Infant & child feeding & nutrition services

Ready to get support?

Whatever feeding, eating, diet and nutrition challenges you're facing, we're here to help you. Keep reading to see how we can guide and support you…

Dietetic consultations

  • 1:1 dietetic & nutrition support for infants and children.

  • From the comfort of your own home (online, video call) or at our clinic base in Birmingham.

Feeding your child can feel like a lot. Initially, you'd think it'd be as simple as giving them some food and them eating it. But it turns out, it isn't always that way. 

You're not alone - and you don't have to struggle on like this. Our 1:1 dietetic consultations are here to empower parents with knowledge and give you a practical plan to achieve your family's goals.

Ultimately, as qualified Paediatric Dietitians, we'll work with you to help your child enjoy eating and food, however complex the feeding challenges are. And we want you to leave us feeling confident, happy and reassured when feeding them.

  • Qualified Paediatric Dietitians

  • 10+ years of NHS experience

Lucy is registered with:

  • The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

  • British Dietitian Association

  • British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology (BSACI)

What can we help with?

  • Nutritional deficiencies, e.g. iron-deficiency anaemia

  • Growth concerns, including faltering growth or obesity

  • Complementary feeding (weaning) advice

  • Highly selective diets, avoidant and/or restrictive eating habits

  • Food allergy or intolerance, including in breastfed babies, e.g. cows milk, nut

  • Nutritional difficulties due to medical or developmental conditions

  • Gastrointestinal complaints such as reflux or constipation

  • Enteral tube weaning (where appropriate)

  • Children requiring a gluten free diet e.g. coeliac disease

  • Vegetarian or vegan diets

  • Fussy eating or food refusal

  • Supporting family mealtimes

"We cannot recommend Lucy enough for her support and expertise. Following a challenging feeding journey with our now 9 week old and the suspicion of CMPA (which was unfortunately being dismissed elsewhere due to exclusively breastfeeding) it was a breath of fresh air to receive Lucy’s wisdom on how to move forward.

We now feel confident about how to manage both her and my own dietary needs while breastfeeding and also the steps we will need to take when weaning. Lucy is incredibly warm, supportive and knowledgeable - we feel confident about our baby’s feeding in the future thanks to her."

Sarah Johnson - Google review

The process

How does a 1:1 dietetic consultation work?

We'll start with a 60-minute initial consultation (online or in-person, it's up to you). This will usually include an assessment of:

  • Growth & growth history

  • Feeding and mealtimes (may include video of mealtime footage)

  • Dietary intake (what your child eats) and nutritional adequacy (what nutrition they're getting)

  • Discussion of any clinical requirements (such as reviewing blood tests or allergy tests results)

  • Any specific concerns you have

 Every child - and every case - is different. So what we discuss and assess may vary.

Written report & guidance

During the consultation, we will give you advice, guidance and support so you feel more confident straightaway. However, we also provide a full written report and guidance with specific recommendations and any agreed action plan. This means you always have something to refer back to - and you can digest everything in your own time.

Ongoing support, follow-ups & reviews

If you need ongoing or extra support, that's absolutely fine. We'll discuss with you your options - and go from there.

"Wonderful experience! Received a great nutritional advice from Lucy who is helping our little one with a very rare allergy type. She’s been absolutely wonderful. Warm experience from start to finish. Highly recommend."

Luciana Rafaelle - Google review

Feeding therapy

  • For children with complex feeding differences and medical feeding backgrounds

  • Support via The Feeding Trust with the input of multiple health care professionals

Some feeding difficulties are more complex - and your child will need more support from healthcare and medical professionals to overcome their challenges.

Lucy Upton provides feeding therapy clinics as part of The Feeding Trust - an award-winning integrated therapy team. With the SOS approach to feeding and a responsive feeding approach, Lucy helps your child with individualised and specialist care, and brings in the whole team to deliver that extra level of support your child needs.

From sensory difficulties to highly restrictive diets, read below to understand if feeding therapy is the right path to support your child.

Is Feeding Therapy for your child?

We recommend going down the feeding therapy route if you identify with any of the following…

  • Your child has a medical feeding background (tube feeding, multiple medical diagnoses)

  • Your child has a highly-restrictive diet (under 15 foods tolerated)

  • Your child is confirmed neurodivergent and/or has sensory differences/ difficulties

  • You suspect your child is neurodivergent and has sensory differences/ difficulties

  • Your child is lacking feeding skills (i.e. has been using a gastric tube for most of their life)

  • Your child has a longstanding history (2-3+ years) of food refusal

A woman's hand holding a bunch of swiss chard
 

Getting started

What are your next steps?

If you think you'd like support with feeding therapy, get in touch via the The Feeding Trust website. Lucy Upton is a part of this team - so you will have the opportunity to explore your child's challenges further with Lucy.

 

Not sure if feeding therapy is right for your child?

Get in touch and let us know about your child - we'll soon point you in the right direction.

“he has gone from practically nil by mouth, having all his nutrition by tube to eating a wide range of food happily. He is weeks away from dropping his last feed and is stronger, more energetic and confident for it. Therapy was customised to his abilities and development age as well as our family set up. We can never thank her enough for helping our little boy enjoy food and social experiences. We are all so much more confident for the start of school!”

— Cindy, (mum of Henry)

Are you a healthcare professional or dietitian-led business looking for support and supervision?

Strengthen your business or service offering by working with Lucy Upton.

As a qualified dietitian with a multitude of experience in both the NHS and private sector, Lucy can help you by providing dietetic, feeding and nutrition supervision and support.

  • Learn from Lucy

  • Share her knowledge & expertise

  • Feel empowered and confident in what you do