March 2017 – Page 2 – Melanie Potock

Feeding Babies, Feeding Toddlers to School Age, Parenting a Picky Eater

Finger Foods for 10-Month-Old Kids

By Rosenya Faith She’s about to take another leap toward independence, and it’s going to get messy. Finger foods help your little munchkin develop new skills and explore through new tastes...

Feeding Therapy, Parenting a Picky Eater

Ten Tips for Making Progress in Feeding Therapy

By Melanie Potock The end of a year is a reflective time for many parents, especially those who have children in any type of therapy. As a pediatric SLP who...

Feeding Therapy, Medical Concerns

Five Things to Know if Your Client Has Food Allergies

By Melanie Potock For pediatric feeding therapists, whether working in the home, school/community or hospital/clinic setting, understanding safety precautions for kids with food allergies is essential. Here are five things...

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Apr 25

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👍🏼Here’s what to do when baby starts to suck their thumb or fingers while awake…

✨Offer a favorite teether that has sensory bumps on it. Those little bumps are magical – they satisfy baby by stimulating nerve endings in the gums, lips and tongue that are alerting.

👉🏼There’s more to know…

👋🏼We want babies exploring their mouth with their little fingers, thumbs, fists and wrists! We want to see mouthing, gentle biting, etc. But it’s oh-so-easy for this exploration phase to turn into thumb or finger sucking for prolonged periods of time. Depending on the intensity, duration and frequency of the digit sucking, it may change the shape of baby’s plate and mouth structures.

❓Why is that important? 👉🏼Because unintended changes in facial growth due to thumb/finger sucking may be related to speech, feeding and airway issues as baby grows.

🤔Wait – so they SHOULD chew/mouth fingers, but not suck on them? YEP.

💜THUS, if baby sucks while awake, offer a teether with sensory bumps.

😴BUT, if baby begins to suck while falling asleep, it’s ok to let them suck for a few minutes to calm and regulate their body for sleep. But once they are drowsy, gently pop out that thumb whenever possible.

✨AND…discouraging it during the daytime will help tremendously, in my experience with babies and toddlers. They are less likely to make it a habit if we find other ways to address their need for oral stimulation with fun teethers, like this one from ezpzfun.com . Be sure to use my affiliate code MELANIE10 for 10% any purchase at ezpz – this teether is also an oral development tool from the set of 3 “Oral Development Tools” at ezpzfun.com. You can read all about the advantages of the 3 tools on their site – or just DM me for more info, and I’ll send you the direct link!

🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock #thumbsucking #babythumb #ashaigers #slpfeeding ...

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Apr 24

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✨When @usnews asked me to comment on BEST SIPPY CUPS, my first response was…”Let’s be sure to define the term ‘SIPPY’” 😉

👉🏼DM me for the direct link to the article and for my Amazon shop with with all my tried and true best cups for Littles!

🥰Thank you to Dahlia Rimmon, MS, RDN and Megan Wood for this piece that supports parents’ individual circumstances, yet also provides education and up-to-date information for their readers.

💕👋🏼💕Thanks for sharing this with your friends! I hope it’s helpful!

Melanie 🙂
#melaniepotock #sippycups #cupsforbabies #cupsfortoddlers #ashaigers ...

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Apr 22

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💦🥑💦Storing avocados in water – have you tried that hack? WELL, I did too and here’s why I want you to STOP IT.

🛑The U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) wants you to know that you’re family is at risk for FOOD POISONING using this avocado storage hack. 🦠That’s because Salmonella (EW!) and Listeria monocytogenes (double EW!) hang out on that dark outer skin of the avocado. When we store it in water in the fridge, YES, the avocado does last longer, but you know what else lives, thrives and MULTIPLIES? Listeria moncytogenes and they ooze into the yummy, fleshy parts you intend to eat.🤢

⚠️NOPE. You can’t wash it at that point…it’s now INSIDE your avocado.

👉🏼🥑👉🏼According to the Cleveland Clinic, who highlighted this info on their website, the best way to store avocados is to leave them on your kitchen counter and..

🥑Check them daily for changes in skin color and softening – both indicators that they are ready to eat.

🥑Also – do you know how to check the “stem cap” or that little brown button on the top of the fruit? It should pop off easily and wah-lah! Your avocado is ready to be washed, sliced and enjoyed!

✋🏼💦✋🏼That’s right, don’t wash it till your ready to eat it. Washing before that only softens the skin and allows bacteria to seep inside.

🥑They also recommend storing sliced avocado by adding a little lemon or lime juice, or try olive oil. Wrap it tightly! Then, keep it cold to “combat oxidation” – you can even freeze it!

❓Tell me, did you know this? Cause I didn’t…learning new things every day!
🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock
#avocadohack
#foodpoisoning
#babyledweaningideas

Source: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-store-avocados-safely ...

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Monthly Archives: March 2017

Finger Foods for 10-Month-Old Kids

Ten Tips for Making Progress in Feeding Therapy

Five Things to Know if Your Client Has Food Allergies