Chatter and Chew: Speech and Feeding Therapy

08/04/2025

08/02/2025

.me has amazing customer service. In a part 3, true to their word, Milkify refunded my order, offered tips to reduce lipase in the future, and suggested using my existing product in solids so it wouldn’t go to waste. I mixed it with oatmeal and Andi did eat it! Overall, this seems like a company that is really willing to work with parents. Thank you .me 🙏🥰🥄🥣🥛🍼

07/23/2025

Texts like this are the highlight of my week! Posted with parent permission, Matteo has come such a long way and is now enjoying many different varieties of protein and sampling fruits and veggies from his fridge. His parents have been patient and consistent with a low pressure approach focused on exposure and play. I am so thrilled for this amazing family!

📸

07/06/2025

So excited to receive this seal of recognition motion from ! Under the mentorship of , I’ve learned SO much about how to best support pre schoolers, school aged children, teens and adults who stutter. As I said to Victoria- stuttering therapy has made me a better person, teaching me about all the ways we can fully accept ourselves, rely of our own resilience, and regulate the emotions of ourselves and help others to do the same. The goal is not fluency, the goal is communication!

05/01/2025

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month AND Pediatric Feeding Disorder Awareness Month! I’m so excited to announce my first workshop with Chatter and Chew! This workshop could be helpful for both parents and other therapist as you explore where to start when targeting selected meeting. Topics will include “normal picky eating”, Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder/ARFID, and Pediatric Feeding Disorder. We will also discuss setting your child up for success at meal time with meal planning strategies and ways to increase sensory engagement with food! I hope you’ll join me on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 8 PM. Check out the link in my bio to sign up! Any questions? Drop them below!

04/27/2025

I often get asked what I look for in a high chairs- for me, ergonomics and a solid foot rest are my top priorities. We have now taken three of the most popular high chairs out for a “test drive” in our home. As a result, I feel I can confidently speak about the pros and cons of each as both a feeding therapist and a Mom. So….let’s chat!

Tripp Trapp:
PROS: Aesthetically pleasing and extremely durable. Easy-ish to clean. Amazing ergonomics for older infants and toddlers. Grows with children and becomes a supportive seat for years. It worked for my oldest for about 2.5 years before I caved to husband pressure and sold to local Mom.

CONS: A review from Mr. ChatterAndChew “F*ck this chair and its scandanavian design” (translated: requires an Allen wrench and a fair amount of elbow grease to adjust the foot plate. Harness can only be used with baby seat, which supports larger toddlers but can feel too restricts. This chair is $$ and all the extra add ons are not included. Adjusting the straps is very difficult and may cause tears. Straps are also not easy to clean. The baby seat may not be enough head/neck support for an infant with lower muscle tone.

Beyond Abiie:
PROS: Less expensive than its counter parts and frequently goes on sale on Amazon for Prime Day, etc. Easyish to clean. Easy to adjust. Good ergonomics. Can also transition to a regular dining chair.

CONS: Less durable. You have to be really sure everything is clicked in (I have seen kids fall through the seat and foot rest if it isn’t secured properly). Less aesthetically pleasing. Slightly harder to keep clean, though still better than a transitional high chairs. Not the easiest chair to use for younger infants or lower muscle tone kiddos. We’re using it as my toddlers chair now; it would not have worked for either of my kids as an infant.

MOCKINGBIRD HIGHCHAIR:

PROS: Easy to assemble (I did it myself with a toddler “helping” in under 30 minutes!) Say it with me: silicone straps! Soooo easy to clean. Good ergonomics. Easy to adjust seat height and foot wrest but still feels durable. Small! Good for younger infants or baby with low muscle tone.

CONS: None. We are in love.

04/15/2025

Had to jump on this trend! Too funny! Let this Barbie help you and your kids with all their speech and feeding needs!

03/25/2025

🥜🥥🥚🥖🍱🧆🍤 Here is my daughter Andi trying eggs for the first time this morning! As you can see, it’s eggs-haunting being this cute 😉

Stressed about introducing allergens to your baby? Research shows the best time to introduce allergens to your baby is as soon as you can after 6️⃣ months (provided your baby is showing interest in solids, has appropriate head and trunk control, and you’ve discussed any significant family history of allergies with your pediatrician)

Here are my favorite tips for introducing allergens!
🌟educate yourself on the main allergens that are likely to cause a reaction: peanuts, tree nuts, soy, sesame, egg, wheat, dairy and fish/shellfish
🌟keep children’s Zyrtec in your home and near your high chair, so in case of a reaction you can call your pediatrician and provide right away if directed to do so.
🌟your baby does not have to be fully chewing solids to try these allergens! You can mix nut butters into oatmeal or puree, try coconut yogurt, hummus for sesame, etc! Serenity Kids even has salmon purees in pouch form.
🌟always try 1️⃣ allergen at a time for at least 3️⃣ days prior to offering more than one allergen in a meal. That way if a delayed reaction occurs, you’ll know for sure what the culprit is!
🌟take a deep breath! You’ve got this! If you need more support or ideas, message me so I can help you through it!

*please remember that this advice is general and not specific to your child; it does not replace the counsel of your child’s pediatrician.*

03/07/2025

One of the greatest honors is when parents ask me to be present for their baby’s first tastes of purées or solid foods. These cutie pies have come such a long way after they were born 10 weeks early. Their mother knew the importance of waiting til their corrected age to introduce solid foods, which allowed them to be physically and developmentally ready to enjoy every bite!
🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑
*posted with permission*

02/26/2025

Got a selective eater that’s stuck on how things are supposed to look/taste/feel? Mix it up with whipped cream finger painting! It’s a fun (and delicious) way to increase flexibility with food and increase sensory tolerance for messy textures and fingers! Keep swiping for two works of art and big smiles :)

02/09/2025

Some exciting professional news to share…. I am now Certified Lactation Counselor! This was big undertaking with two little ones, but I’m proud to say I recently passed the final exam for this certification! Breastfeeding has been a joyful, though at times frustrating, part of my motherhood journey. I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge with all of you as I expand my scope of practice to breastfeeding evaluation and treatment. Love, Missy, CCC-SLP, CLC ♥️💕❤️

P.S. thank you to the fabulous for the new headshots 📸

02/06/2025

Sometimes it’s hard to balance it all! In my quest to a working mom to 2 under 2, my Instagram account took a little vacation 🛫I am back though and ready to connect with all of you via social media and to share helpful tips! Here are some of my fun work and life updates! Share yours below!