Gracie Alvarado De Garcia, I.B.C.L.C., C.S.C.S.
Hi and congratulations!! It is lovely to greet you, and I hope that we meet soon and may partner together. I am going to share a brief background about myself. My husband, Rafael and I, have our precious daughter, Yasmin, who is a treasure beyond words as I know that your babies are. We love animals who are also our family and joy; we have our two pups, Molly and Balto Patricio, and three horses, Khan, Especially Dynamic, and Sarafina. Rafael and I are Triathletes and are stepping back into racing now that Yasmin is a toddler. I am a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, B.S. in Kinesiology, Nutritional Sciences, and Nutrition and Dietetics/Didactic Program.
Through my practicing as a maternal and pediatric nutritionist, I was introduced to, fell in love with, and pursued lactation, which is nutrition at its finest and one of the most powerful acts of love among the family. It is a tremendous joy to witness and support families in their breastfeeding journeys, from pre-conception through weaning. When Yasmin was born, she had severe lip and tongue ties. We experienced our own prolonged, raw breastfeeding challenges. With much support from Rafael and my Lactation Consultant peers and Yasmin’s Pediatric Dentist, we persevered into successful breastfeeding. The grandest part was looking at Yasmin and feeling love like I had never before experienced and saying to her, “I’m so proud of you!! I love you!!” She did not give up; she gave me the strength to keep going until we were successful and are still nursing 2.5 years later as I am allowing her to wean at her pace and when she is ready. Giving birth to Yasmin and nursing her have been very healing, empowering, liberating, and fun! I have leaned more than ever before on Rafael and am more deeply in love with him. Nursing has been a precious gift, many times humorous, and enriching adventure for our entire family! I have nursed with and without a nipple shield, surrounded by our pups as we melted into their security, and accompanied by our horses who pop their head over us to participate. It’s been precious and love at its finest!