Services
Feeding can often be a battleground for families.
Infant feeding difficulties can originate from a wide variety of causes including early stressful neonatal experiences, respiratory conditions, and disordered swallowing. Regardless of the cause, feeding disorders can potentially lead to increased anxiety and stress surrounding meal times.
Feeding is a complicated process with many variables which is why an interdisciplinary approach involving your baby, your family, the pediatrician, lactation consultant, gastroenterologist, and speech language pathologist is essential in order to make feeding successful.
Responsive Feeding Therapist
Our services all use a responsive, sensitive, evidence based approach at addressing infant feeding challenges. All therapy is family centered. We specialize in comprehensive feeding evaluations and treatments that address bottle aversion, oral motor deficits, problematic feeding behaviors that result in decreased oral intake and added family stress.
Our feeding approach and philosophy sets us apart from other feeding therapists. Responsive Feeding Therapy (RFT) facilitates the (re)discovery of internal cues, curiosity, and motivation, while building skills and confidence. It is flexible, prioritizes the feeding relationship, and respects and develops autonomy.
Infant Feeding Evaluation
First, we begin with a comprehensive evaluation of your baby’s oral structures and oral motor skills, feeding patterns, current feeding skills, strengths, and addresses your baby’s unique feeding challenges.
Evaluation includes:
Physical examination of oral structures
Parental questionnaire
Infant feeding evaluation as fed by parent and SLP
Oral intake questionnaire
Family feeding goals
Infant positioning, behaviors, and oral motor abilities
Evaluations take 1-2 hours and can be scheduled at your home or in our clinic in Marietta.
Feeding Therapy
Using the results of your infant’s individualized evaluation, we lay out feeding therapy that is focused on optimizing nutrition through interventions that are tailored to your family feeding goals.
Treatment sessions are 30-45 minutes and can be scheduled in your home or in our clinic.
Neonatal/Infant Massage
As a certified neonatal massage therapist, I offer massage sessions to relax and prepare your baby for a pleasurable feeding session.
Neonatal / Infant massage is a gentle, tactile therapy that involves preparing your baby for a positive feeding experience. It promotes parent bonding, relaxation, and aids in digestion. When paired with feeding therapy, it can improve positioning and physical conditioning for feeding.
Parent training sessions will train you on how to provide massage prior to bedtime or feeding times. I recommend 30-45 minute sessions scheduled prior to feeding therapy to boost your baby’s oral intake and promote parent bonding.
Working with me is a simple 3-step process:
Book your evaluation
We create your feeding plan
Begin feeding therapy