MELANIE ACON, MA, IBCLC
Owner and Operator
Serving Culpeper, VA and surrounding areas
Hello! Thanks for stopping in! My name is Melanie Acon and I am the owner and operator of Bee Nourished Lactation Services. I am married, have four children all of who were and are breastfed/breastmilk fed and live in Culpeper, VA!
My vision for a private practice for lactation consulting began many years ago after struggling to breastfeed my first child. I had minimal support and was faced with a lot of obstacles during the entire 12 months I breastfed. Once my son turned 12 months, I let out a huge sigh of relief and thought to myself “WOW no one else should ever have to go through that alone.” That is when I realized I wanted to dedicate my career to being a part of the solution for the lack of lactation support available to breastfeeding families.
In 2017, I began the pathway II program to IBCLC at Union Institute and University. I earned a Master of Arts degree in Health and Wellness with a special concentration in Human Lactation in 2019. During the program I spent eight months in an internship working directly with a RN, IBCLC on the post-partum floor of WVU Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV. My preceptor is a highly trained lactation consultant and taught me everything I know about lactation consulting in the clinical setting. We worked with a wide range of breastfeeding families, all the way from premature babies in the NICU to breastfeeding toddlers.
I became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in December of 2020 and opened Bee Nourished Lactation Services in March of 2021. I took a full time position at UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center in April of 2022 running their lactation department; concentrating on the re-designation of Baby Friendly and serving their families through education and support. I am still serving families at UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center part time in addition to serving Bee Nourished clients and taking care of my large family!
I am currently offering in-home and virtual consultations. Scroll down on the website for more information on how to schedule a consultation with me!
LILLY SENG, IBCLC
Serving Loudoun County
Lilly Seng is a mother of 6, and for over thirteen years she has had a passion for supporting and educating families specifically throughout pregnancy, birth, and lactation. She is located in Loudoun County, VA and has previously supported families at Prince William Medical Center in their L&D, Postpartum, and NICU units as well as Stonesprings Hospital in their LDRP unit.
Her experience includes being certified as a childbirth educator through CAPPA (Childbirth And Postpartum Professionals Association) from 2010-2020, being certified to serve families as a birth doula through DONA international from 2014-2021, and served breastfeeding families in the community through La Leche League as an accredited leader from 2011-2020. She has been an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) since 2017-present and an AHA BLS instructor from 2019-present.
From 2016-2022 she worked for two separate hospitals (HCA Stonesprings Hospital and NOVANT/UVA Prince William Medical Center) providing lactation support and prenatal education. Over the last 13 years she has founded breastfeeding support groups, mentored LLL leaders, and lead countless group meetings, in Manassas, Haymarket, and Warrenton, as well as provided support for families in Fairfax and Western Loudoun. Virtually, on Facebook, she is the founder/moderator of the active group "Northern Virginia Breastfeeding Support".
She also obtained certifications and for years served her community as a volunteer Advanced Emergency Medical Technician as well as an AHA BLS CPR instructor. Her wide range of experience and skills allow her to bring many different aspects of patient care and lactation support to the unique needs of the families she’s honored to serve.
She truly believes in the importance of empowering families throughout this stage of their lives. Support is essential through out all of pregnancy, birth, postpartum and so on. She is here to educate and assist parents with what they need to know as they embark on this remarkable journey with their little ones!
Lilly was born in Puerto Rico and was raised bilingual here in Northern Virginia. She specializes in providing support and education in both English and Spanish. When not serving families, she is fully dedicated to her own family as a homeschooling mother of her six children. Her hobbies include crocheting, reading, photography, homesteading, and hiking/camping with her kids.
All of what she does, she does for families. Lilly believes that a strong foundation is the key for success in all areas of life. It is thanks to her family and all their support that she is able to help others as she does. Her hope is to inspire those around her as she has been inspired herself.
CLAIRE LABRIE, BSN RN CCE IBCLC
Serving Culpeper County and surrounding areas
Claire has been a practicing RN since 2002, after graduating from UVA with distinction. She has been serving moms and babies in Culpeper VA since 2005. She practices full time as an RN at UVA Community Health Culpeper Medical Center in the Family Birth Center, and has multiple certifications in that area.
Claire is certified in childbirth education by Prepared Childbirth Educators (PCE), and has enjoyed teaching a full day, multimedia Prepared Childbirth class based at the hospital since 2015. She takes great delight connecting with families during pregnancy and being able to follow through during their hospital stay.
