Melanie Horstman

BS-MCH, IBCLC, RLC, CPST

She/her/hers

 

Hello! My name is Melanie Horstman and I am an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, owner and co-founder of Nurture Omaha, LLC.  I am married to my husband Drew and we have 2 children, our son Ezra who was born in 2013 and our daughter Holland who was born in 2016.

 

My whole life I knew I wanted to work with children in some way - I bounced around from wanting to be a counselor, teacher, and Child Life Specialist.  In 2012 when I was signed up to go to school to become a Child Life Specialist I found out I was pregnant with my first child.  Something didn't feel right about me going to school at that time so I decided to take a break and just work to save money.  Little did I know that when my son was born in 2013 that it would be the best decision I've made. 

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I had many issues breastfeeding my son even though I had taken a birthing class that covered breastfeeding.  I thought I was prepared - but boy was I surprised!  My son didn't latch well in the hospital so the lactation help gave me a nipple shield.  While I am thankful that the shield allowed me to breastfeed my son, it was not always a pleasant thing to have around.  My son was very colicky and hard to console - he was gassy, had abnormal bowel movements, and didn't sleep much.  After struggling for 6 weeks by myself I finally sought out help from an IBCLC.  She reassured me that I was doing a great job and that my baby loved me.  Even that small bit of reassurance was all I needed to continue breastfeeding.  After meeting with my son's pediatrician (and a few others), we thought my son may have a food intolerance (MSPI - or Milk Soy Protein Intolerance to be exact) so I cut dairy and soy from my diet.  As a new mother with little time to cook or meal plan AND having it be the winter holiday season, this diet was HARD! I felt I couldn't eat anything, and much of my family refused to adapt recipes to reflect my new diet.  I felt alone and I felt like it wasn't working - my son was still colicky. After months of this diet not working I went back to the IBCLC and she suspected I had oversupply and that lowering my supply would help fix the problem.  I immediately started block feeding under her instruction and within a week my son was a completely different baby.

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I've taken a real interest in helping families with food intolerance and suspected oversupply.  For my graduation school I wrote a research paper on this subject and found some interesting correlations between the symptoms of both problems. My theory is: if you want to do the diet and it won't deter you from breastfeeding then do it (it's a really healthy diet!).  But if the diet may be hard for you to follow, then lets explore other options that may be easier to resolve than a diet.  Either way, I'm here to support you and your choices and help you meet your breastfeeding goals whatever they may be.

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I also have a passion for supporting the LGBTQ+ community, being a part of it myself. I believe that feeding your baby should be called what you want to call it, and that words matter. I am committed to helping everyone feed their children regardless of their gender or if the child is biologically theirs. Human milk is a powerful and necessary tool in nutrition, health, and development.

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I've also taken an interest in car seat safety.  I thought I knew a lot about car seat safety and then I decided to take a 4 day course to become a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST - aka. Car Seat Tech) - and WOW there was so much I didn't know!  I'm passionate about keeping your children safe in the car and am developing a class to teach to parents and caregivers of children on car seat safety.  I've been certified since 2015 as a technician, and became a CPST-I (instructor) in 2023. I have a passion for teaching others, so becoming an instructor has allowed me to help train new car seat techs to better serve our community.

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I have an Associates degree in Psychology from Iowa Western Community College and a Bachelors degree in Maternal Child Health: Lactation Consulting from Union Institute & University.  During my schooling at Union I obtained my certifications as a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) and an Advanced Lactation Consultant (ALC).  After finishing my degree and 300 hours of internship at Elite Lactation Professionals, I took my boards for lactation and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2017. 

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In my downtime I like to do DIY home projects, buy house plants, and binge watch TV.  I am passionate about keeping our environment clean and protecting the Earth.  I like to go green by recycling, planting native plants (save the bees!), and by shopping at local food markets and supporting our local farmer.  I keep my family healthy by eating well, taking probiotics and vitamins, and visiting the chiropractor regularly. 

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I look forward to meeting your family and helping to support you on your journey into parenthood!