https://calendly.com/crystel-latchia, https://linktr.ee/latchibclc

Latch IBCLC Private Practice Des Moines, 3935 NW Urbandale Drive, Urbandale, IA (2026)

04/14/2026

Your body goes through a massive hormonal shift after birth 🤍

Progesterone and estrogen drop quickly, prolactin rises, cortisol can fluctuate… and all of that can impact:
• milk supply
• letdown
• mood + anxiety
• sleep
• overall recovery

Supporting your body during this transition isn’t “extra” — it’s essential ✨

I love incorporating gentle, supportive options like herbal glycerites to help nourish the postpartum body and support hormone balance in a more natural way 🌿

I love products from The Anointed Root right here in Iowa — including their Postpartum Nourish blend, organic teething tinctures, and more 🙌

These can be a beautiful addition alongside:
• good nutrition (iron rich 🥩 foods and bone broth)+ hydration
• frequent milk removal
• nervous system support
• individualized lactation care

Because when we support the whole mom, feeding outcomes improve too 🤍

If you’re feeling off, depleted, or just not like yourself postpartum — you’re not alone, and there are ways to support your body through it.

💛 The Anointed Root

04/13/2026

✨ Physician Spotlight
“Let’s wait to make big changes until Crystel can see you for an evaluation.”
— Dr. Joseph Falco, Rapha House (Urbandale)

Collaborative care like this means everything to me. 🤍

I am so grateful for providers in our community who truly value teamwork, trust, and doing what’s best for families. When each provider has an expertise—and appreciates other specialists when needed—we create the best possible outcomes for moms, babies, and families.

Dr. Falco, thank you for your trust, your patience, and the way you care so deeply for your patients. Your heart for serving others (and your love for Jesus ✝️) shines through in everything you do, and it does not go unnoticed.

This is what healthcare should look like:
✨ Thoughtful collaboration
✨ Ongoing communication
✨ Informed, supported decision-making
✨ Care that centers the whole family

I truly appreciate you and am honored to be part of your patients’ care team. 🤍

My kids’ pediatrician is at Be Well Collective and they are wonderfully holistic and great at collaboration as well!

04/09/2026

Bottle refusal tips 🤍

If your baby is struggling with the bottle, keep it calm, slow, and pressure-free.

Try this:

• Feed baby in a warm, quiet, cozy space
• Hold baby side-lying with good support
• Gently tap baby’s lips/nose with the bottle ni**le
• Wait for baby to start sucking before tipping milk in
• Pause often and go slow
• Use warm milk
• Try white noise or shushing
• Let baby play with an empty bottle during the day
• If baby gets upset, stop and try again later

Helpful reminder:

✨ Do not force it
✨ Keep feeds happy and low stress
✨ A calm baby learns better

Another option:

You can also try a honey bear straw cup once a day with a small amount of milk.

• Just enough milk to cover the bottom
• Use a bib
• Stop if baby gets frustrated

Sometimes less pressure works better. 🤍

04/08/2026

Non-bacterial mastitis is usually inflammation first — not infection first 🤍

Please do not rush to antibiotics unless you have:
• Fever 101.4+ 🌡️
• Worsening symptoms
• Recurrent bacterial mastitis
• Concern for lump/cyst/abscess

Early breast swelling is often inflammatory and needs the right support — not automatic antibiotics.

Think:
• Ice ❄️
• Ibuprofen if appropriate
• Feed normally as you have been (not overpumping)
• No aggressive massage
• Consider probiotics (L. salivarius + L. fermentum)
• Work with a skilled IBCLC to find the root cause 🧠
• Choline-rich foods like eggs 🥚
• PBM therapy from a trained provider .ankeny

Please don’t blindly trust advice — get a thorough feeding or pump evaluation and understand why this is happening. See a private practice IBCLC and a holistic midwife or holistic OBGYN

You deserve real answers + support 🤍

04/07/2026

Please stop skipping the lactation assessment before a tongue tie release. 🤍

👅 I have had dozens of families recently contact me after going straight to a pediatric dentist without first having a thorough feeding and lactation assessment.

And honestly… this is becoming a huge problem.

A tongue tie release is not the first step.
If you cut a very tight or restricted tissue that is sitting underneath a weak, poorly coordinated muscle system, you may not be helping feeding the way you hoped.