In 2018 Claire completed lactation courses and was certified as an IBCLC in 2019. At that time, she split her time in the hospital as an RN and IBCLC. She saw inpatient and outpatients for breastfeeding assistance and support, facilitated a breastfeeding support group, provided staff education, and assisting with Baby Friendly status. While she has transitioned back to full time RN work, she dabbles in the lactation needs on the unit, but she has dearly missed her outpatient families.
On a personal note, Claire is married with four children, and has raised her family in the Culpeper community since 2004. She has successfully breastfed 3 of her children, and wished she had the support she needed to be able to breastfeed her first. She is truly passionate about supporting moms and babies, and helping them achieve their childbirth and breastfeeding goals
LACTATION CONSULTATIONS
***Now accepting health insurance***
Please inquire with us via email to check in-network insurance coverage
Prices range from $100-$250. All payments are due at time of service.
A superbill will be provided for all self-pay lactation consultation services.
Lactation services may be purchased as gifts.
All self paying clients will be given the option to use a credit/debit card to pay invoices.
3% + $0.30 fee added to all invoices
To request a consultation with Melanie Acon, MA, IBCLC or Claire Labrie, RN, IBCLC in Culpeper County, please fill out an inquiry form at the bottom of the website.
To book a consultation with Lilly Seng, IBCLC in Loudoun County, please click the links provided below.
A travel fee of $35 will be added to all in-home consultations when the IBCLC travels to you
LEESBURG IN-OFFICE CONSULTATION
In- person consultations in our new office space will be offered starting Wednesday Sept. 7th, 2022!
Location: 821 King Street Suite B Leesburg, VA 20175
Hours: Wednesdays 10am-5:30pm.
In-person consultations include an assessment of breasts and nipples, assessment of baby's mouth and suck, pre and post feed weights, observation of a feeding, troubleshoot and management of breastfeeding concerns, latching and positioning techniques shown and a manageable care plan given based on the feeding goals of the breastfeeding mother.
Individual prenatal consultations and consultations to assess pumping specifically can also be done upon request!
To request a specific type of consultation please email Lilly directly at beenourishedlactation.lillyseng@gmail.com
Consultations can range from 60-90 minutes in length.
IN-HOME CONSULTATION
In-home consultations will be offered to all clients in the Culpeper area and on a case-by-case basis to clients in the Loudoun County, VA area.
In-home consultations include an assessment of breasts and nipples, assessment of baby's mouth and suck, pre and post feed weights, observation of a feeding, troubleshoot and management of breastfeeding concerns, latching and positioning techniques shown and a manageable care plan given based on the feeding goals of the breastfeeding mother.
Roughly 60-90 minutes.
Travel fee of $35 added to all in-home consultations.
TO BOOK AN IN-HOME CONSULTATION WITH MELANIE ACON, MA, IBCLC OR CLAIRE LABRIE, RN, IBCLC, IN CULPEPER COUNTY, FILL OUT AN INQUIRY FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WEBSITE
VIRTUAL CONSULTATION
Virtual consultations will assess and discuss difficulties as we develop a plan that will work best for the entire family! We work with your providers to make sure you receive the best care possible for yourself and your infant(s).
These types of visits are perfect for non-urgent prenatal visits, follow-ups, and or to answer your list of questions! Assessments may also be done virtually on a case-by-case basis.
Roughly 45-60 minutes.
TO BOOK A VIRTUAL CONSULTATION WITH MELANIE ACON, MA, IBCLC, OR CLAIRE LABRIE, RN, IBCLC, FILL OUT AN INQUIRY FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WEBSITE
CONSULTATION CANCELLATION/RESCHEDULING/LATE POLICY
You are eligible for a refund if you cancel your consultation at least 24 hours before your appointment time. All refunds will be charged a 10% deduction for fees charged to the business to process the refund. In the event of needing to reschedule your appointment, please do so at least 24 hours before your appointment time. Rescheduling requests within the 24 hour period before the consultation will be accepted on a case-by-case basis. Cancellations within the 24 hour period before the consultation time are not eligible for refunds. No shows are treated as cancellations and are not eligible for refunds. When you book a consultation time, you are securing time with your IBCLC. Your IBCLC sets aside 60-90 minutes of her time and likely has appointments before and after your appointment. To keep our practice running smooth and to respect our other clients the following will apply if you are running late: The amount of time you are late will come out of your time slot. Your appointment will still end at the same time, regardless of the time you arrive. For example: If your appointment is allotted 60 minutes and your appointment time is at 2:00pm but you do not arrive until 2:20pm, then your appointment will be shortened to 40 minutes and the end time will remain 3:00pm.
