Melanie Potock

🤢Silicone straws are safest for kids, but they can leave a soapy aftertaste if not cleaned with the simplest liquid detergents.

❌Avoid liquid detergents that have moisturizers, essential oils or antibacterial agents. Those ingredients are more likely to stick to the straw (especially inside the straw) – yuck!

💦 Use a straw brush and remember to dry upright so the interior drains well.

❤️I love having a few extra straws on hand too in case one gets lost. @ezpzfun makes extra straws for all their cups – you can use my affiliate code Melanie10 on their website for 10% off!

🤔Have questions about the best cups? DM me for a link to my Amazon Shop, where all my approved cups are organized for you and your little munch bug!

✈️Share this with a friend who may not know it may be the type of detergent they’re using!!! Easy fix!

Thanks for following me too!
Melanie❤️

#melaniepotock #cupsforkids #ezpzfun

🍼Babies start reaching for the bottle while you’re feeding baby at about 5 months of age, but they aren’t typically ready to hold it independently till around 6 months of age.

🍼🍼Here are 2 tips to help develop this skill, but keep in mind that holding your little one and feeding them in your arms helps them grow too, both physically and emotionally!

👉🏼1. Work on sitting upright, even baby will be bottle feeding on a slight recline. Baby can sit up for about ten minutes by themselves. What does this have to do with self-feeding a bottle? When their core is stable, they can operate their arms and hands well! It’s that stable trunk that allows them to hold the bottle in their sweet hands and hold it upright and steady!

👉🏼2. By 6 months of age, babies are taking a lot of formula or breastmilk in the bottle…and it’s heavy! Midway, when taking a break to burp baby, consider occasionally pouring the milk into a shorter (and now lighter) bottle. It will be less frustrating for baby to hold. They will graduate to the longer bottle for the entire feed soon! Or, if you have time, try 2 smaller bottles in succession.

✨Important:✨Never lay baby flat to self-feed their bottle. The full-recline can lead to ear infections. Always use a semi-recline position (or more upright) and ALWAYS monitor them closely while they are still learning.

❓🍼❓Did you know that as early as 6 months we begin the process of bottle WEANING? If you’ve got a baby starting solids, take my bottle weaning course to get a plan in place for slowly weaning over the next 6 months. If you’ve got an older toddler, my bottle weaning course will help your kiddo too – don’t stress, but don’t wait. See video courses via links in my bio or mymunchbug.com/course-library
(DM me if you can’t find anything, happy to help!)

🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock #babybottle #feedingbaby #slpfeeding

Bottles and spouted sippy cups: “Leave it before they love it too much” – that’s my motto. In fact, I prefer parents skip those spouted sippy cups altogether. BUT…

🤔If you want to save just one spill-proof spout for those very rare occasions when you absolutely need spill-proof because “Grandma’s white carpet”…ok. But promise me you’ll use it only then.

🍼Spouted sippy cups (yes, soft ones too) are just bottles in disguise. They cause a child’s tongue to move forward and back UNDER the spout/nipple and that’s really hard to give up – it’s a movement that kids learn in infancy and when it persists into the toddler years, it can impact feeding development and more.

🍼Feeding milestones indicate that kids develop a more mature pattern (tongue rises UP, not forward like suckling a bottle) gradually between 6 and 12 months of age and it’s perfected shortly thereafter.

🍼That’s why developing a plan for weaning from the bottle by the first birthday is so important to help baby learn to safely eat more advanced foods.

🍼If you’ve got a baby starting solids, take my bottle weaning course to get a plan in place for weaning over the next 6 months. If you’ve got an older toddler, my bottle weaning course will help your kiddo too – don’t stress, but don’t wait. See video courses via links in my bio or mymunchbug.com/course-library
(DM me if you can’t find anything, happy to help!)

💥And try to skip the sippy cups – they are sooo hard to give up and can hinder feeding development if used too frequently. Kids vary on how hard they suck on spouts like that, but using a straw cup to keep spills to a minimum is ideal for oral development. You’ll find my favorite straw cups on my Amazon shop (link in bio or amazon.com/shop/mymunchbug )

Questions for me? Drop them in the comments, happy to help!
Melanie❤️

#melaniepotock

#bottleweaning #weaning #mytoddler #toddlermomlife #toddlermomma #slpmom #slplife #feedingtherapy #myfirstbaby #blw6months #blw12months #responsivefeeding #raisehealthyeaters #momproblems #toddlertroubles #kidscup #ashaigers #sippycups

🍝Your picky eater only eats plain or buttered noodles? Use my step-by-step solution to gradually introduce the sauce of your choice!

✨Start with the tiniest bit of sauce at the bottom of a bowl. Kids can participate in these steps if it’s not too stressful for them. For kids who are very anxious, you might start with their favorite plain pasta in one bowl and the final product from this reel in a bowl set next to it. Every kid is different… But let’s keep going here with the final steps:

✨Add pasta and stir well.

