Leanne Boyce, MS, CCC-SLP,CLC
Committed to What’s Right for You
When my job involved more parent coaching, I was occasionally asked how to adapt bottle skills and recommendations for chest feeding.
These questions began to come up more frequently around the time I delivered my first daughter in 2017. I saw first-hand how the most natural method of feeding an infant didn’t feel natural or intuitive. Sometimes it felt clumsy and painful. I found help from my doula and local lactation consultants. It made me appreciate the breadth of knowledge necessary to support a chest feeding pair.
​
My background has taught me that all relationships have a deeper body language form of communication. Feeding your infant communicates: “I see you, I love you, I’ll take care of you.” My two young daughters show me daily how much love and persistence it can take to keep them fed.
From breast to bottle to table food. I feel lucky to support families on their journey to feed their infants at every stage.
My Bio
I graduated with my Masters in Speech Language Pathology from Florida State University in 2012, following an internship with a NICU placement at the Medical University of South Carolina. I have been a practicing Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) for 10 years, following my husband’s Navy placements across three states in that time: Florida, Maryland and now California.
What has stayed consistent over these years has been my focus and passion in working with the youngest infants and children, typically those with severe or multiple disabilities. I worked closely with families of infants who were NICU graduates or had a wide range of other medical challenges. As a SLP my job was to notice and teach families how even the smallest and newest infants use their body to communicate their needs and joy. Although my work heavily involved feeding therapy with infants and children, the speech-pathology framework was based on bottle feeding or work towards g-tube weaning. Bottle feeding skills worked well when I was in a medically fragile daycare setting in Florida; parents were often working and not available for speech and feeding sessions throughout the day. Once I moved to Maryland, my job involved more parent coaching and I was occasionally asked how to adapt bottle skills and recommendations for chest feeding.
These questions began to come up more frequently around the time I delivered my first daughter in 2017. I saw first-hand how the most natural method of feeding an infant didn’t feel natural or intuitive. In fact, it could feel clumsy and painful. I found help from my doula and local lactation consultants and grew to appreciate the breadth of knowledge necessary to support a chest feeding pair.
I began to see how my background with feeding children with medical needs could be expanded to help families with unique chest feeding needs; I decided to pursue additional education and training. My family moved to San Diego in March of 2020, and with the help and support of Carly as a mentor I completed my Clinical Lactation Counselor requirements in 2021 through the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice.
I treasure the trust placed in me by parents, I aim to empower families to feel confident in their abilities to feed their children. My ultimate goal is to become a resource for families that have children with exceptional medical needs. Due to my background as a SLP, I feel uniquely positioned to support families with medically fragile children, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my education and work as a Lactation Counselor.