I have absolutely loved working with Vanessa and Kate towards my breastfeeding goals, and wish I had known about VP Lactation before my delivery. Thankfully, my hospital LC got me connected to the Lactation Network and they paired me up with a local LC, which through serendipity I was paired with the absolute best team at VP Lactation. Working with Vanessa has been the greatest gift in my fourth trimester journey. My little one had a tongue tie, and as a physician myself I felt that I was referred to the very best clinicians for release and therapy, and these changes have dramatically improved my baby's weight gain and growth. I didn't expect to love breastfeeding as much as I have and have learned so much as my baby and I mastered this skill together all because of the incredible support VP Lactation provided throughout. I look forward to working with Vanessa when I transition back to work and eventually wean, and will absolutely have them by my side ahead of time for my next baby. They are an absolute joy as people, expert IBCLCs, and inspiring moms and I would not hesitate to recommend them to other expecting families! read more

do not hesitate to book! Such a great experience! I saw Kate and I can't recommend her enough. So easy to talk to, so knowledgeable, so helpful, and i wish I would have met her sooner! After one visit, I took her tips and recommendation and it made a huge impact in my breastfeeding journey! can't say enough good things! read more

I would be totally lost without Kate and Vanessa! Vanessa's prenatal class was so informative in helping us prepare for baby girl. Once she was here I worked with Kate to help work through some challenges due to baby's multiple ties. Kate was super supportive in whatever decision we made for our baby and our family. Happy to say we have worked through our challenges with Kate's expert support and knowledge! read more

Vanessa and Kate are both experts in their field, and bring good experience from their own lives too. My first son needed a lot of extra feeding support and Vanessa was extremely patient helping me try different techniques and supporting us until we found a pediatric dentist to release his tongue and lip tie. After that I was able to breast feed him for fourteen months. For our second son, Kate came and put our minds at ease with a weighted feed. She shared some practical tips and made helpful breast pump/ bottle feeding recommendations. I cannot recommend them enough. read more

I discovered VP Lactation through The Lactation Network and couldn't be happier that I did! I can't recommend Andrea enough. Right off the bat during our initial prenatal visit, she was warm, caring and invested in helping my breastfeeding journey be successful. Those first few weeks were an *adventure* but every time I got to see Andrea, she gave me the confidence I needed to keep going. We are three months in and going strong over here. Without her support the first few months I would not still be exclusively breastfeeding. I'm almost sad I'm done having babies over here and won't get to work with her again! (I said almost :)) read more

I worked with Kate after my son had his tongue and lip tie released. She was very helpful and came up with a plan for my son and I to achieve my breastfeeding goals. My son was hardly latching on when she first came and 1.5 weeks later she came for a follow up and he was latching well! It was also so nice that she had the weight scale so I could feel confident that he was getting enough supply from me. Would definitely recommend if you're struggling on your breastfeeding journey like I was!! read more

I am so thankful for Vanessa and Kate for making breastfeeding possible for my baby and I. Kate was able to identify lip and tongue ties that were causing difficulty with milk transfer. Vanessa and Kate directed us to a specialized pediatric dentist to address the lip and tongue ties. They also recommended a chiropractor and speech language pathologist. The team that Kate and Vanessa built to support our breastfeeding journey along with their expertise made it possible for us to move from triple feeding to exclusively breastfeeding while maintaining a positive breastfeeding experience, getting my milk supply up and regulated, and ensuring my son was gaining appropriate weight. I cannot thank Kate and Vanessa enough for what they have given to our family. read more

As a first time mother, breastfeeding can be intimidating... Vanessa was personable, knowledgeable & professional. Ultimately she helped me figure out what in the world I'm doing & for that I'll forever be grateful. I would recommend her to any breastfeeding mothers & such a bonus my insurance fully covered her services. read more

I have been seeing Kate for the past 3 months since shortly before my first baby was born. I would have been lost without her! Kate taught me everything I now know about breastfeeding including how to successfully latch my baby, how to use my pump, and suggestions to relieve cracked nipples. When my baby wasn't gaining as much weight as the pediatrician wanted, it was Kate who suspected a tongue tie and referred me to an amazing pediatric dentist. Kate was always on time to our appointments and available to answer any questions I had. I would highly recommend Kate and VP Lactation Consulting, LLC! Thank you! read more

I've loved working with Vanessa while breastfeeding my first born son. I had a very hard start to BF before I started working with her on 1. upping my supply 2. regulating my supply and now 3. introducing pumping to my routine for bottles. I would have quit breastfeeding within a week if she didn't help me improve. Now my son and I have learned each other and I give all credit to Vanessa's process. I highly recommend working with her! read more

