Join us for our second annual retreat for Lactation Professionals!

Two days of lactation education and rejuvenation in beautiful wine country!

🌿$111 Deposit to secure your spot + 2 payment installments (due in 2027)

All perinatal professionals who support lactating people are welcome! Whether you’re an IBCLC, CLC, CLE, Doula, Newborn Care Specialist, Midwife, RN, LVN, or OB - this is a space for you to learn effective hands-on techniques to support your lactating clients and their babies in a breathtaking setting.

Between engaging lectures, you'll enjoy nutritious meals in community, yoga, a sound healing, time in nature, and build meaningful connections with colleagues who truly understand your work. Are you ready for all this oxytocin!

Burnout among perinatal professionals isn't just a personal challenge—it's a community health issue. When birth workers are depleted, families receive less than optimal care. By investing in your own well-being, you're truly investing in the families you serve.

You'll leave feeling rejuvenated, with a restored nervous system and renewed knowledge to support families on their lactation journeys.

Space is limited to 24 participants.

🌿Tuition Assistance Available - Please apply HERE

This year, our guest speaker is Melissa Cole, MS, IBCLC, PMH-C

Melissa is a wise healer who is ready to share her wisdom.

Lucky us!

Melissa is an internationally recognized lactation consultant, educator, author, researcher, and clinical herbalist with a passion for helping families feel supported, informed, and empowered throughout their feeding journey. As the founder of Luna Lactation & Wellness, she provides comprehensive, individualized care that considers the whole picture—from infant feeding and oral function to parental wellbeing and family goals. Drawing from decades of experience in maternal-child health, lactation, herbalism, infant feeding, and perinatal wellness, Melissa is known for blending evidence-informed practice, clinical expertise, and compassionate guidance to help families navigate challenges with clarity and confidence.

The detailed curriculum is provided in the daily itinerary below.

You can read more about Melissa and her incredible work on her website.

*6 L-CERPS pending approval.

We will stay at a retreat center with views of beautiful vineyards and redwood trees. Interactive learning flows naturally alongside self-care, and time for reflection.

Through mindful breathing and restorative stretches, our yoga session will gently release tension in the body.

An hour of vibrating crystal bowls will provide relaxation, stress release, and a meditative experience.

Full access to hiking trails, a swimming pool, an art room, and a labyrinth provides opportunity for movement and creativity.

We'll be staying together in the Ranch House, a beautiful two-story, Spanish-style brick home built in 1930. The house offers plenty of room to gather with the group or slip away for some quiet time.

This stunning house features 15 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms (all bathrooms are en-suite), comfortably accommodating our group with no more than two people per bedroom. Each bedroom includes its own private bathroom with a shower, ensuring privacy and convenience for all guests.

The home's common areas include a living room with a stone fireplace, a sun room, a library, a formal dining room, and a full kitchen. Outside, a large courtyard with a fire pit provides a beautiful gathering space. A labyrinth and swimming pool are just steps away, and multiple hiking trails surround the property.

We will enjoy our meals together in the dining hall - a brief walk from the house.

Tracy, founder of Soulwise Community, has supported new families since 2003, beginning as a Birth and Postpartum Doula and now practicing as a Maternal/Child Health Nurse and Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She facilitates Postpartum Doula trainings and hosts perinatal professional gatherings. She is passionate about building community among care specialists, enabling providers to refer clients confidently and support families comprehensively.

Soulwise Community gatherings provide a sustainable model for integrating wellness into your practice and creating the support networks that keep our work viable over the long term.

8:30am-9:00am

Arrival and Welcome to The Bishop's Ranch

9:00am-12:30pm

Never Just a Mouth: Hands-On Functional Assessment and Care with Melissa Cole

Session 1

Look, Feel, Listen: Comprehensive Functional Assessment

We will look beyond the frenulum and explore the whole feeding picture

through observation, palpation and functional assessment of orofacial and

overall anatomy and feeding patterns. The goal is to put the “fun” in functional

assessment as we connect structure, movement, and feeding patterns.

Session 2

Connect the Clues: Differential Diagnosis, Aftercare & Oral Activities

We will sort through the contributing factors behind feeding difficulty, think

critically about the timing of interventions and referrals, and connect

assessment findings with individualized post-frenectomy support and playful,

purposeful oral activities. Infant regulation, family goals, and a sustainable

care plan remain at the center.

12:30pm

Lunch

2:00pm

Case Study Discussion led by Tracy Massillon

3:30

Yoga Session (60 minutes)

5:00pm

Social Hour

6:30pm

Dinner

8:00pm

Fireside chat

8:00am

Breakfast

9:00am-12:03pm

From Clues to Care: Case-Based Discussion & Live Clinical Skills with Melissa Cole

Session 1

Think It Through: Cases, Play & Therapeutic Touch

Interactive case review focused on comprehensive assessment, differential

diagnosis, priorities, referrals and realistic care plans. We will also explore

play-based activities, therapeutic touch and integrative strategies that support

connection, regulation and feeding function.

Session 2

Real Babies, Real Skills: Live Dyad Clinical Assessment

Guided work with invited parent/infant dyads. Together we will complete a

comprehensive assessment, identify the most meaningful findings, and create

an individualized care plan that is practical, family-centered and responsive to

what the dyad is showing us.

Session 3

Pulling It Together: Clinical Integration & Takeaways

Group discussion of findings, care-plan priorities, follow-up, interdisciplinary

collaboration and practical strategies participants can carry into practice.

12:30pm

Lunch

2:00pm

Case Study Discussion led by Tracy Massillon

3:00pm

Sonic Healing (60 minutes)

5:00pm

Social Hour

6:30pm

Dinner

8:00pm

Fireside chat

8:00am

Breakfast

9:00am

Group Hike

Join Tracy for a 30-40 minute trail hike.

10:00am

Closing Circle

This will be our opportunity to reflect on our time together. We will meet in the courtyard around the firepit.

11:00am

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