In some cases, you can actually create more feeding frustration, more compensation, more tension, and more stress for baby and parents if the full picture was never assessed first.

Over the last couple of years, many providers in the holistic lactation, oral function, airway, and infant bodywork space have become much more cautious about recommending immediate release without first looking at:
• feeding function
• tongue strength and coordination
• suck pattern
• oral tension
• body tension
• nervous system regulation
• birth history
• latch and milk transfer

Because not every baby who looks “tied” is a baby who needs to be released right away. Depending on the classification of the frenulum, as well as many other factors.

Sometimes what looks like a tongue tie issue is actually being heavily impacted by:
• birth tension
• induction
• a very fast labor
• a long or difficult labor
• cesarean birth
• in-utero positioning
• nervous system dysregulation
• poor oral muscle function

Start with:

✔️ a thorough feeding assessment by an experienced IBCLC
✔️ evaluation of oral function, milk transfer, and latch
✔️ support for tension and nervous system regulation when indicated
✔️ then determine whether release is truly the next best step

Because lately, I am seeing far too many babies struggle after release and families scrambling for help the very next day.

04/06/2026

🤍Just a little real-life moment over here… getting ready to go see a sweet new baby 🥹 and feeling so grateful I get to do this work.

I wanted to share a quick (and important!) availability update for my high-access concierge lactation care:

✨ ONE opening left for MAY due dates
✨ JUNE is fully booked
✨ JULY is fully booked
✨ ONE opening left for AUGUST due dates

If you’ve been thinking about support, this is your sign to reach out sooner rather than later as soon as you find out you’re pregnant🤍

🎀 I truly value walking through everything with you personally — answering your questions, understanding your goals, and helping you choose the level of support that feels right for your family.

While urgent lactation visits are typically booked 2–4 weeks out, my high access concierge families receive a much higher level of access and flexibility, including:

🤍 Prenatal support, assessment, labs
🤍 Hospital visits after delivery
🤍 Postpartum in-home care
🤍 Same business-day availability when needed

This is the kind of care that allows us to stay ahead of challenges and support you every step of the way.

I would absolutely love to meet you — either virtually or in person — and walk through everything together.

You can book a free discovery call via my website
🔗 in bio

I can’t wait to connect 🤍

04/05/2026

Easter reminds me of the greatest love story ever told. ✝️🤍

Jesus willingly died for our sins so we could be made clean, forgiven, and free.
He is truth. He never lies. He always keeps His promises. 🙏🏼

Today I’m thinking about how beautiful it is that salvation was never something we could earn — it was a gift of grace.
By grace, we are saved. 🤍

Jesus is here for my salvation, and He is here for your salvation too.
No matter your past, your pain, or your mistakes… the cross still says you are loved, chosen, and redeemed. ✝️

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.”
— Matthew 28:6 ✨

He is risen, and because of Him, we have hope.
Happy Easter. 🌿🤍✝️

04/04/2026

Colleague shoutout 🤍

I just want to give a huge shoutout to one of my favorite fellow IBCLCs, Becky Franzen with Brave Breastfeeding 👏

One of the things I admire most about Becky is her constant desire to keep learning, growing, and collaborating so she can give her patients the absolute best care possible. She is always open to learning new information, exploring new ideas, and thinking outside the box when it comes to supporting families.

I especially appreciate her willingness to look deeper into things like oral function, airway, holistic care, gut health, and the whole picture of feeding—not just the symptoms on the surface.

She truly cares, she stays curious, and she is not afraid to keep evolving for the good of the families she serves. That kind of humility and dedication is so valuable in this field.

Awesome job, Rebecca. I appreciate you and all that you do for your patients. 🤍

04/03/2026

🥛 Breast milk is incredible because it is always changing to meet your baby’s needs 🤍

Human milk changes over time based on:
• your baby’s age
• growth and development
• illness or germs baby is exposed to
• time of day
• and so much more

That’s why breastfed/breast milk babies do not need bigger and bigger bottles as they get older the way people often think.

A lot of breastfed babies do great with:
• 2–3 oz at the breast every 2–3 hours
• 3–4 oz by bottle every 2–3 hours
Or 24-36 oz in 24 hours
Every mom and baby couplet are different! Some moms make more so we change the feeding plan.