✨Here’s the most important part: add more pasta and stir again. Why? Because that pasta will be lighter in color and hold less sauce then the pasta you first stirred in… And now your child has options to pick the lightest (least saucy!) pasta from the bowl.

✨Bonus tip: Add two or three plain noodles to the top of the pile for those kids who are very hesitant about sauce. If they just fork those three noodles that’s awesome! This technique takes time and breaking it down into even smaller steps maybe the magic for your child.
#melaniepotock #originalidea
🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝
#pickyeater #feedinglittles
#pastaforkids #feedingtherapy

✨Giveaway time!✨ When a copy of my most recent book, RESPONSIVE FEEDING!

I’ll announce the winner in the comments on Sunday. One comment per person, please. Giveaway ends as soon as 50 people comment. What could be easier?😉

✨We reached 50 comments and thank you so much for participating! 👉🏼If you’d like a copy but missed the giveaway, go to mymunchbug.com/books/ for all my books!🥰

✨This giveaway is not associated with Instagram/Facebook/Meta and it’s only open to individuals over the age of 18 in the USA. Good luck! ❤️

👍🏼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

💦🥑💦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

❓Wait - Babies can have raw celery and raw carrots even before starting solids? BE SURE TO KEEP READING so you know how to do this safely.

🥕Teethers for 5-month-old babies can include hard, resistive food such as a fat carrot stick, or a wide stalk of celery. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Always supervise baby with food teethers.
2. Make sure their back/trunk is well supported so that their little hands can easily bring the food teether to their mouth ( just like a non-food teether).
3. Wash food teethers thoroughly before offering to baby.
4. Safety Test: Can you snap it in half with your thumb and forefinger on the same hand? Yes – don’t offer it. No – offer with supervision!

🥰Benefits?
Even before baby is ready for solids (closer to 6 months of age) they can get small tastes as they mouth these resistive foods, just like you can taste carrot if you lick a carrot! Babies are open to trying new tastes and programmed to explore with their littles hands to mouth, so this is the perfect time to introduce veggies in this manner.
👉🏼Like any teether, the munching (up and down repeated chomps) will strengthen their jaw and facial muscles. It will also offer sensory input in terms of different textures, cooler temperatures and because it’s food – flavor!
👉🏼All teethers help babies learn to manage their gag reflex, but in my professional experience, I notice that babies like to suck on food teethers as well as try to chew them. 👉🏼Both are great experiences for the mouth, and both “work” areas of the tongue that play a part in developing tongue lateralization skills, tongue protrusion skills (for spitting out food) and learning to manage the sensation of a gentle gag with no other food in the mouth.

🪥Think of it this way – if you experience a gagging sensation, do you find it easier to manage if you accidently did that with you toothbrush or if you accidently start gagging while eating? The toothbrush of course! Neither is comfortable at first, but the toothbrush is quickly removed and we can swallow to relieve the sensation.

❓Questions? Drop them in the comments!
❤️Melanie
#melaniepotock #foodteethers #ashaigers #babyfood #feedingtherapy

👶🏼Although babies can begin to have teethers as they begin to bring their hands to their mouth, a 5-month-old needs specific features to help with oral development:

🤍Very young babies need “nubby projections” but at 5-month-old can typically manage a bit more of a protrusion, ideally made of soft silicone, to gnaw on. I still shy away from a very long protrusion till closer to 5 ½ months, when baby has good trunk stability for controlling hand movement near the face. Those longer protrusions are excellent for helping baby get ready for solid foods and learning to tolerate a bit of gentle gagging, but they need that fine motor control to make it the most comfortable exploration experience possible.

❤️Varied texture on the silicone projection will help their tongue move to the left and right, an important skill for starting solids at 6 months of age!

✨Sensory experiences like squeaking (soft, smooth silicone parts are the squeakiest on gums!) and light-up rattles are always fun too! It’s a also a great time to introduce teethers that gently vibrate just for another fun tactile experience.

🛍️You’ll find my best teethers with these qualities and more (and for various ages) on my Amazon Shop: Amazon.com/shop/mymunchbug with notes on which are best for each age.

❤️DM me if you have questions!
🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock #5montholdbaby #babyteethers #slpfeeding #ashaigers

✨SLPs, OTs & Parents of children with ARFID… Join me for a 4-hour Masterclass on how to help kids with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder April 27th in Atlanta! Early Bird Discount ends tomorrow, 4/10, so hurry to grab your seat! 👉🏼Go to mymunchbug.com/melanie-potock-live-events/ or DM me if you would like a direct link.

🤍More than just picky eating…ARFID is truly a fear of interacting with foods.

👋🏼Hi, I’m Melanie, a pediatric speech pathologist who specializes in helping children with ARFID and extreme picky eating. I look forward to seeing you Saturday morning for this intensive 4-hour Masterclass on how anxiety controls a child’s willingness to try new foods.

✨The course is filled with practical strategies and it’s my most popular course, so I am excited to be teaching it in Atlanta for the first time!

🥰Melanie
#extremepickyeating #atlantaslp #atlantaot #ashaigers #southcarolinaslp #melaniepotock