“Marissa is an absolute genius and I couldn't recommend her more highly. If your baby is struggling with feeding, she is the person you want on your team. Before finding Marissa, our baby had a poor (and VERY painful) latch, spit up constantly, and screamed all evening. We worked with IBCLCs, osteopaths, pediatric dentists... no one could help with our feeding struggles. But then we found Marissa. She has so much incredible knowledge, she identified multiple intersection issues causing our feeding struggles. We followed her care plan and our baby immediately began making improvements.

Marissa identified that our baby was suffering from reflux caused by food allergies, and that she had a substantial posterior tongue tie. With her help, we were able to resolve the reflux, so that our baby felt much, much better-- no more massive spit-ups! No more unexplained crying! Once she felt better, we were able to have her tongue tie fixed. Marissa prepared us for this with exercises to strengthen our baby's underused facial muscles and change her motor patterns. The exercises are like play, and our baby loves them.

In addition to being an incredible detective, Marissa is just an absolute joy to work with and an incredible resource. She truly loves babies and has a passion for helping them thrive. We trust her one thousand percent and couldn't be more grateful to her for her help!”

— A.J., mother of a 3-month-old baby girl

“Marissa is a one of a kind specialist!

After almost 6 months of triple feeding, and surgery(frenectomy), breastfeeding success after 3 sessions/weeks with Marissa!

I had 2 IBCLCs in the hospital, 1 IBCLC out of the hospital; my baby had a frenectomy for multiple tethered oral tissues; lactation appointments after that; saw the pediatrician about my little ones issues breastfeeding (she gave me formula and sent me on my way); my baby lost weight from when she was 3 weeks old and went under her birth weight; I spent so many hours pumping, breastfeeding and bottle feeding; dealt with supply issues; all of this lasted almost 6 months. I was so close to giving up on what I thought was the most valuable thing I could do for my baby: breastfeeding. I couldn’t even enjoy time with my little one because I was so busy trying to feed her; something quite heart breaking. Then I was referred to Lactation & Development: 3 sessions (3 weeks!) and my little one was feeding well at last, and gaining more than when I was triple feeding! Marissa couldn’t be more respectful, relaxed, and all while making you feel like she is giving you and your little one privacy. Her heart is to help, and if you are struggling at all don’t hesitate to see her. The fact that she sends you an actual plan with goals and what we talked about in the session helps so much…because of well, mom brain! She helped with starting solids, bottle feeding, sitting and even pointed out some hip tightness I didn’t know my baby had from being breech. All done with the utmost professionalism while being flexible and understanding that she is informing you, teaching you, but respecting that ultimately your child is YOUR child.”

— M.P., mother of a 6-month-old baby girl

“I can’t say enough good things about Marissa’s approach, knowledge, and caring hands-on manner. My daughter and I were having feeding difficulties at bottle and breast including severe pain for me, and poor weight gain and severe reflux for her that were making life miserable. My daughter's pediatrician and the lactation consultant in his office were unable to help identify what was going on. Marissa helped us identify her lip, cheek, and tongue ties; provided oral-motor/feeding therapy for the associated muscle weakness; made some corrections to our routine; and prepared us for and saw us through surgery. After only four sessions with Marissa, my baby is now thriving at both bottle and breast, I have no more pain, and she’s a completely different (and happy) baby. Thank you, Marissa!”

— C. V., mother of a 4-month-old baby girl

“Working with Marissa was the biggest element of success with the reversal of my newborn son's lip and tongue tie as well as being able to now exclusively breastfeed. When I called her, we were supplementing with some formula and my son started refusing to latch. The pediatric dentist did a great job with the lip and tongue tie reversal procedure, but I don't think we would have been successful in breastfeeding if we didn't have Marissa's guidance. I also believe that her expertise in this area is the perfect blend of OT and lactation consulting. She is a huge wealth of knowledge and is very passionate about her job. I am extremely grateful we were able to work with her.”

— K. L., mother of a 1-month-old baby boy

“I was prepared for birth.
I was prepared for labor.
I was prepared for bringing a baby home.
I was even prepared for the 4th trimester.
I was not prepared for feeding my baby. 

It’s something that we clearly all take for granted because it is theoretically one of the simple basic needs for a baby. And if you are planning to breastfeed you think ‘well there’s nothing more natural and therefore must be a no brainer once the baby is here.’ Wrong. 

All the odds were against me. My boy was whisked off to the NICU and given formula and even a pacifier day 1 without my consent because his blood sugar was low and that was hospital protocol. I had to pump to get my milk to come in and couldn’t imagine how I would produce enough to match what hospital was giving him. 

I took an online infant feeding course with Marissa when he was less than one week old, and my jaw was on the floor the whole time. I immediately booked her for a private consult because I needed a plan if i was going to be able to transition to exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). She was able to spot the signs of both a tongue and lip tie which was another hurdle we had to face. 

I’m lucky that I found her and worked with her early. She helped us put a plan in place that increased my supply while at the same time moved my baby away from formula bottles and towards receiving exclusively breastmilk at the breast all while his tongue and lip tie releases were healing. Marissa continued to help a few weeks later when my last hurdle came along, and we were diagnosed with thrush. Ultimately she confirmed he was draining the full amount he needed for a feeding and I “graduated” from needing her in-person services. 

