Nobody Ever Told Me (or my Mother) That!: Everything from Bottles and Breathing to Healthy Speech Development

boy I wish I had this book in grad school... I might have learned something than what my feeding course had (not) taught me.I am an SLP interested in feeding/swallowing disorders/problems. Unfortunately, formal schooling did not give me enough practice or confidence to pursue this area more. I decided to find resources to better educate myself and came across this book. For only $25, I was beyond amazed at what I got! no $100+ textbook provided with the wealth of PRACTICAL and USEFUL information as this book does. It seems like this book was intended more for parents, but I would say the book is a bit difficult for a non-professional to really follow. However, its perfect for SLP's and SLP-grad. students to learn from and use a reference. The book looks intimidating at first because its fairly thick and resembles a textbook and I was at first put off by it, thinking "how am I going to get through it?" Once I picked it up and started reading I was amazed at how simple the language was and how easy of the read was and how relevant and useful all the presented information was! The book just flows and you want to learn more and more as you read and what I like is that the author reiterates some important points throughout the book so you don't forget too easily. I usually dont do well with text and I am a visual learner, but the way the information is presented here, I have been soaking in the information. Each sub-category in each chapter comes with very useful checklists/charts that are so easy to understand and follow when going to assess a child with a feeding disorder/problem. The checklists are outlined as what the normal behavior is, the equivalent abnormal behavior, and the possible causes/fixes to the behavior ...(and thats pretty much the outline of the whole book) what more can you ask for as a clinician! You pull this book out and here is the info! You can make copies of the checklists and carry them around for your evaluations and treatments. the language in this book is also simple enough for parents to underastand (if you want to make copies and provide information) but in conjunction with counseling from the SLP. I think this would be too overwhelming for parents to understand on their own. this is Its a MUST-HAVE reference book!

As a speech therapist, I also wish I read this book while I was in grad school. This book was my go-to baby shower gift for friends. This book helps identify or prevent future feeding/speech issues and will help minimize the need for speech therapy and orthodontic work. This book was a wealth of knowledge for me as a speech therapist and as a new mother. Something really small like improper tongue rest positioning (which is an oral myofunctional disorder) leads to mouth breathing, dental/speech issues, and all sorts of serious health issues like sleep apnea, etc.GREAT TIP for those who purchased the book….if you go to diane bahr’s website, she has a helpful age/topic guide to help quickly navigate the book.However, if you are looking for a QUICK read, her new book “Feed Your Baby and Toddler Right” is a more concise and updated version focused on feeding that is organized as a quick reference as you progress through each feeding milestone. It's easy to read and very accessible and allows you to see if your baby/toddler is on track with his/her development. “Nobody Ever Told Me That” is a more comprehensive version that covers a wider range of important topics. As a result, I will be baby shower gifting either of these 2 books depending on the personality of the person. If you are a speech therapist, I highly recommend getting both books and taking her online ceu “Integrated Treatment of Feeding, Speech, and Mouth Function in Pediatrics” from Speech Therapy PD.

Diane has done a wonderful job crossing the barriers of a professional text to a parental resource. Unlike current popular parent resources, this book gives insight from a wider scope of professionals who work in the field of development including speech, OT and PT rather than relying on text book facts from physicians alone. Not only does it give more in depth developmental milestones it helps parents understand what they can do to help , if their child has some delays. It will help parents catch a problem, before it becomes a real issue. Topics such as feeding tools, and pacifiers are left to fact , in relation to speech development as opposed to just psycho-social advice. Parents can now understand why it is important to shift from bottle to cup drinking, or how positioning an infant with GERD can really help. It is also the best resource I have found as a therapist to reference developmental norms in terms of feeding and speech skills. I am hoping that pediatricians will use this source with their patients and predict this will soon be a household standard ! Buy it for every pregnant / new mom you know !!!!!!!!

I spent $80,000 and 2 full years in grad school, and it doesn't even come close to the amount of information in this book. There are so many useful techniques and milestones to look for in this book. I'm an SLP and a mom to an 8-month-old. This book is my bible to see if my daughter is on track and to help get my patients eating and developing at the appropriate rate. I really wish one of my professors recommended this book, but then again, if they did, they wouldn't need my 80 grand. Because when I say this book covers all feeding, I'm not exaggerating.

This resource serves parents and professionals equally in a comprehensive way. The oral development skills discussed by Ms. Bahr mirror those envisioned for gross motor learning: rolling over, crawling, walking in a "meet you where you are" fashion. Parents will refer to the checklist of skills described in the book, oral motor professionals will receive evidence based literature to aid in describing a patient's skill set. Win-win! This book is frequently recommended to families in a sharing circle and I happily endorse the five stars this book has earned.

This book didn’t work for me. I am at my third child and a busy mom. All the talk and explanations are too much redundant information for me. In addition I don’t agree with some of the things presented in the book. For example, feeding babies 6-9 months canned or cooked fruit and only after raw fruit...that makes absolutely no sense to me! I fed all three kids riped raw fruit from the start and none of them had any issue with that.