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      • Pre-feeding set by ezpz in sage green includes the tiny pops and oral development tools (silicone teethers)#color_sage

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    • ezpz oral development tools in sage green / silicone teethers for motor skill development

      Pre-Feeding + Oral Care

      For Baby-Led Weaning

    • The Happy Mat in Blush by ezpz / Self-Suctioning Silicone Plate & Placemat

      Placemats, Plates + Bowls

      The Original Silicone Mat

    • Cups, Straws + Utensils

      Sized for Development

    • Feeding Accessories

      Popsicles, Bibs, Cutters, Lids, Cleaning and More

    • Shop All

      Expertly Designed Products for Milestone Development

  • Shop by AgeShop by Age
    • Pre-feeding set by ezpz in sage green includes the tiny pops and oral development tools (silicone teethers)#color_sage

      0-6 Months

      Pre-Feeding & Oral Care

    • First Foods Set in Pewter by ezpz / Silicone Spoon, Cup & Suctioning Bowl for Infants

      6-12 Months

      Tiny Collection

    • Mini Feeding Set in Blush by ezpz / Silicone Plate, Fork & Spoon for Toddlers

      12-24 Months

      Mini Collection

    • ezpz Happy Feeding Set in Sage / Silicone, Self-Suctioning Plate, Silicone Cup and Straw, Training Utensils for Toddlers #color_sage

      2-5 Years

      Happy Collection

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      For Every Milestone

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  • GiftingGifting
    • Sets and Bundles

      Buy more and save! Shop our collection of giftable goods.

    • Build Your Own Box

      Get 10% off when you bundle 4 or more of our bestsellers.

    • ezpz Gift Guide

      Our favorite ideas for baby showers, birthdays, and more.

    • ezpz Developmental Utensil Set in Sage #color_sage

      Compare

      See how ezpz products are designed by age and stage.

  • Feeding TipsFeeding Tips
    • Baby-Led Weaning

      Discover best practices and the products we recommend.

    • Made for Milestones

      Read about age-specific goals for oral care, pre-feeding + mealtime.

    • Mealtime Advice

      Get professional tips from our in-house Pediatric Feeding Specialist.

    • See All Categories

      Explore fun feeding challenges, crafting, recipes, and more.

  • AboutAbout
    • Expertly Designed

      Our lines are created for ages + stages by an in-house specialist.

    • Awards + Reviews

      Check out our accolades and over 20K five-star reviews!

    • Press + Features

      The industry is raving about our innovative products.

    • Our Story

      Meet the powerful women behind our small business.

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    Feeding Tips for Babies With Down Syndrome

    By Dawn Winkelmann, M.S, CCC-SLP
    Speech Language Pathologist & Feeding Specialist for ezpz

    Meet Ms. Dawn See All Articles
    Feeding Tips for Babies With Down Syndrome

    As a pediatric feeding specialist and speech language pathologist, I teach parents of babies with Down syndrome to start solids at about 6 months of age (that are showing signs of readiness). I help parents select feeding products + first foods that make mealtime successful and safe. I’m also busting a few feeding myths for feeding babies with Down syndrome.

    Texture Myth: Babies with Down syndrome can’t chew foods

    Oftentimes I see babies with Down syndrome stuck on purees because their feeding therapists or caregivers don’t realize they can actually chew and eat a variety of food textures (if given the opportunity). Offering foods in different textures, i.e., the baby-led weaning approach, promotes sensory, motor and speech development with all babies, including babies with Down syndrome.

    The babies I work with who have Down syndrome are provided with various textures using the BLW approach. In my experience, these babies have appropriate jaw and teeth alignment. This oral motor development is a huge success, as many children with Down syndrome tend to grind their teeth or have chronic dental issues and jaw pain!

    • Feeding Tip: Provide a variety of soft and moist food textures in a stick shape about the length and width of an adult pinky finger. This allows baby to learn to chew and swallow while also improving the structural development of the face and teeth. 

    Medical Myth: Babies with Down syndrome can’t drink from an open cup because of their medical issues

    Babies with Down syndrome tend to have more respiratory and congestion issues + ear infections due to having a smaller nasal passage than their peers. In addition, these babies have more tongue thrusting, mouth breathing, gasping and drooling. But this doesn't mean that they can’t learn to drink from an open cup successfully!

