Meet Natalie Miles BS, IBCLC
Natalie (she/her) is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with a bachelor’s degree in Maternal Child Health – Lactation Consulting. She started up breastfeeding support group as a military spouse abroad 13-years ago. Her passion for helping families has only increased over the years. She specializes in oral function/tongue tie. She also provides support in everything from prenatal breastfeeding education, low milk supply, mastitis and swollen duct management, flange fitting, breast refusal, bottle refusal and more.
Natalie’s earliest memory of breastfeeding is of watching her mom pump for her baby sister. She decided then, at 8-years-old, she would breastfeed her babies. Little did she know then the challenges she would face as each of her four children was born with oral ties. It was during the early days of nursing her oldest that a lactation specialist told her she would make a good IBCLC. Soon enough, she began working towards becoming an IBCLC, all while living abroad and through several military moves, becoming an IBCLC in 2017.
She has spent more than seven years working as an IBCLC on the mom-baby unit and special care nursery at multiple local hospitals, assisting parents immediately after the birth of their baby. She has worked over two years in the outpatient lactation setting. Working in two different settings has helped Natalie become a more well-rounded lactation consultant. She finds the work extremely rewarding and fulfilling.
About Natalie
Born and raised in Vermont, she now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her four children and her husband. In her free time she likes to travel, downhill ski, read, bake and spend time with her family.
Cuddles and Milk is an Inclusive practice- welcoming ALL people, LGBTQAI+ and BIPOC inclusive. We want everyone to feel seen, heard and welcome here.
Natalie’s clients say:
We are so incredibly grateful for Natalie. When I first met her, I was freshly postpartum, coming from another consultant completely frustrated, in tears, and ready to give up nursing altogether. Natalie immediately made me feel supported, heard, and hopeful.
She expertly sized me for flanges and even had the correct sizes available right in her office, which saved me from ordering online and waiting while already struggling. Her bottle-feeding advice was practical and actually made sense, which was such a relief during an overwhelming time.
Natalie went above and beyond by helping us get an urgent appointment with a pediatric dentist to diagnose and release our baby’s tongue and lip ties. When I emailed her at 10 p.m. one night, in pain and ready to quit, she didn’t hesitate she put in a special request to have us seen as soon as possible. That level of care meant everything to us.
After the release, she patiently helped us relearn how to latch and supported us every step of the way. She has truly been there for us both physically and emotionally for weeks. I honestly can’t say enough good things about Natalie she made all the difference for our breastfeeding journey.
-Kayla
I have two older children whom were both exclusively breast fed with no issues. 10 years later I found out I was pregnant again at the age of 40/41. Having been a so long since my last breast feeding experience I decided to find assistance. I found Natalie and reached out. She was exactly what our family needed. She helped us over come a handful of issues. I am so thankful for all of her help, determination and compassion she supplied to us to get us where we are today.
-Jackie
I cannot recommend Natalie highly enough! I first scheduled an appointment about three months ago because I was struggling with a low milk supply and feeling discouraged. Natalie was a total game-changer for our breastfeeding journey.
Thanks to her recommending us to a peds dentist, we discovered that our baby had a tongue tie. Since having it addressed and following oral rehab exercises, he is eating so much better. Natalie also recommended great developmental toys and items that have been so helpful.
On the supply side, I’ve seen a huge improvement. I went from pumping only 0.5–1.5 oz to consistently pumping 2 oz, and even 3 oz overnight! We also realized I had been using the wrong flange size for two months and Natalie helped me find the perfect fit, along with bottle recommendations that my baby actually likes. I truly don’t know where we would be without her guidance, she has created a customized care plan for us and it’s been so helpful! I would highly recommend Natalie for anyone seeking lactation support!
-Erin
When my son was born I saw three “professionals” all of whom were unable to help me with a diagnosis for my newborn. Natalie saw my son and was able to immediately notice that he had multiple ties in which prevented him from being able to nurse effectively.
Even though she wasn’t local , she was able to find me a highly rated professional to do my son’s release surgery. He has a lip tie, tongue tie and two cheek ties.
She also made me a personalized video to help show me ways to encourage more comfortable breastfeeding with multiple positions to use , and was an available for multiple zoom sessions.
Natalie was also amazing at helping me choose the best breast pump, bottles and flange size for my needs.
She also followed up multiple times , helping me learn how to do weighted feeds, as well as checking in with my son’s healing after his surgery.
She was also able to help me find a specialist close to me when I felt I needed a couple in person visits .
Natalie is passionate about her profession , connecting with families, personalizing a care plan and going the extra mile to ensure you and your family get the care you need .
She also is always working on professional development and is eager to share with you new things she’s learned that will support your family .
I highly recommend Natalie she is a very nurturing, knowledgeable, and experienced IBCLC who is amazing at personalizing your family’s feeding journey.
-Hallie
Even before birth Natalie helped us. Knowing my daughter was going to be born with Down Syndrome and a heart condition, she helped me pick out the best pump. I knew I would need to heavily rely on a pump and it had to be the best one out there, the Spectra was exactly that! She explained pumping and how the size of the flange was just as important as the pump itself. She even sent me a nipple sizer to make sure I would select the correct flange size.
Natalie assisted in helping us find the perfect bottles to help with feedings. Due to my daughters heart condition she would often get tired and would need to stop for rest during feeds. This caused for minimal increase in weight. We were using Dr Browns bottles which were recommended by our NICU. Natalie suggested we try the Pigeon bottle with slow flow nipple. This was a true lifesaver! My daughter loved the bottle and her feedings went so much smoother. What would have taken us 60 min for one feeding with Dr. Brown bottles was decreased to about 20 min and the best part, she started to gain weight!
The guidance from Natalie continues! Once she was able to meet my daughter in person at 1.5 months old (we were in the NICU for 12 days and then adjusting to home life before we felt comfortable for others to come into the home) she was immediately able to tell us she had not only a tongue tie, but upper lip and buccal ties. She helped do the research in finding somebody close to us to do the release surgery, which was done 3 months post heart surgery. This surgery helped our daughter get a better suck with the bottle nipple with no leaking out of the sides of her mouth which helped her gain weight too!
After my daughter had recovered from her open heart surgery at 3 months of age and her tie release, Natalie helped guide me with getting her to breast. It took a lot of patience, but we got it. She took off with breast feeding at 3.5 months of age. We did still need to use bottles to help get extra nutrients to help her gain weight a bit quicker, but Natalie assured me that this is ok and helped me cope with the negative feelings I got about having to supplement.
Natalie has a plethora of information, and she is truly compassionate for her patients. She wants to help you succeed in ways that are comfortable and best for you and the baby, but do so by finding the best option for you even if takes multiple tries. I highly recommend her! She was a true lifesaver for our family..
-Robin