Why do they often take more from a bottle?
Because bottles are easier to drink from and babies also use feeding for comfort, regulation, and connection—not just hunger. If you lean them back they’ll overeat if you give them extra.

This often continues throughout the first year 👏

If your breastfed baby is taking bottles:
• use paced bottle feeding sitting baby upright
• keep using a slow flow or preemie ni**le
• don’t assume baby needs bigger bottles just because they’re getting older

More ounces is not generally necessary.
Protecting normal breastfed feeding patterns matters 🤍

📸 super cute antique Easter tree at a patients house

"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay" Matthew 28:6

04/02/2026

Triple Feeding ≠ Around-the-Clock Requirement 🚫

Triple feeding 8–12 times a day is not the goal… and honestly, it’s not sustainable for most families.

Let’s talk about it 👇

Triple feeding (breastfeed + bottle + pump) has a purpose—but doing it every single feed can:
• Exhaust mom physically and mentally
• Increase stress hormones (which can actually impact milk production)
• Burn unnecessary energy for baby (feeding twice at every feed)
• Take away from rest, bonding, and recovery

✨ More is NOT always better.

In my practice, I typically recommend:
✔️ 1–2 intentional triple feeds per day if necessary
✔️ A clear plan to transition off triple feeding
✔️ Focus on improving baby’s oral function + milk transfer
✔️ bottle feeding with pace feeds [with a jaw and palate friendly (preemie or ss ni**le) depending on feeding assessment
✔️ pump schedule with 24-36 oz per 24 hours

Our goal is efficiency 👏
Once baby is consistently removing ~2 oz or more at the breast:
➡️ Increase direct breastfeeding
➡️ Decrease pumping
➡️ Move toward exclusive breastfeeding (if that’s your goal)

And don’t forget the most powerful tool we have:

🤍 Skin-to-skin
(and baby wearing with a wrap while skin to skin)

Skin-to-skin helps:
• Regulate baby’s nervous system
• Improve feeding cues
• Increase feeding frequency naturally
• Support milk production
• Burn less calories for baby in between feeds

You don’t need to live in a cycle of feeding, pumping, and washing bottles all day long.

You need a plan.

If you feel stuck in triple feeding, there is a better way—and you don’t have to figure it out alone.

04/01/2026

👅Tongue ties are NOT a “fad.” And dismissing them is harming families.

Let’s talk about it.

There is evidence showing that treating tongue tie improves overall health outcomes — including latch on breast or bottle, breathing efficiently, and weight gain on growth curve.

But here’s the bigger issue 👇

When we reduce tongue ties to “just breastfeeding”
we completely ignore the FULL picture:

• Low tongue posture
• Open mouth breathing
• Poor airway development
• Increased tension patterns
• Feeding struggles (breast AND bottle)
• Poor sleep + sleep apnea + bed wetting
• Enlarged tonsils/adenoids
• Allergies from mouth breathing (no nasal filtering)
• Headaches, migraines, even ADHD-like symptoms
• Long-term orthodontic issues
• Blood pressure + nervous system dysregulation
• Difficulty maintaining or gaining weight despite proper nutrition

Tongue posture matters.
Tension matters.
Function matters.

We now understand that babies don’t “just swallow milk” — they create a system with their tongue to extract milk. When that function is restricted… feeding is affected.

And yet… families are still being told:
“It’s just a phase.”
“They’ll grow out of it.”
“Tongue ties don’t matter.”

Meanwhile moms are:
• triple feeding
• struggling with supply
• dealing with pain
• feeling dismissed

and babies are:
• compensating
• working harder to feed
• showing signs we’re being told to ignore
• falling off their growth curve

This isn’t about doing procedures on every baby.
Not every tie needs treatment. Does every baby with tongue issues need bodywork? Yes, most likely.

But ignoring function altogether? That’s the real problem.

We need to stop swinging between extremes
and start looking at the whole baby.

✨ Feeding
✨ Function
✨ Airway
✨ Development

Because early support changes outcomes.

If your gut says something isn’t right — trust that.
You deserve answers, not dismissal.

03/31/2026

Tongue posture, and how the tongue rests on the palate throughout the day and night matters! It’s not just about Breastfeeding

Latch IBCLC Private Practice Des Moines

04/14/2026

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03/31/2026

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