The entire time, Marissa was professional, but so pleasant, supportive and understanding. Her plans are very comprehensive and easy to follow. I never doubted what needed to happen and why -- all of her advice was evidence-based and supported by studies and articles that she shared. She truly cared about my goals and doing the right thing for my son. I saw it in our meetings, and I heard it in her voice and in her words when she texted with me in between appointments at times when it felt the hardest. 

It was a long, hard road for me and my son, and while I never wanted to give up, I never would have been able to get to the other side without Marissa. Now we are EBF rockstars! I hardly ever need time wash bottles, and now my pump is just an acquaintance and not a second child! It’s amazing how far we’ve come. Anyone can do it but without a plan or a clear path I can see why so many give it up so quickly - it’s HARD. But Marissa makes it digestible and gives a new mom the confidence she needs to reach her breastfeeding goals.” 

— J.M., mother of a 3-month-old baby boy

“I was struggling to breastfeed my tongue-tied baby when I met Marissa. Although I had nursed my first baby for over a year, my daughter wasn't gaining weight well and I wasn't sure how long we would be able to continue. By the time I met Marissa we had already had my baby’s tongue and lip tie released by the best local provider on Long Island one month prior and had been working with a different lactation specialist who gave positioning, pumping, and bottle feeding recommendations... but things just weren’t improving. Enter Marissa. During our first appointment, Marissa explained why my daughter was struggling and gave us practical tips and exercises to improve her oral motor function. Just as importantly, Marissa provided me with the confidence to keep going. She listened to me and was so supportive and encouraging. After a couple of weeks of consistently doing the oral motor exercises and body work that Marissa suggested, my daughter was feeding beautifully. She is now staying on her weight curve and we are still exclusively breastfeeding, something I had never thought would be possible. If you are struggling with breastfeeding, reach out to Marissa—she works miracles!”

— L.S., mother of a 4-month-old baby girl

“I met Marissa very early on in my/my daughters breastfeeding experience and I am so lucky that she was there to guide me through!  She gave helpful insights on latch and supply and was very attentive and available. My daughter had a tongue tie revision procedure and Marissa was there to guide me through and keep me totally calm. Before I went back to work we had a specific strategy consultation on how to keep supply up and safely transport milk for my little one. It was a life saver. I’m still breastfeeding my daughter who is 9months old – This would not be the case if it wasn’t for Marissa’s support!

As 21st century moms we all have access to the internet – you can google just about anything and I’m telling you, you will. But when you are running on little to no sleep and you have clicked on your 10th website that either says a 10th different thing or the same thing for the 10th time but you still don’t get it – you will be happy to have a trusted, educated, experienced and caring HUMAN being you can physically meet with and speak with. Someone who can answer your specific questions and engage in an actual back and forth conversation about your issues with completely non-judgmental feedback.

Hire Marissa! It will be money well spent!”

— N.A., mother of a 9-month-old baby girl

“This was the most thorough and insightful consult I've ever had in my life! For starters, Marissa was extremely professional, knowledgeable / experienced, and you could tell this is her passion. She is very good at explaining things and describing why it causes the problem from a functional / motor perspective. She gave good advice on what to do to help with the issues. She is incredibly thorough. Also, she is mindful as a person, with great bedside manner. I could tell she did her 'homework', too, based on the intake form I had filled out in advance, so I didn’t have to repeat stuff, she came ready to go and teach.  She spent 2 hours with us for the initial consult, which at first I was anticipating being way longer than what we would actually need, but in reality, I kept her every minute of that time and more. She assessed my son's feeding on the breast and with a bottle, and gave advice for each, including analysis of his entire mouth and sucking patterns. She confirmed he had mid to posterior tongue tie and lip tie, assessed his gross motor skills on the play mat, and showed me where he is most tense, along with some craniosacral therapy and exercises for going forward, that we will start now and continue to do, to help re-train his tongue / mouth after the tongue tie release. Meeting with her after the procedure was equally as informative and helpful! I feel so much better informed and prepared.

I am so impressed and appreciative. Highly recommend!!”

— J. H., mother of a 5-month-old baby boy

"My daughter is 2 months old, and I have been exclusively breastfeeding since her birth!!! My private prenatal class with Marissa really helped me, and put me and my baby on the track to success! So far it has been going great, and I have had an easy time with it. Only hiccup has been a dairy allergy on her end but there are so many great substitutions now for dairy for me!" 

— A.B., mother of a 2-month-old baby girl

“Marissa is my breastfeeding fairy godmother!”

— S.H., mother of a 5-month-old baby girl

“Marissa has been supporting me on my breastfeeding journey since my third trimester where she educated and prepped me to be successful at breastfeeding for when my little man arrived. Now we are going on 5 months strong of exclusive breastfeeding and Marissa is still my biggest cheerleader through all my struggles and successes! I guess you can call her my breast friend :)”

— F.G., mother of a 5-month old baby boy