    Some therapists and caregivers think offering sippy cups may ease medical issues while drinking. Although rare, this is true for some children. But, in most cases, a sippy cup promotes a tongue thrusting position and an open-mouth posture, which may negatively affect a child’s breathing, dentition, sleep and speech development. So, when we are trying to safely feed a baby with Down syndrome, we want to provide the developmental step of an open cup just like their neurotypical peers.

    • Feeding Tip: Most parents believe they are supposed to transition their baby from breast or bottle to a sippy cup. Unfortunately, this is false feeding advice. Developmentally, around six months of age a baby should transition from breast / bottle to sips from an open cup held by a parent. An open cup is a cup without a lid, such as the ezpz Tiny Cup. The Tiny Cup is a part of the Developmental Cup Set. Psst... the set offers a discount!

    Communication Myth: Babies with Down syndrome can’t communicate until the toddler years

    The truth is that babies with Down syndrome have a lot to say at mealtime! And we can help them communicate even more effectively by offering them feeding products that promote speech development. For example, open cup drinking promotes strong lip closure, which is the movement we need to produce the m, p, and b sounds in English, Spanish and many other languages. In addition, straw drinking promotes lip rounding for the w, oh and oo sounds – sounds that contribute to baby’s first words!

    Open cup and straw cup drinking also facilitate appropriate tongue elevation for the t and d sounds. It’s no surprise that these speech sounds help produce baby's developing language skills and expressive vocabulary development (mama, papa, bye-bye, water, uh-oh, moon, tummy and dada).

    • Feeding Tip: Some babies with Down syndrome verbally respond better when a caregiver models these first words combined with gestures or sign language. Keep an ear and eye out for these adorable communication attempts!

    Vision and Fine Motor Myths: Babies with Down syndrome can’t self-feed, so caregivers have to feed them

    Some children with Down syndrome have vision and fine motor impairments that may affect mealtime. These challenges can escalate if the child isn’t provided with developmentally appropriate utensils. The ezpz Tiny Spoon is the perfect product to help baby reach their first spoon-feeding milestone. This milestone states that a six-month-old baby will bring their hands to their mouth while holding an object or spoon. Since the Tiny Spoon has a short, fat, round handle (with a non-slip grip) it’s easy for baby to hold on to! Practicing this skill helps baby’s fine motor and visual development. The Tiny Spoons are also part of the Developmental Utensil Set, which includes additional utensils for each age + stage.

    • Feeding Tip: Did you know that there aren’t any developmental milestones for fork use with babies? That’s right! From a development and safety standpoint, we should not expect babies to use a fork for self-feeding. Instead, focus on spoon milestones from 6-12 months of age.

    Let’s get these babies drinking AND eating in style! Check out the ezpz First Foods Set, a toolkit that includes all the developmental products needed for starting solids safely and successfully. #ezpzfun

    • Why Do Kids Bite on Straws?

    • Tips for Teaching Toddlers With Down Syndrome to Use Utensils 

    Shop the Article

    The Tiny Cup in Pewter by ezpz / Open-Top, Silicone Drinking Cup for Babies #color_pewter

    Baby-Led™ Tiny Cup
    4+ Months

    $11.49
    • Pewter
    • Sage
    • Blush
    • Indigo
    • Coral
    • Blue
    ezpz Developmental Cup Set in Blush #color_blush

    Developmental Cup Set
    6+ Months

    Sale price$39.99 Regular price $47.97
    • Blush
    • Sage
    • Pewter
    • Indigo
    • Coral
    • Blue
    +1
    The Tiny Spoon in Blush by ezpz / Small, Sensory Silicone Spoon for Babies #color_blush

    Baby-Led™ Tiny Spoons
    6+ Months

    $15.99
    • Blush
    • Sage
    • Pewter
    • Indigo
    • Coral
    • Blue
    First Foods Set in Limited Edition Confetti by ezpz / The Original All-In-One Silicone Plates & Placemats that Stick to the Table#color_confetti

    First Foods Set
    6+ Months

    Sale price$37.49 Regular price $44.47
    • Confetti
    • Pewter
    • Blush
    • Sage
    • Indigo
    • Coral
    +2

    Speech Language Pathologist & Feeding Specialist for ezpz

    Dawn Winkelmann, M.S, CCC-SLP

    Dawn Winkelmann (M.S, CCC-SLP) is ezpz’s Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Feeding Specialist. She teaches parents and medical professionals how to start babies on solids safely and encourage toddlers to overcome picky eating tendencies. She is also the designer of our award-winning feeding and oral care products!

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