BEE NOURISHED CLASS OFFERINGS!
To register for a class, please click the links provided below each class description.
All classes are offered in-person in our new office space: 821 King Street Suite B Leesburg, VA 20175
3% + $0.30 fee added to all invoices
BREASTFEEDING: GETTING STARTED
$150/COUPLE
On your marks, get set, go! We're now offering a ‘Getting Started’ class for breastfeeding! This will be perfect for parents who benefit from hands on learning! We’ll be going over all the basics and “how to’s” of nursing with couples in mind. Join us for a day of learning how to love at first latch!
To sign up for this class, please click the link below.
Class Location: 821 King Street Suite B Leesburg, VA 20175
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INFANT CPR
$60/PERSON OR $100/COUPLE
We're now offering an in person infant CPR taught by our very own AHA Certified BLS Instructor Lilly Seng, IBCLC. Slots are limited so please register early. This class will cover the basics of how to respond when an infant requires rescue breathing, CPR, and choking support. Hands on practice will be provided. Come learn skills that are important when caring for an infant and leave feeling prepared!
To sign up for this class, please click the link below.
Class Location: 821 King Street Suite B Leesburg, VA 20175
CLASS CANCELLATION/RESCHEDULE/REFUND POLICY
You are eligible for a refund if you cancel your class booking by Thursday at 11:59pm the week of the Saturday class. You may reschedule your class booking without penalty as long as the reschedule is done through the system by Thursday at 11:59pm the week of the originally scheduled class. If you need to reschedule your class date and it is not rescheduled by Thursday at 11:59pm the week of the class, you will need to pay for both classes- the originally scheduled date and the new desired date. No refund will be processed for the original class. All refunds will be charged a 10% deduction to cover fees charged to the business to process the refund. All cancellations made after Thursday at 11:59pm the week of the class, are not eligible for refunds.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
"Melanie really saved my life! I went from exclusively pumping/bottle feeding to being so miserable and hating every minute of it to strictly breastfeeding and loving it and my life is SO much easier! I have had Melanie come to our house a few times now just to make sure I’m doing everything the right way and also to get some tips/tricks on how to get my 7 month old to take a bottle once a day! I seriously don’t know what I’d do if I hadn’t reached out to Melanie. First time mom and I felt like just giving up and going straight to formula and I am extremely happy I decided to give breastfeeding another shot. If you are struggling or just want to make sure you are doing everything right for you and your baby.. here is your sign to call Melanie right now and chat with her you will not regret it I promise! Not only is she extremely helpful she is very very sweet and always quick at responding when needed."
Virginia Melville
"I cannot find enough good things to say about our experience working with Melanie. We had a very rocky start to our feeding journey, and had no lactation support from our hospital. When we got Melanie involved, it was evident from the start that she was not only extremely knowledgeable, but that she cared about our family. She was so compassionate, supportive and nonjudgmental in finding feeding solutions that would work best for both myself and my baby. She was a light in the hectic early postpartum days when you just want to ensure that your baby is thriving. I would recommend Melanie to any of my friends, and would absolutely work with her again."
Kelly Pastore
I have worked with both Melanie and Lily and they are both wonderful. Melanie I saw early postpartum for some initial breastfeeding challenges. She was so kind and knowledgeable and really helped me be successful.
Lily I saw virtually close to the one year mark to talk about gradual weaning and extended breastfeeding. She took so much time to listen to my questions and concerns and come up with a plan that worked for me and my son. I especially appreciate that her advice is based on evidence and not just her personal opinion (which I didn’t always experience with other lactation consultants).
I highly recommend these kind, supportive, knowledgeable providers!
Jacqueline Ontell
We loved working with Lilly and I’m so thankful for her! We started seeing her when my daughter was just a few days old up until she was just about 7 months old! At my daughters first pediatrician appointment following birth we realized she was close to a 9% weight loss which was alarming. Lilly helped us make a plan to make sure Francesca’s weight went back up and in a little over 2 weeks she was all caught up. I truly felt like Lilly was in it with us. She was so invested in seeing my baby girl succeed with breastfeeding and weight gain. Every time we had a victory with her weight she was just as happy as us. Lilly not only helped us through that and the typical troubles of early breastfeeding but another minor dip in weight around 5 months old. Again she helped us make a plan and we set up a few follow up appointments to make sure Francesca was on track. Just like the first time we got her all caught up + some!
Lilly truly loves what she does. She is VERY thorough, dedicated and 100% invested in her clients!!