I can't recommend Kate highly enough! She is so warm, caring and extremely knowledgeable. I felt comfortable with her from day one. She is the perfect balance of friendly and professional. She knows her stuff and doesn't jump to extreme interventions. I love that she is a mom herself and understands breast-feeding on a personal level. She is so prompt about follow up emails and texts. Her follow up emails are extremely thorough with everything that she talked about and recommends. She has made my breast-feeding journey so much easier and given me other great resources as well. If it weren't for Kate, my breast-feeding would still be painful and discouraging but with Kate's help, I am out of pain and truly love breast-feeding my daughter. It's amazing to have someone come to your house with a newborn and Kate has always been prompt. She welcomes questions through text even if you don't have a future appointment set up with her. I love Kate and you will too! read more

I'm so thankful I found Vanessa at VP Lactation Consulting. I really struggled with breastfeeding my first son and eventually gave up. When I got pregnant with my second son, I asked local moms for their suggestions. Vanessa came highly recommended and I'm so happy I gave her a call. Vanessa is extremely knowledgeable. During our first meeting she explained so many things to me about breastfeeding that I never learned in the hospital and would have never known. She is also so kind and is amazing with my son. She worked with me through many challenges in the first few months and helped me get through many hurdles such as my son's tongue and lip tie, my oversupply, two rounds of mastitis, and feeding without a nipple shield. There were a few times where I wanted to give up and Vanessa encouraged me to keep going. I'm happy to say I'm now exclusively breastfeeding my 2 month old! This would not have been possible without her help and support. I highly recommend Vanessa to any new moms. read more

I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Vanessa after having my twins! I am a FTM, and I really wanted to try to breastfeeding, but I was overwhelmed and nervous to get started. Vanessa met with my husband and I prior to the twins' arrival and helped us both to feel prepared for what our first few weeks would look like. She was extremely responsive, patient, and thorough with us. I immediately felt comfortable around her - she is so kind and comforting. She had multiple visits with us after the boys were born, and after each visit I felt more confident and excited about breastfeeding. We are about to hit our one year anniversary of breastfeeding, and I don't think I would have been able to breastfeed without her! I highly, highly recommend Vanessa! read more

Vanessa is responsive, thorough, and patient. I felt like she did a great job of walking my wide and me through all of the questions that we had around techniques and timing for feeds throughout the day. We even did a follow up where she provided great advice on weaning off breast feeding. 10/10 would use again! read more

Vanessa is an absolute gem in the La Grange area! She has a welcoming and kind demeanor which is just what I needed as a new mom learning to breastfeed my daughter. Her knowledge of her field is top notch and she is quick to respond to any question or concern. I look forward to working with Vanessa again with future babies and could not recommend her enough! read more

I'm not usually one to leave online reviews, but I absolutely can't stop raving about Vanessa to anyone who will listen! A good friend referred me to her last week because I'd been having trouble getting my 8 month old daughter to take a bottle. I'd been trying for weeks and I was at my wit's end ... Vanessa came to the house and had my daughter drinking from a bottle within 30 minutes. I was in awe! She's so knowledgeable but also has the best demeanor - incredibly kind, empathetic and easy to talk to. I can't recommend her highly enough! I only wish I'd known about her when my babies were newborns! read more

I really do not know what I would have done without Vanessa's expert help. Between my two sons, I've nursed for 24 months so far, and I've had my fair share of challenges! With my first son, I had delayed milk supply and terrible breastfeeding support in the postpartum unit where I delivered, so by the time I came home my baby had lost significant weight and my nipples were cracked and bleeding. Vanessa assessed my situation and quickly came up with a very discrete plan for me and my husband (love that she gave him jobs!) that helped me quickly increase my milk supply, heal my nipples, and ensure my baby was getting enough to eat (without a drop of formula). She saved me from giving up so early on, and gave me lots of great pointers that helped make my experience more enjoyable for the long term. Later when my son refused bottles to due to high lipase in my milk, she gave me tons of tricks to help make sure he still got some milk while I was at work. With my second baby, I've had an entirely new set of challenges and Vanessa has again been amazing. My baby had terrible reflux from swallowing air... Vanessa discovered his tongue tie, got me set up with a great doctor who confirmed he had a tie and lasered it, and then when I was still having challenges, got me set up with speech therapy to help retrain his nursing muscles. I felt hopeless initially, but Vanessa was always sympathetic while also confident that we would figure it out. She never ran out of ideas and next steps, even long after my pediatrician was ready to give us reflux meds (which I am so glad we were able to avoid!) - but at the same time she was respectful of the pace I set and wasn't pushing me to do anything. I could say more- like how she helped with my oversupply, undersupply, and mastitis at various times- but I'll just finish by saying that because of Vanessa's help, I've managed to fully appreciate and enjoy breastfeeding, despite all the bumps in the road! I wish the same for you. read more

