Welcome to Thrive Little!

child in lavendar

About Us

Thrive Little is run by Marielle Marquez, a pediatric occupational therapist based in Los Angeles. Marielle specializes in feeding and swallowing as well as developmental treatment for infants and young children.

Explore the resources on our site to learn how you can best support your child!

From the blog

The Best Floor Seat for Baby, Recommended by an OT

I was gifted this product in exchange for writing this post. This post contains affiliate links. I only ever recommend products I use personally or professionally. As an occupational therapist and busy mom of 2, I understand both the need to have a convenient…

Best Bottles for Breastfed Babies Tested by a Feeding Expert

This post contains affiliate links The best bottles for breastfed babies have a gradual slope from tip to base and most importantly are slow flow. Don’t be fooled by the hype, most bottles advertised as being the best baby bottles for breastfed babies are…

Best Pacifiers for Breastfed Babies

(This post contains affiliate links) The best pacifiers for breastfed babies are straight and symmetrical with a wide base. Ideally a pacifier should allow for the wavelike motion of the tongue to occur, which mimics tongue movement during breastfeeding. With that said, no pacifier…

Baby-Led Weaning Benefits

Baby-led weaning (BLW) has become a popular approach when starting solid foods. There are many benefits to using a blw approach. Baby-led weaning can help with fine motor skills, oral motor skills, and reduces picky eating. We will dive more into the benefits, but…

Can You Mix Baby Led Weaning and Spoon Feeding?

Have you heard that you have to choose between baby led weaning and spoon feeding? This is not true! It is absolutely okay to combine baby led weaning and purees. Let me explain why! Babies are smart. Some people claim that babies will be…

Encouraging Independence Reduces Picky Eating

Picky eaters like to be in control. The more independence you allow your child to have, the more you can reduce picky eating. Promoting independent eating skills is not a guaranteed solution to reduce or prevent picky eating of course. Picky eating can occur…

Should Toddlers Use Knives?

Should a 2-year-old use a knife? Should a 3-year-old use a knife? What age is appropriate to introduce a knife to your child? Toddlers can absolutely use knives! You can introduce a knife to a child as early as 2 years of age. Maybe…

Tummy Time for Newborns: When and How to Start

Do newborns need to do tummy time? Yes, even newborn babies need tummy time! But tummy time looks very different at 4 weeks compared to 4 months. If both mom and baby are stable and physically able to, baby should be placed skin-to-skin on…

Fastest Way to Teach Baby to Drink From a Straw

If your baby is 6 months of age, sitting up on their own, and eating solid foods, they are ready to drink from a straw! Did you know that traditional spout sippy cups are not recommended? The shape prevents a mature swallow pattern from…

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