About Us - Meet the cofounders of Thistle Bird Lactation
Mrs. Melissa Thistle has been a certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner since 1991 with Klebanow and Associates. She received her BSN from Villanova University and her MS from the University of Maryland in the Primary Care of Children. Mrs. Thistle was certified as a Lactation Consultant in 2005. Since 2006 she has worked part time as a Lactation Consultant at Howard County General Hospital. In the past she has worked in the post partum and newborn nursery in several hospitals. She was also Maternal Child Health Coordinator for a Visiting Nurse/Public Health Agency in Western Massachusetts providing breastfeeding support to local families. Mrs. Thistle resides in Columbia with her husband. They have 3 adult children.
Mrs. Hope Bird has been a certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner since 1997 with Klebanow and Associates. She received her BSN and MSN in Primary Care of Children from University of Maryland at Baltimore. She worked in the Pediatric Emergency Department at University of Maryland Medical System before joining Klebanow and Assocaites Pediatric practice. Mrs Bird became a certified Lactation Consultant in 2005. She resides in Eldersburg with her husband and 2 sons.
