attachment parenting and ways to feel like you are bonded well to your baby. I’m going to have providers, say maybe doulas, postpartum, birth doulas, other providers that can help you form those strong bonds. And then that fourth support group is going to be in-person, you’re going to be able to come to our office, meet all those families that you’ve seen virtually, have some snacks, talk to each other, learn about how you can interact and how things are going for you all.
Kiara Aponte (04:24):
That’s awesome. I love that. I like the idea of families being able to access these support groups virtually first so they can maybe get a feel for it, it might be intimidating or hard to leave the house.
Michelle Fassell (04:39):
Yeah. Exactly.
Kiara Aponte (04:40):
But then on that fourth session, being able to see everyone and meet anyone, I think that would be really rewarding.
Michelle Fassell (04:46):
Yes, I’m really excited about it!
Kiara Aponte (04:47):
That’s so awesome. So besides that, with how comprehensive that support group sounds, some other services that I hear you’re going to be providing will be just as comprehensive, and that I hear that you are beginning to offer some bundled support packages for families. Is that true?
Michelle Fassell (05:09):
Yes, we’re going to still have office visits. I’m still located at 4909 Bissonnet Suite 115. I will continue to go to family’s homes for home consults, and I also will continue virtual telehealth visits too. I’ll be bundling those services together to make it more affordable for multiple visits. I will also include group and in-consult infant massage classes. I will bundle several individual services together to create packages that support you in your fourth trimester, offering a 20% discount on those group packages.
Kiara Aponte (06:06):
Awesome. That sounds like a really great deal. Is there anything else that you want to throw out there before I kind of ask you my own little personal question?
Michelle Fassell (06:17):
I strongly feel that new families need a lot more support in this postpartum time. Creating this community that I envision is going to give families that extra support that they need to feel like they’re reaching their goals. I look forward to meeting all of you and getting to know you and your family, what your goals are, how to help you to reach those goals, and maybe even help you develop your goals. What are your goals? Let’s talk about it. Let’s see what I can do to help support you.
Kiara Aponte (07:01):
Right. Like, what if I’m confused, I have no idea what’s going on?
Michelle Fassell (07:05):
Right. It can be very confusing in the beginning.
Kiara Aponte (07:08):
And then do people have to wait until after they’ve had their baby to see you? Or how does that work? When’s the best time to see you?
Michelle Fassell (07:16):
Prenatally is absolutely the best time to see me. Prenatal visits before you’ve had your baby can be really helpful to come up with a plan. Maybe you have a medical history with some uncertainty if lactation is possible. Maybe you’re not sure how your pump works, you’re not sure how breastfeeding or chestfeeding works, then we can go over education. What is this pump? What are the settings?
Kiara Aponte (07:44):
Yeah, there’s so much out there.
Michelle Fassell (07:45):
Exactly. How do you hold your baby? How often do you need to breastfeed? What is hand expression? What does that mean? Prenatally, getting that plan together can be important to achieving your goals and knowing how to anticipate any problems that might happen postpartum as well.
Kiara Aponte (08:06):
Awesome. Well, I really look forward to seeing how things go and turn out. I believe all these families would be super lucky to have you on their team. And before we close out, I just want to end with a nice little lighthearted question. Could you tell me what are three things that made you smile recently?
Michelle Fassell (08:27):
Three things that made me smile.
Kiara Aponte (08:29):
Yes.
Michelle Fassell (08:30):
Oh, wow. Okay. I’m thinking, I’m thinking. My older son just came back from college, from University of Houston, and it’s been nice to have him there through the week. I’m happy to get the whole family back together and this has put a big smile on my face. I’ve gotten lots of nice hugs as well. I’ve really enjoyed that!
Kiara Aponte (08:57):
Especially with the recent weather. Was he here during that?
Michelle Fassell (09:01):
He was here. Luckily he’d come back before that.
Kiara Aponte (09:04):
Okay. Phew!
Michelle Fassell (09:06):
I know, absolutely! Thinking about the storm, another thing that made me smile was when I was going to pick up my younger son and we all weathered the storm well, including my new car. We had to shelter in place at the high school but all turned out well. I’m very happy about that!
Kiara Aponte (09:31):
Unscathed.
Michelle Fassell (09:32):
Yeah, unscathed!
Michelle Fassell (09:35):
And also, the third thing, recently, my new puppy has hesitated to get into my lap for a big hug, and he just climbed up, sat himself down a few days ago, and then just kind of eased into my lap and seemed very happy. So that gave me a big smile.
Kiara Aponte (09:56):
That’s so sweet! Well, thank you so much for your time. It was great hearing about all the things you got going on.
Michelle Fassell (10:09):
Absolutely. It was great talking to you too.
