The Good Latch OT

10/10/2026

Having a professional functional feeding assessment can identify the problems that oral restrictions cause! Not every tight looking frenum is a tongue tie! IM me for more information!

Lip ties (and their pictures on social media) drive me clinically nuts, because there is so much misinformation about who actually has one

I am the first to refer to the appropriate health care provider (pediatric dentist or ENT) when a true lip tie is not allowing proper function of the lips and is impacting the success of digestion or breastfeeding. But let’s understand a few things:
✏️According to a 1994 study by Flinck, who looked at >1000 babies, 77% of them had a frenulum that inserted “low” on to the gumline. A further 17% had a frenulum that inserted into the palate. So 94% of babies have a really low gum insertion - that is NOT the definition of a lip tie. Having a low set frenulum cannot be the only criteria used for release
✏️There is currently no published criteria defining a normal frenulum vs a lip tie. That does not mean a lip shouldn’t be addressed when function is being impacted. But that band between lip and gums is supposed to be there to some extent to help anchor your lips to your face for proper movement and facial development
✏️Lip tie, when it is present, can certainly get in the way of a normal latch. A lip tie may cause increased air intake (contributing to reflux and gas), breast pain from the lips gripping too tightly to the breast, contribute to lip blisters muscle compensations, or not allow the baby to be able to maintain the latch through the whole feeding. While the lips are important for feeding, I’m more concerned about the tongue for obtaining a normal latch. The lip often compensates for the tongue

True diagnosis of lip tie is all about anatomy (what does it look like), physiology (what does it do), and symptoms (what is it causing). A lip tie will always impact function of the lip by restricting its expected movement. The upper lip should be soft and move to spread and pucker the lips without difficulty. The upper lip should play a passive role when breastfeeding, gently rounding to maintain the seal at the breast so milk doesn’t leak out and not gripping the breast

You cannot tell if it’s tied from a picture, a dynamic, hands on assessment is needed.

10/03/2026

So many positions and when you have a baby with body tension and a head preference this can be really difficult! Reach out to me- this is one of my favorite parts of my job!🤱🏻👶🏼💞

There is this lingering fear for many new breastfeeding moms that you have to sit in one hyper-specific, textbook posture or the latch will be lost. You pile up six pillows, freeze your shoulders, hold your breath, and end up with a stiff neck ten minutes in. If your baby loses the latch that easily, they were never well latched to begin with.

So slouch into the couch cushions, kick your feet up, or lay flat on your side. Your body is the best pillow for your baby, so set yourself up in whatever way keeps you from aching tomorrow. Your position doesn’t matter. Get comfortable.

The piece that actually makes or breaks a feed is how your baby’s body is lined up. Trying to swallow with your chin jammed into your chest or your neck cranked sideways is miserable, and babies run into that exact struggle when they are slightly twisted. If their tummy is turned up toward the ceiling while their mouth is turned toward you, their swallow gets awkward, the latch goes shallow, and you feel every bit of that friction.

Instead of obsessing over your own angle, take a second to look at theirs. Bring their whole body close so their tummy rests against you, keeping their ear, shoulder, and hip so it makes one straight line. When their chin presses softly into the breast first, their head tilts back naturally with the nose free, which frees up their jaw to drop wide and pull in a deep, painless mouthful. Their position matters. Having trouble figuring it out? Just stand up. You have to have them in the correct position when standing or you’ll drop them when trying to latch. Try it.

09/30/2026

These are a few of my favorite things too! 🍁 🎃 👶🏼🥣

09/27/2026

Yes!🙌 🛝 As OTs we know and preach that PLAY is the #1 occupation for children! Bring them outside to run, play hopscotch, kick the leaves, and dance in the rain!

We need to stop asking if a four year old can write their name and start asking if they can climb a tree or hang from the monkey bars. I know it sounds counterintuitive, especially when we are bombarded with the idea that academic success starts with a workbook, but the science of child development tells a very different story.

I see it so often. A child is struggling with handwriting, not because they do not know the letters, but because they do not have the core strength to sit upright at a desk or the shoulder stability to move a pencil across a page. A worksheet is a 2D solution to a 3D problem. If the foundations of the body are not strong, the fine motor skills will always struggle to follow.

When we push children into academic tasks before their bodies are physically ready, we are not giving them a head start. We are actually setting them up for a lifetime of physical fatigue and frustration. If a child has to use all their energy just to keep their body from slumping over, they have no mental energy left for learning.

Our educators know this. When they choose a morning of climbing, digging in the mud, or navigating an obstacle course, they are doing the deep, essential work of school readiness. They are building the core, the grip strength, and the visual tracking skills that will eventually make reading and writing feel easy.

Educators, what is the one thing you wish parents understood about the importance of play over paperwork?

Parents, what is your biggest worry when it becomes to your child being ready for school?

09/09/2026

This is so important- especially when feeding is a challenge. Check in on the mamma, it’s not just the baby that struggles with a latch issue🤱🏻👶🏼

✨ Everyone rushes in to hold the baby… but who’s holding the mother?

We talk so much about how it takes a village to raise a child — and it does. But it also takes a village to support a mother.

Too often, the baby gets the love, the gifts, the visits… while the mother is left silently struggling, healing, and adjusting to a life forever changed.

The baby has a village. Make sure the mother does, too.
Check in. Drop off a meal. Offer to hold the baby so she can shower. Ask how she is really doing.

Share this post to spread awareness about the importance of showing up for mothers — not just their babies. ✨

08/29/2026

Pathways.org I have been following and suggesting parents to download their app! Best developmental app out there!

08/23/2026

08/23/2026

❤️👶🏼🤱🏻🥰

Somewhere along the way, responding to a baby became “spoiling them.”

Hold them too much. Nurse them too often. Let them sleep on you. Comfort them every time they cry.

As if a baby came into this world needing a lesson in independence instead of needing another human being.

Babies are not manipulating us when they reach for the breast, settle against our chest, or calm to our touch. They are doing exactly what babies are biologically wired to do: seek closeness, warmth, food, safety, and regulation from their caregiver.

You are not creating a bad habit by being your baby’s safe place.

You ARE the safe place. ❤️

One day they won’t need your chest to calm down, your arms to fall asleep, or your breast to feel okay again.

But today they do.

So hold the baby. Nurse the baby. Comfort the baby.

You cannot spoil a baby with connection.