Vanessa was such a huge help in setting a good foundation for breastfeeding with my newborn! We had struggled in this area with our first child, and Vanessa provided the support, patience and guidance I was looking for this second time around, all with a calm and caring demeanor. She was extremely quick with scheduling prior to our appointment, and checked in a few times in the days following our appointment to see how things were going. One week PP can be an emotional and fragile time, but Vanessa helped put us at ease and was so knowledgeable, providing easy to understand tips and tricks for our "problems". I would highly recommend Vanessa! read more

I found Vanessa's information while I was pregnant and tucked it away for a rainy day! I had my baby girl 6 weeks early, she spent 2 weeks in the NICU and received countless bottles of pumped breast milk, I had no idea how to make the transition to breastfeeding. It was so wonderful having Vanessa come to our home to get us all set up and on the right track to exclusively breastfeeding. She is the sweetest soul and cares so much about both momma and baby. I would recommend her a million times over again. I look forwarding to working with her for many many years to come. read more

Postpartum and breastfeeding a newborn is hard even for a third time mom like me. That's why I am so glad I found Vanessa! She does home visits which made things so much easier for a busy and tired mom. Vanessa is so kind, warm, and knowledgeable. She not only helped us with some nursing issues but she also brought me peace and direction which I definitely needed. Sometimes you just need a professional to tell you what to do and how to do it. If you think you need help, get help, reach out to Vanessa! She is so wonderful. TLN also made filing insurance such a breeze - one less thing to worry about. read more

Vanessa is amazing! I am so grateful for all of her tips and advice. I highly recommend working with her if you have any breastfeeding concerns! read more

Vanessa has been the best resource to have throughout my breastfeeding journey with baby #1! I had a virtual consultation with her before giving birth, which helped me prepare for the early days in hospital and at home with baby and then she came for a home visit shortly after baby was born to assess how things were going. The home visit was incredibly helpful and comforting. She can do weight and milk transfer checks and we saw her before our first pediatrician appointment so were able to make sure baby was gaining weight. The monthly lactation station gatherings at La Grange Library are a great way to check in and meet other new moms. Lastly, I took her back-to-work class, which is really helpful for trouble shooting with your pump, planning how much milk to have stored, how to plan pumping sessions each week, and ensuring baby can easily go back and forth between bottle and breastfeeding if that's your goal. Can't recommend Vanessa enough! read more

I don't have enough words to express how helpful Vanessa has been over the past 9 months with regard to breastfeeding my little one! A close friend put me into contact with Vanessa after her amazing experience and I will continue to recommend her to all of my friends who hope to breast feed. I first got into contact with Vanessa about a week after my gal was born when she had dropped quite a bit below her birth weight and I had to be readmitted to the hospital for complications. During this time, I was so nervous that we would not be able to establish breast feeding, but I was able to meet with Vanessa soon after and set up a plan for latching, positioning, feeding frequency and bottle introduction. After this first meeting, things went swimmingly and I was able to reach out with various random questions. As I got ready to go back to work, we met up again and Vanessa prepped me and helped me with a pumping and feeding schedule. Most recently, I met with Vanessa again to discuss the weaning process as my little one takes more foods. We also discussed options for weaning at one year versus feeding beyond that time. Vanessa is a wealth of knowledge and has incredible experience. She works with and individualizes her care and plans to each parent situation and I have been so grateful for her help during this journey. My ultimate goal is to breast feed my gal until she is at least a year old and I wouldn't have been able to do this without all of Vanessa's expertise! read more

As a mother of four, I've encountered my share of breastfeeding challenges, but my biggest problem has been recurring bouts of mastitis. With each painful and frustrating episode, Vanessa not only coached me to recovery, sharing a variety of feeding tips and expression methods as well as comfort measures to ease my suffering, but she also considered my emotional well-being throughout the process. She did not push me to get antibiotics from my OB when I wanted to try a more natural approach, nor did she dissuade me from doing so when I reached the point of desperation. Instead, she offered support, guidance and reassurance either way. (As a disclaimer, I am Vanessa's sister, so I did enjoy VIP access to my LC, but I have known her to offer the same level of care, compassion and knowledgeable insight to each and every one of her clients.) I am proud to recommend Vanessa to friends, family and any other nursing moms in need of her services. read more