About Gratitude & Grace Lactation
Krista Cassel, DNP, CPNP-PC, IBCLC
Hi, I’m Krista!
I’m a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and three-time breastfeeding mom. Over the past 10+ years, both personally and professionally, I’ve walked through many of the same bumps in the road that breastfeeding families encounter. Those experiences shaped my heart and deepened my passion for coming alongside mothers in their most vulnerable moments—equipping them with the tools, encouragement, and confidence to meet their unique feeding goals.
My journey has been shaped by years of loving on families in pediatric primary care and fueled by my own breastfeeding story. I am a proud graduate of the University of Kentucky, where I earned my Doctorate in Nursing Practice, and I combine evidence-based practice with compassion, grace, and lived experience.
My mission is simple: to walk alongside you in your feeding journey with compassion, evidence-based wisdom, and a Christ-centered heart—helping you build strong foundations, realistic expectations, and a plan that truly supports your family’s needs.
You are not alone in this journey. I’d be honored to be part of your village.
“I believe lactation care should feel like part of your village, not just a service you call in a crisis. Relational care places connection at the center—between parent and baby, between family members, and between families and their care provider. Feeding is not just about nutrition; it’s a complex and deeply meaningful experience of bonding, trust, and resilience.
Where traditional lactation care often stops at latch or milk transfer, relational care broadens the view to the whole family’s lived experience—expectations, emotions, social support, and cultural context.”
Krista’s calling to become a lactation consultant was born out of her own struggles during her third breastfeeding journey. In late 2020, at the height of COVID, when local breastfeeding support was nearly non-existent, she found herself facing challenges she never expected—trouble latching due to nipple inversion, reliance on a nipple shield, and slow weight gain.
“I felt the fear and doubt when my baby was not back to birth weight at 2 weeks and I had to go from exclusive breastfeeding like I had with my other two children to pumping to closely monitor his intake. Things improved, but he still had slow weight gain and I was encouraged by my providers to ‘just give him more milk!’ I felt hopeless - brushed off because I was ‘experienced’ but wondering if so, why is it so hard?”
“After several weeks, he thankfully weaned off the shield and all the issues eventually resolved. We successfully continued our breastfeeding journey 13 months. I knew then that I never wanted another mom to feel as discouraged, lost and alone as I did in those earliest weeks, so I started my certification journey. It was not until I was weeks into my training that I learned the root cause of our breastfeeding struggles that started so many months ago.”
“With Gratitude & Grace, I acknowledge that I do not have all of the answers. But I am in this with you. You are not alone. My goal is to support parents and lactating families virtually to increase accessibility to quality, compassionate lactation care during the times they feel most vulnerable to improve the overall health of families and long-term outcomes. I am so humbled to walk with you in your journey.”
Krista lives in warm and sunny southwestern Georgia with her husband, Steven, and their three beautiful children. She enjoys camping and exploring the outdoors with her family, running, and serving in her church. She counts it a privilege to walk alongside families in their sacred feeding journeys—and she looks forward to connecting with you soon.
Connect with me on Instagram!
