The.Baby.Dietitian, Atlanta, GA (2026)

03/05/2026

You guys always request more of these posts so here you go! As per usual, I don’t think any food is off limits. All foods can fit in a balanced diet! Not a post meant to fearmonger but just to give my true opinion on snack options in Costco. The LOVE it snacks generally contain more beneficial ingredients that can be helpful to meet nutrient needs and to keep our kids full and satisfied.

If you comment “costco” I will send more of my favorite Costco finds for kids your way.

✨As per always, if we can make the majority of their intake from Whole Foods that’s ideal ❤️✨

03/04/2026

Based on recommendations from many national and international health organizations, solid food introduction should occur around 6 months of age and not before 4 months of age. - American Academy of Pediatrics

Around 6 months of age, the iron stores of the child that accumulated in utero are depleted, requiring complementary food to be introduced to aid in meeting those needs. This is especially true for breastfed babies due to human milk being lower in iron BUT it is still a highly absorbable iron! Formula fed babies are getting iron from formula but the iron is in a supplemental iron form, so we still want to encourage iron-rich meals at six months.

Guidance from leading medical organizations – the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI), the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI), and the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) – recommends that in order “to prevent peanut and/or egg allergy, peanut and egg should be introduced around 6 months of life.”

Research shows improvement in dietary habits and less aversion to lump textures if solids are introduced between 6-9 months of age. Cited below. Research also shows that children are more receptive to consuming a wide variety of tastes and textures between 6-9 months which can set the stage for a more diverse palate. Cited below.

Will put some of the many citations in comments below and comment “101” for our evidence based baby-led feeding guide created by a team of pediatric feeding experts with even more education, research, meal plans, and more!

03/03/2026

Just a few practices that I use around meal times to help my kiddos have a healthy relationship with ALL foods as well as to create a positive and calm meal time environment ✨👌🏻

What are some things you practice incorporating around mealtimes with your kiddos? 👇🏻

Need help? Grab our 101beforeone or 101afterone baby + toddler feeding guides they are written and created by a team of pediatric feeding experts.

Comment “pantry” and I’ll send our free pantry staple list your way. ⭐️

03/02/2026

I don’t have many words of wisdom tonight but I was asked to share what was most helpful for us during this season for those who want to support others walking through nicu stays!

If you’re wondering how to support a family with a baby in the NICU, here are some of the most meaningful gifts we received:

➡️ DoorDash gift cards – Hospital food gets old fast, and having options was such a gift.
➡️ Childcare help for other kids – Offering to help (and even organizing a simple schedule of availability) made it so much easier to say yes when we needed it.
➡️ Meals for the kids at home – One less thing to think about during long hospital days.
➡️ A meal train for when they come home – Truly one of the BEST gifts ever. The transition home is beautiful but exhausting.
➡️ Prayers – Especially voice memos praying over our family. We replayed them on hard days.
➡️ Keep asking how to help – Sometimes it’s hard to know how or when to ask. Consistent check-ins mean more than you know.
➡️ Instacart gift cards – Being able to send groceries home while still at the hospital was incredibly helpful.
➡️ Small gifts for siblings – Sweet surprises for the kids at home help them feel seen and special during a confusing season.
➡️ NICU-focused children’s books – Books to help siblings understand what’s happening made conversations so much easier.

Let me know if this is helpful or not and thanks for following along with my NICU pumping journey ❤️

02/28/2026

Did you know that research shows that encouraging messy play with food can increase food acceptance and reduce the risk of neophobia?

Learning to eat is a huge sensory and developmental experience and we want to allow our child to fully dive into that experience. Children learn through touch so the more we let them play with all these cool new textures, the more excited they will be to try these foods!

As much as the mess may be cumbersome to clean up, there are beneficial reasons to allow your little one to engage fully into their mealtime experience.

“Children self-feeding with their fingers frequently accepted textured foods better than those doing it less often. The present study is in agreement with others run in preschool and school children reporting that feeling the texture with their hands increased acceptance of a food with the same texture.”
Tournier, C., Demonteil, L., Ksiazek, E., Marduel, A., Weenen, H., & Nicklaus, S. (2021). Factors Associated With Food Texture Acceptance in 4- to 36-Month-Old French Children: Findings From a Survey Study. Frontiers In Nutrition, 7. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.616484

“Recent research has found an association between dislike of messy play and higher levels of food neophobia in children. These findings suggest that sensory play, with fruit and/or non-food substances, combined with exposure may be an effective strategy to increase tasting and fruit acceptance in children.”
Coulthard H, Williamson I, Palfreyman Z, Lyttle S. Evaluation of a pilot sensory play intervention to increase fruit acceptance in preschool children. Appetite. 2018 Jan 1;120:609-615. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.10.011. Epub 2017 Oct 7. PMID: 29017905.

