Thrive Little

Thrive Little Pediatric occupational therapist, feeding specialist & lactation educator in Santa Clarita/SCV.

I address infant development, motor skills, bottle feeding, breastfeeding, solids, tongue tie/oral ties, body tension, torticollis.

03/19/2026

Not pictured: Super cute Playdoh brand toys, a bunch of weird tactile things to touch, and the $5 shopping cart my 2yr old has been playing with non stop for 1.5 years.

As a pediatric OT, feeding specialist, and mom of 2 it’s easy to go a little crazy at the dollar store 😅

Follow me for more!

Have concerns about your child?
✨DM me to set up a free discovery call and learn more about how I can help!✨

In person therapy is available in Santa Clarita (SCV)! Telehealth is available anywhere in CA!

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Hi 👋 I’m Marielle! I have been providing OT for babies and toddlers for over 16 years and am passionate about the earliest intervention and prevention! I specialize in infant development, motor skills, torticollis and head shape issues, feeding, and tongue tie!

👶🍼🤱🍽️👄👅

01/23/2026

There, I said it! You don’t have to feel guilty if your baby isn’t taking a bottle with the best shape, best flow, best brand, etc.

✨A baby’s gotta eat! And that trumps all the rest. ✨

If you’re building your baby registry or have a flexible little one, sure, buy the “best” bottles. A slow flow ni**le with a gradual sloped shape that promotes a wide latch and baby working for their meal is usually ideal.

But if we get stuck on forcefully trying to do whats’s ideal it can be harmful to all involved. You don’t have to be perfect to be a good mom or dad and your baby doesn’t have to be perfect to be a “good baby”.

In this video I see a super tired mom of a young little bottle refuser struggling to try to find a way to get baby to take more than 1-2ozs despite doing all the “right” things.

I’ve been there too and it’s hard, even as a feeding therapist with 15yrs of experience 💓

It’s gonna be fine 🤗

Follow me for more!

Have concerns about your child?
✨DM me to set up a free discovery call and learn more about how I can help!✨

In person therapy is available in Santa Clarita (SCV)! Telehealth is available anywhere in CA!

——
Hi 👋 I’m Marielle! I have been providing OT for babies and toddlers for over 16 years and am passionate about the earliest intervention and prevention! I specialize in infant development, motor skills, torticollis and head shape issues, feeding, and tongue tie!

👶🍼🤱🍽️👄👅

01/19/2026

Your baby can benefit from this simple activity even if feeding is going great! I love these teethers for all babies!

But especially if breast or bottle feeding has been challenging, if your baby is struggling to transition to solid food, or if your baby is mouth breathing…Get your baby a teether that has a longer stick like shape or that has parts that stick out 1-2”.

My favorites can be found on my website site on my favorite products page:
https://thrivelittle.com/favoriteproducts

Follow me for more!

Have concerns about your child?
✨DM me to set up a free discovery call and learn more about how I can help!✨

In person therapy is available in Santa Clarita (SCV)! Telehealth is available anywhere in CA!

——
Hi 👋 I’m Marielle! I have been providing OT for babies and toddlers for over 16 years and am passionate about the earliest intervention and prevention! I specialize in infant development, motor skills, torticollis and head shape issues, feeding, and tongue tie!

👶🍼🤱🍽️👄👅

01/17/2026

It allows for them to see what and how you’re eating, get used to the rituals around family meals, and it’s a great time to give them teethers to practice their own oral motor skills.

Follow me for more!

Have concerns about your child?
✨DM me to set up a free discovery call and learn more about how I can help!✨

In person therapy is available in Santa Clarita (SCV)! Telehealth is available anywhere in CA!

——
Hi 👋 I’m Marielle! I have been providing OT for babies and toddlers for over 16 years and am passionate about the earliest intervention and prevention! I specialize in infant development, motor skills, torticollis and head shape issues, feeding, and tongue tie!

👶🍼🤱🍽️👄👅

10/16/2025

Freeze dried fruit is a must in my therapy bag. But it’s not all created equal and the mango from Trader Joe’s is one of my faves!

It starts out crunchy which helps to elicit chewing, but it gets soft pretty quick which can be important for safety. If you’re working on taking a bite, these are 1-2” long and you can work on that too. If you need smaller pieces, they easily break into whatever size you need.

And for toddlers and older kids who are particular about texture and prefer dry & crunchy foods, freeze dried fruit may be more easily accepted than fresh fruit. But many options of freeze dried have one single ingredient! So they are still fully eating fruit!

Also, my kids love them, so we always have them in the pantry! As a mom I love them because they last longer than fresh fruit, don’t need to be peeled or cut, aren’t messy, and easy to take on the go.

Follow me for more!
——
Hi 👋 I’m Marielle! I have been providing OT for babies and young children for over 15 years and am passionate about the earliest intervention and prevention! I specialize in infant development, motor skills, torticollis and head shape issues, feeding, and tongue tie!

👶🍼🤱🍽️👄👅

10/13/2025

Have concerns about your baby or toddler? I can probably help 🙋‍♀️ After working with children for over 16 years, I have developed a variety of skills to work with them holistically.

No matter how many times I record this video, I can never remember include more of the common challenges I address! So see below for more info 😁

Some of the things I address are:
◾️Feeding (breastfeeding, bottle feeding, solids)
◾️Oral ties/tongue tie: pre and post frenectomy care, guiding families on next steps if ties are suspected
◾️Oral development: Mouth breathing, oral resting posture, oral function
◾️Motor skills
◾️Muscle tone imbalances and body tension
◾️Torticollis & plagiocephaly: Head turn preference, flat spot

I have an office in Santa Clarita and also provide services in home within SCV. I can provide telehealth anywhere in California.

✨Interested in learning more about how I can help? DM me the word DISCOVER and I’ll reach out to schedule a free 10 min discovery call✨

Head to the link in my bio to learn more about my services!

And don’t forget to follow 😁

👶🏻👶🏼👶🏽👶🏾👶🏿

Address

24262 Walnut Street Unit 2
Santa Clarita, CA
91321

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