34 - Top concerns when starting solids - gagging, food stuffing, progressing to finger foods, spitting and more with speech pathologist Emily Meagher

Starting solids is such an exciting time, but we understand it can also be incredibly overwhelming, confusing and bring up a lot of questions! So we asked paediatric speech pathologist and mum emily meagher all of the top questions we receive.

Emily is a certified practicing speech pathologist working and living in the South West of WA. She has worked across hospital, community, disability and private sectors for the past 12 years and recently shifted gears to support parents in their communication and feeding journeys through her online space at Chomp n Chat. She is passionate about giving all children a voice and putting the joy back into the early years of raising healthy and happy little chompers and chatters.

In this podcast we chat to Emily about:

• What the role of a speech pathologist is and when you might reach out for support
• All about the tongue thrust reflex and what we should be looking for when starting solids
• What exactly gagging is, whether it is normal and how we can support our child
• How we can safely progress onto finger foods
• How to teach our child to chew and not shovel in their food or overstuff their mouth, plus what to do if this occurs
• Supporting children to chew and swallow rather than just spit food back out again
• Red flags that may warrant a review with a speech pathologist 
• and so much more!

You can connect with Emily on Instagram or her website

Today's episode was brought to you by Bugaboo. We are always on the lookout for highchairs that are not only functional, but aesthetically pleasing and easy to use (and clean!), and were so thrilled to find the Bugaboo Giraffe which ticks ALL the boxes. A chair designed for all ages, and it is literally adjustable in one second. The clever design offers five different seating solutions that can adapt to all milestones and moments in a child’s growth journey — from newborn to toddler and up to adult. It can be adjusted in one second without any tools needed, making it a versatile, durable while added points for actually looking nice at the family table. Our Occupational Therapist Rachael also gave it her tick of approval from an ergonomic perspective, so our little ones can feel supported and comfortable at mealtimes.

If you want to see the Bugaboo Giraffe for yourself visit the Bugaboo website HERE.

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Presented by Luka McCabe and Kate Holm

To get in touch please email podcast@boobtofood.com