Why Eat Play Say?

I honestly can’t even believe that I started a business, but here I am chugging right along! How did I even get to this point?

Let me walk you through it. When I was preparing for the birth of our baby this past year, I read all the parenting books and downloaded all of the apps. When sweet Paul arrived in the spring, I felt somewhat prepared from reading all the literature, and from my knowledge as a pediatric speech-language pathologist (SLP). However, nothing fully prepares you for the birth of a baby, am I right?!

When Paul was about 2 months old, I started sharing pictures and videos of him on Instagram. I got so many messages like, “Wait, how did you get him to vocalize back and forth with you? How did you know what toys to give him?” So, I started sharing tips and tricks for playing with newborns.

Then, when Paul was 4 months old and I introduced solids, I got more messages like, “Hold on, how did you know Paul was ready for purees in the high chair? How did you know to introduce the open cup this early?” So, I shared more information about feeding, highlighting on my background as a pediatric SLP. Then came a bunch more messages like, “Are pacifiers bad? What toys are appropriate for a 6 month old? How do I know if my baby is ready for solids?”

After doing some deep diving on Instagram and Google, I found that something was missing. While there are accounts and websites that highlight infant and toddler speech-language skills, pediatric feeding skills, and milestones of play, there isn’t one that fully makes the connection between the three. Even more so, all of the parenting books do a great job of telling you WHAT the developmental milestones are for baby, but they fail to tell you HOW to reach them.

And bam, the idea for Eat Play Say was born!

Truthfully, I have always enjoyed the parent training portion of my job as an SLP. I love sitting down with a family and explaining to them the what, how, and why in regards to their child’s speech-language development and feeding skills. When I was on maternity leave, I subconsciously took to Instagram in order to continue that passion. After a lot of encouragement from followers and family, I finally decided to get my thoughts on paper and create a place for all the resources and information that I want to share regarding pediatric feeding (eat), play skills (play), and speech-language skills (say).

My goal is to reach as many families as I can through my social media platform, while also continuing to practice as a speech-language pathologist with local families.

Right now, I plan on providing FREE resources to families, links to my favorite toys and feeding tools, and to just have fun sharing everything and anything feeding and speech-language related. I pride myself on always keeping it real, telling it like it is, and just being plain kind to others.

Welcome to Eat Play Say- I am so glad you’re here!