Feeding Therapy

Infants & Toddlers

At The Nest, we provide gentle, developmentally informed feeding therapy to support babies and toddlers as they learn to eat, chew, swallow, and enjoy food with confidence. Feeding is a complex skill that depends on healthy oral motor development, sensory processing, airway function, and nervous system regulation. Our approach looks beyond what a child eats to understand how their body is organizing for feeding.

We support families from the transition to solids through toddlerhood, helping children build the foundational skills they need for safe, efficient, and comfortable eating.

When to seek help

Feeding therapy may be beneficial if your child:

Gags frequently or avoids textures
Has difficulty chewing or moving food in the mouth
Uses a tongue thrust swallow pattern
Has poor lip closure for drinking
Fatigues quickly during meals
Is slow to transition to solids
Shows signs of oral motor delay
Has a high or narrow palate or suspected oral restrictions
Experiences stress or distress during meals

What is normal?

By around two years of age, most children should be developing mature feeding patterns, including:

Efficient chewing with a rotary or diagonal chew pattern
No persistent tongue thrust during swallowing
Tongue tip elevation to the alveolar ridge (just behind the front teeth) for mature swallows
Good lip closure for drinking from cups and managing liquids
Ability to manage a variety of textures safely
Improved endurance for meals without excessive fatigue

When these skills are delayed or disrupted, children may continue to rely on immature patterns that can impact nutrition, oral development, airway health, and future speech clarity.

Transition to solids

The transition to solid foods is about much more than introducing textures. It is a critical time for developing the oral motor patterns that support lifelong feeding, speech, and airway health.

During this stage, we focus on:

Tongue movement for lateralization and food transport
Jaw stability and graded chewing movements
Lip closure for spoon feeding and cup drinking
Sensory tolerance for new textures and temperatures
Posture and body stability for safe feeding
Coordination of breathing, chewing, and swallowing

When these foundations are supported early, children are more likely to develop confident, efficient eating patterns and avoid long-term feeding challenges.

Medical Conditions

Some babies and toddlers experience feeding challenges related to underlying medical or developmental conditions. At The Nest, we are experienced in supporting children with a wide range of medical and complex feeding needs, and we work closely with families and medical providers to create safe, supportive, and individualized feeding plans.

We commonly support children with:

Prematurity or extended NICU stays
History of lip & tongue ties
Low muscle tone or neuromuscular differences
Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
Frequent gagging or oral hypersensitivities
Vomiting or feeding-related distress
Poor weight gain or weight loss
Airway-related feeding concerns
Neurological or genetic conditions impacting feeding

Our approach combines careful assessment, gentle oral motor therapy, sensory-informed feeding strategies, and whole-body support to help improve comfort, coordination, and safety. We focus on building feeding skills while also supporting regulation, endurance, and positive feeding experiences for both children and caregivers.

Close up young mother kissing cheek of special needs infant with feeding tube.jpg

Safe, confident eating

Our goal is not simply to increase the number of foods, or focus heavily on weight gain or caloric consumption. We help parents attend to cues of satiety & hunger, building healthy habits around food, and we focus on building functional feeding skills that support:

Safety
Efficiency
Comfort
Endurance
Healthy oral and facial development
Long-term airway and breathing patterns

This foundation helps reduce the risk of later picky eating, oral aversions, and feeding-related stress for both children and families.

Whole child approach

At The Nest, we understand that feeding is not just an oral skill — it is a whole-body experience. Tension patterns in the neck, shoulders, torso, or hips can affect head control, jaw movement, and overall coordination for feeding. Nervous system regulation also plays a critical role in how a child tolerates new foods and textures.

Our feeding therapy may include:

Gentle oral motor therapy
Sensory-based feeding support
Craniosacral therapy to reduce tension patterns
Postural and body alignment support
Regulation strategies to support calm, organized feeding
Parent education and home strategies

By supporting the body as a whole, we help create the conditions for feeding skills to develop more naturally and comfortably.

Baby boy sitting and eating fruit on kitchen background - baby feeding concept.jpg