Disclaimer: Customer stories and testimonials on this page may speak to a customer’s individual experience with the Otteroo and their child’s impairment. These stories and testimonials may not reflect all Otteroo experiences. The Otteroo is intended to provide buoyancy to promote free movement in the water to support natural development and is not intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent a disease or condition.
Parents and medical professionals have told us how the Otteroo has helped babies with everything from digestion to withdrawing from drugs. But, hearing that a lactation consultant recommends all of her patients use the Otteroo was a new one.
Sarah Lester owns LATCH Breastfeeding and Postpartum Wellness Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She originally reached out to us asking if we would sell her Otteroo at wholesale because that's how many she sells to clients of her business. Naturally, we wanted to know why...
What is LATCH?
I have a breastfeeding and postpartum wellness center and I work a lot with people who have trouble with breastfeeding, but primarily with babies with oral restrictions like tongue tie. They deal a lot with muscle tension and movement, movement concerns, and have a lot of trouble with finding comfort and so that's why I always recommend the Otteroo.
So what does one have to do with the other?
Babies who have tongue ties or who have a surgical birth or a very quick birth will often have muscle tension. Tongue ties affect fascia, fascia wraps every muscle from your head to your toes. These babies, in this generation where we have a lot of gadgets, are not getting the movement that they need. These babies are being swaddled, they're being placed in swings, they're being put in other appliances for sleep, and they're not getting enough tummy time and they're not getting enough movement. A lot of babies love the bath but again they're being put in appliances even for the bath.
We’re finding that the movement in the bathtub with the Otteroo and the Epsom salts has been really beneficial for these babies.
How does the Otteroo come in?
We recommend the Otteroo because when these babies get tongue tie procedures they are sore, and obviously their muscles are sore. The tongue is made of eight muscles and it's never properly worked before. The muscles that were previously compensating and the new muscle use causes them to be fussy. We have always recommended during the healing phase to use Epsom salt baths to help. Now, we talk to pretty much every patient about adding in the Otteroo because not only do they get the Epsom salt baths, they're also getting in movement. We're finding that the movement in the bathtub with the Otteroo and the Epsom salts has been really beneficial for these babies.
How did you first hear of the Otteroo?
A body worker whom I used to work with told me she was using it with her own kiddo. When we started recommending them to families we were seeing more of a difference in the babies who don't really have necks to start with. You get them moving in the tub, you get them moving with tummy time and they open up and relax. That turns them into better feeders because they can elongate and open up and get a nice, wide, deep latch.
What led you to open a lactation consultation business?
I have a degree in biochemistry. I had learned a lot about breastfeeding with the birth of my two daughters, and was often helping friends. I decided to get certified when I was pregnant with my second, which coincidentally really helped me when my third was born with a cleft lip and palate. Because of that experience, I now specialize in helping moms from all over the country with exclusive pumping specifically to cleft lip and palate.
A lot of tense, tight babies really just need to open up their necks and Otteroo definitely helps with that.
Did that degree in biochemistry help you to put breastfeeding and movement together?
It just all started to fall into place when I was having issues with my second kiddo who had tongue tie. Then I realized, "Gosh, it's because these babies are living in these cramped quarters." The AAP says, "Back to Sleep," but everybody forgets the other part of the sentence that says, "Tummy To Play." Babies aren't getting enough tummy time. So, they're tight and they're fussy and they're swaddled and they're just not getting enough movement at all and then they're put in the swing. But, the more they're able to move their neck, the more that they get a deep, and less painful latch. A lot of tense, tight babies really just need to open up their necks and Otteroo definitely helps with that.