Compassionate Feeding Support for Families
From infancy through childhood. Guided by your child’s cues and grounded in evidence—bringing peace to mealtimes and confidence to parents.
Services for Parents
Feeding challenges can feel overwhelming — but you don’t have to face them alone. Whether your child is an infant, toddler, or older, we provide evidence-based support that brings peace back to mealtimes. Our process is designed to uncover the root causes of feeding struggles, give you clear guidance, and equip you with practical tools so your child can grow with confidence.
Feeding challenges can feel overwhelming — but you don’t have to face them alone. Whether your child is an infant, toddler, or older, we provide evidence-based support that brings peace back to mealtimes. Our process is designed to uncover the root causes of feeding struggles, give you clear guidance, and equip you with practical tools so your child can grow with confidence.
What we Treat
Every stage of childhood brings unique feeding challenges. Our services are individually tailored to meet your child’s needs at all the STAGES of feeding development - from infancy to teen - and every transition in between.
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Infants – difficulties with breast or bottle feeding, reflux, slow weight gain, tongue ties, transitions between breast, bottle, pumping, suck/swallow/breathe coordination, and training hunger & satiation cues.
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Toddlers – transition to solids, picky eating, food refusal, oral motor sensory delays, growth concerns, hunger & satiation regulation, and mealtime stress.
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Older Children – limited food variety, ongoing feeding anxiety, medical or developmental feeding challenges, and stress around growth or nutrition.
No matter your child’s age, our approach centers on responsive feeding techniques that build trust, reduce stress, and support healthy development. We’ll help you nurture an intuitive, reciprocal, and peaceful feeding relationship with your child.
We also specialize in medically complex cases, including tube-to-oral transitions and ongoing support for tube-fed children to ensure feeding remains comfortable, safe, and developmentally appropriate.
Step 1: Free Phone Consultation
Every family begins with a complimentary phone call. This is your chance to share your concerns, ask questions, and learn how our services can help. We’ll listen carefully to your child’s feeding history, outline possible next steps, and make sure our approach feels like the right fit for your family.
Step 2: Evaluation
Our evaluation is a thorough, evidence-based look at your child’s feeding. We’ll review medical history, growth patterns, and developmental milestones while observing your child’s feeding in real time. You’ll leave the evaluation with clear insights into the “why” behind the challenges, a summary of findings, and a plan for moving forward.
Step 3: Treatment
At FirstSTAGES Feeding Specialists, we focus on practical, responsive strategies that reduce stress and build trust at mealtimes. Our unique approach helps families feel supported and confident while addressing the root causes of feeding challenges.
We:
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Facilitate back to breast plans that immediately eliminate triple feeding with incredible success with supporting milk supply and achieving breastfeeding goals.
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Coach parents in responsive feeding that restores confidence and connection.
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Support hunger and satiation cues to lay the foundation for intuitive eating.
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Assess tongue and lip-ties (TOTs) with guidance before and after release, second opinion on the need for release incorporating clinical rationale and evidence-based assessment.
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Reduce aversion and feeding stress, creating calmer mealtimes.
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Empower parents to trust their instincts and ease anxiety.
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Guide families with tube feeding and responsive weaning when appropriate.
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Encourage curiosity with new foods, fostering peace and adventure in eating.
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Collaborate with MD, ENT, GI, Ped Dentist, Dietitian, OT, PT, and any other specialists for whole-child care.
Collaboration
We work alongside your child’s medical providers, therapists, and school team to ensure consistent, coordinated care. By sharing progress updates and evidence-based recommendations, we help every professional on your child’s team stay aligned. Families often find that this level of collaboration eases communication and ensures their child receives the best support possible.