Thrive Infant Wellbeing

Thrive Infant Wellbeing IBCLC
Tongue Tie Practitioner
Infant Health and Wellbeing Expertise

15/11/2025

🥇 Hands came before spoons...so we need to master picking up foods with our hands before learning to use cutlery

This is a great reel to save for the caption and share with other parents!

There is no judgement here, do what's right for you...this reel is to reassure parents that it is okay to progress with introducing solids without having to spend money on baby dishes and cutlery

👀 Hand-eye coordination...this can be greatly enhanced by the sense of touch, pressure and actual "feel" of food in the hands and on fingertips

🎆 Sensory exploration...not having hands "dirty" or "messy" during mealtimes can really impact their opportunity for sensory play and to explore foods before they try them

⛑️ Cutlery is one way...(it's not used to remove foods from the mouth) taking foods to the mouth and taking them back out are all part of the learning process when it comes to starting solids

🪜Cutlery adds an unecessary step to the process...free the hands and let your baby eat as they wish, food introduction should be exciting and enjoyable without added "steps"

But you ask..

"Isn't it unhygienic?" No...you wash hands before mealtimes whether you use cutlery or not. We eat biscuits, crisps, fruit, sandwiches, chocolate, ....a LOT of foods without cutlery...its fine!

"How will they learn to use cutlery then?" Role play it if you must...but on a serious note, you ever looked at an adult and thought wow...they were delayed in using cutlery??

"When should I introduce using a spoon/fork?" I would suggest once you have introduced all the different food groups and your baby is taking full meals ... 10-12months

"What if my baby doesn't like the feel of food?" Introduce other forms of sensory play and increase exposure to different textures at times other than meal times

If you would like to know more, give me a follow!

15/11/2025

My name is Shami and I am an IBCLC and Tongue Tie Practitioner. Come follow me and binge on my reels!

Here to help support and guide you through your feeding journey, no matter how you choose to feed 💚

Part 2 will cover "when and why ni**le shields may be useful in helping your baby to latch"

**leshields

15/11/2025

I reckon you have to be extremely LUCKY if you don't experience feeding difficulties to some extent, at some point through your parenting journey!

Whether its wind, reflux, colic, mastitis, ni**le pain, painful latch, low milk supply, bottle refusal, slow weight gain, allergies or simply questions about sterilising, different formulas, pumps, bottles, dummies, tongue tie...

I could go on with the list! ...but how do you prepare for this?

1. Access support antenatally and do your research, ask questions and prepare yourself for different eventualities

2. Trained support and assessment is essential. You need to be asking whether the person you are seeking support from is trained and skilled to offer it to you?

3. Question things that dont make sense...you can ask for a second opinion, you can ask why and how..ask them to make it make sense!

And be kind to yourself...experiencing difficulty in parenting is about learning...not evidence of failure. 💚

Come join my community of Thriving parents and babies by giving me a follow!

Save and share this mini guide! Give me a follow to access my guides for FREE! Bottle feeding correctly, confidently, re...
14/11/2025

Save and share this mini guide!

Give me a follow to access my guides for FREE!

Bottle feeding correctly, confidently, responsively...it all matters.. A LOT!

Around 30% of babies that present at my clinic with feeding issues are bottle feeding to some degree. Often misdiagnosed as having CMPA, reflux, tongue tie, colic....and more often than not, they leave clinic feeding better with zero surgical or pharmaceutical intervention.

It is okay to ask for help work bottle feeding 💚


13/11/2025

💚 It's only a problem, if it's a problem for you!

It is ok to feed to sleep or to use breastfeeding for comfort. Tandem feeding or donating milk? Fine!

It is okay to combi feed or to breastfeed because it is cheaper..I couldn't be bothered to make bottles in the night...that was okay as a deciding factor 😅

It is okay to carry on feeding into toddlerhood because it is easier than giving up...but its also okay to stop feeding when you want to for yourself...

So if you didnt already get the jist, do what is right for you, and if you need support, you can always find it if you look in the right place 💚

12/11/2025

❓️ Want more feeding tips that actually work? Come give me a follow and join my community of Thriving parents and babies! I am a lactation consultant and Tongue Tie Practitioner, ready to share everything you need to know!

🏥 Exaggerated latch will work if your baby has a shallow latch that is causing pain, discomfort, poor milk transfer and slipping off!

