Episode 87: Infant Oral Development with Kelsey Baker

In this episode, Jacqueline is joined by Kelsey Baker, a Pediatric Occupational Therapist specializing in infant oral development. Jacqueline and Kelsey cover infant feeding, breastfeeding, oral ties, pacifiers and cups, and so much more.

Kelsey is a mom of 2, and uses her personal and professional experience to help families reach their feeding goals and tries to set babies up for lifelong health. This episode explores the first-year milestones from an occupational therapist’s point of view.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Kelsey’s journey, how she got started in occupational therapy and what exactly is an OT
• What occupational therapists look for when they assess your infant and some things to look out for in development
• How ties affect the entire body and why you want to get them assessed.
• Tips on teething and starting solids from an OT view
• Which cups, pacifiers, and bottles are best and which are not recommended

A glance at this episode:

• [1:50] Kelsey shares her journey with breastfeeding and how she got started in oral development for infants
• [5:46] What an occupational therapist is and how they are different from physical therapists
• [8:36] Some things that Kelsey assesses in an infant as an OT
• [12:20] How to go about getting support if you start to notice anything off with your infant and some key things to look out for
• [17:25] How ties affect the rest of the body
• [20:42] What’s exactly involved in a tie
• [23:10] Some considerations when teething and starting solids
• [25:10] Foods that tend to be easier for toddlers
• [28:06] How babies with ties use bottles and transition to straw cups
• [30:20] Kelsey’s view on some not so favorite bottles
• [33:22] How crawling is related to reading
• [38:32] Parents will sometimes realize through their infant why their ailments have arised, or why a sibling has a certain ailment
• [39:15] Kelsey’s view on pacifiers
• [45:34] Why we want to transition to cup feeding as early as 6 months
• [48:06] Why an OT doesn’t want you using sippy cups
• [52:38] Kelsey’s advice for the first year and some tips

Related Links:

• Kelsey’s Website
• Kelsey’s Instagram
• Holistic Lactation Website
• Discount on Products Use Code ‘PODCAST15’
• Follow on Instagram
• Book an Appointment
• ? If you are truly struggling with breastmilk production, check out our Advanced Lactation Formula supplement or consider booking a Low Milk Supply Consultation or Pumping Consultation with us
• ?If you are experiencing clogged ducts, engorgement or mastitis, check out our Lactation Flow Formula supplement or consider booking a General Breastfeeding Consultation with us
• ? Looking for more trusted knowledge and a deep dive on how to know what’s what with breastfeeding and how to overcome problems? Check out our support community The Nurture Collective®