Do you have a hard time letting your little one play with their food or use their hands to feed?

✨Additional resource: Not sure what foods to have on hand when starting solids? Grab my free pantry staples guide for baby by commenting PANTRY below. ⬇️

02/27/2026

How I managed to produce a full milk supply after an emergent C-section and 6 day NICU separation from my baby:

➡️ Hand expressed as soon as I was able—within the first hour if possible, or as soon as you are medically stable. With those immediate hormone shifts after birth, early stimulation is so important for milk production.

➡️ Made sure I had the proper fl**ge size. I’ve nursed two babies for two years, so I had an idea of my optimal size—but fl**ge size can change from baby to baby, so it’s always worth double-checking. Proper sizing helps you pump comfortably and maximize output (a lactation consultant can size you!).

➡️ Hand expressed or pumped 8–12x a day, whether I was getting milk or not. Stimulation is key. Drops are still progress and don’t mean you won’t build a full supply.

➡️ Had an incredibly supportive NICU team. As soon as she was stable, they encouraged skin-to-skin (even in the OR, which was HUGE for my supply). They supported “latch & lick” while she was on CPAP, provided colostrum oral care with swabs, and once she was off CPAP, had me latching her within the hour and feeding every 2–3 hours around the clock. They never pressured supplementation and fully supported my breastfeeding goals.

➡️ Prioritized rest, nutrition, and hydration—doing my best to keep stress and cortisol as low as possible.

➡️ Used heat and gentle massage before pumping to help with output.

➡️ And lastly, my husband—my biggest supporter—washing pump parts and making sure I had everything I needed to feed our baby the way I desired.

Hope this helps someone else ❤️

02/26/2026

Realistic day of eating for my 3 (almost 4) year old.

The way you serve and prepare foods should be based on your child’s age and feeding skills. We teach you how to serve a variety of nutrient dense foods to your baby 6 months +

As a pediatric dietitian, I provide realistic and easy to implement ways to feed your baby (six months+) in a way that is non-shaming as well as nutrient dense. All foods can fit in a balanced diet and moderation is key when feeding your littles.

Things I focus on:
- more whole foods than packaged foods when possible
- adequate intake of omega3, fiber, calcium, vitamin D, and fat.
- balanced meals and snacks whenever possible
- low or minimal added sugar
- no artificial sweeteners or colors
- lots of priority on colorful foods and a variety of food groups (aka fruits and veggies with most meals)

If you want me to share more of these, let me know.

Comment “grocery” if you want my full guide on favorite products for babies 6 months +

I avoid showing “before and after” because I feel like that is not helpful and leads to parents questioning if their child is eating enough or not enough when we should be following our child’s cues to determine the perfect intake for them!

02/25/2026

I don’t have many words of wisdom tonight but I was asked to share what was most helpful for us during this season for those who want to support others walking through nicu stays!

If you’re wondering how to support a family with a baby in the NICU, here are some of the most meaningful gifts we received:

➡️ DoorDash gift cards – Hospital food gets old fast, and having options was such a gift.
➡️ Childcare help for other kids – Offering to help (and even organizing a simple schedule of availability) made it so much easier to say yes when we needed it.
➡️ Meals for the kids at home – One less thing to think about during long hospital days.
➡️ A meal train for when they come home – Truly one of the BEST gifts ever. The transition home is beautiful but exhausting.
➡️ Prayers – Especially voice memos praying over our family. We replayed them on hard days.
➡️ Keep asking how to help – Sometimes it’s hard to know how or when to ask. Consistent check-ins mean more than you know.
➡️ Instacart gift cards – Being able to send groceries home while still at the hospital was incredibly helpful.
➡️ Small gifts for siblings – Sweet surprises for the kids at home help them feel seen and special during a confusing season.
➡️ NICU-focused children’s books – Books to help siblings understand what’s happening made conversations so much easier.

The.Baby.Dietitian

03/05/2026

03/04/2026

03/03/2026

03/02/2026

02/28/2026

02/27/2026

02/26/2026

02/25/2026

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