🧭 It involves guiding the ni**le and surrounding breast tissue directly underneath into your baby's mouth so that the ni**le lands at the soft palate further in the mouth

🎥 There are lots of videos online on how to do this, but it does also depend on your own unique anatomy and some women find that they need hands on support to help them to get things "just right" for their baby and their body

🚫 If this technique is not working for you, get some help to make sure that you are doing it correctly...if its still not pain free... explore underlying causes of shallow latch with an experienced and trained lactation consultant

11/11/2025

Top tips if you want to protect your milk supply while trying to lose weight:

🧮 Adequate calorie intake while feeding your baby. Breastmilk production requires extra calories.. around 500!

💊 Vitamin D supplement, 10 micrograms/day is the current recommendation (NHS, UK)

🥭 Avoid ultra processed foods and focus on whole foods that are nourishing and nutritious

💧 Hydration is vital to milk production as breastmilk is around 80% water

🚴‍♂️ Exercise can help burn calories if you are struggling with managing intake or if you don't want to change your diet

⏰️ Postnatal recovery is important, your body needs calories to heal, give yourself a good couple of months before you start thinking about dieting, unless of course you are well enough or have been advised otherwise for health reasons

If you found this useful, please save and share


10/11/2025

📣 First of all, THIS is one that you are going to want to save for later and share with every one you know who has had a baby or is due a baby! ..and then of course don't forget for give me a follow..because that kinda helps 🤣

⏰️ Triple feeding as a plan, is often a last resort and should be a short, intense, intervention that helps your baby to get the nourishment they need while we improve feeding. Sometimes women choose to triple feed and this isn't quite the same as having to do it as a feeding intervention

3️⃣ The three steps involved are usually feed at the breast, express milk and offer this to baby and then top up with formula either using a bottle/syringe or cup. It usually comes about where baby is not gaining weight as is expected and can feel very overwhelming

So..important questions?...

❓️You need to establish the why..it is sooo important. Is it low milk supply? Primary or secondary? Is it poor milk transfer? Is it an oral issue, labour/birth issue? Muscular/pain related? Is the baby/mum well? And how are we addressing these? And then ask if your feeding plan is in line with this...

⚖️ Establish accurate and realistic goals. You need to know how long this plan should last, when should you notice improvements or changes? What are these indicators? How do I know that triple feeding is not working? Make note of the expected weight gain per day

👩‍⚕️ Request support from a trained/qualified lactation consultant if you haven't had this already. Triple feeding is not a long term solution (unless of course you are fine doing this!) But for most parents, they want to come off the plan and the best person to help with this is someone who is trained

More parent tips to follow!

08/11/2025

Reasons why toddlers refuse to brush their teeth...

🦷 "don't like the taste of the toothpaste" ...try trying with just a wet brush and gradually introduce toothpaste

🦷 "teething pain and sensitive gums" ...use pain relief if needed, soft brushes are suitable for babies and toddlers

🦷 "don't know what to do"...role play with a teddy, let them observe what you do and watch videos/read books together about brushing teeth

🦷 "have had a negative experience"...change the routine, change the toothbrush, take the toothbrush out of the usual environment and take off the pressure to do anything, let them play with the toothbrush

🦷 "it is boring"... toothbrushes with flashing lights, character toothbrushes can help, let them put the toothpaste on with help

In the meantime, remember that sugars, fruit juices and bottles/dummies after the age of 1 are not great for dental health...so if your little one is refusing their toothbrush, you can make other changes while you work things out

💚 If you found this useful, don't forget to save for later and share with other parents!


06/11/2025

It can be really stressful if you need your baby to take formula and they are refusing, especially if there is no option for expressed milk for whatever reason.

So what can you try? ...

Before I answer that...if you are seeing my reel for the first time, my name is Shami and I am a feeding specialist and tongue tie practitioner in the UK.. please don't forget to give me a follow for more expert content 💚

Here are some things to try/consider:

1. Darkened, quiet room after skin to skin or when sleepy

2. Try different temperatures and bottles/teats, slow flow to begin with

3. If old enough, incorporate into foods and if refusing bottle, use cup/beaker/straw

4. Mid breast feed, keep in feeding position as much as possible and try the bottle

5. If you decide to mix breastmilk and formula, remember that formula can not be kept out as long as breastmilk at room temperature

6. Wrap the bottle in a muslin that smells of breastmilk

If you are struggling, get in touch with a lactation consultant and seek breastfeeding support 💚

Address

Stafford Health And Wellbeing Centre
Stafford
ST163EB

Opening Hours

9am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Thrive Infant Wellbeing posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Thrive Infant Wellbeing:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Category