We worked with Lizzie at Thrive Beginnings, who helped us through weeks of breast aversion and screaming at the breast when I was exclusively pumping. I never thought we would be able to get back to the breast, but with her help we transitioned to exclusive nursing, and now I don't see myself quitting anytime soon. She guided us through a tongue-tie revision and aftercare, and our baby became much less tense and overall happier. Lizzie was always available to answer my texts and questions and was amazing with our baby, always making him smile. If you are struggling with feeding, I absolutely recommend seeing her, and I will definitely see her earlier with our next child. read more

I can't recommend Lizzie and Thriving Beginnings enough! She cares so much about her patients and their parents and provided really helpful guidance and top notch support. She is detailed, thoughtful, passionate and really wanted to get to the root of the discomfort in my baby and my BF concerns. She's simply the best! read more

Seriously look no further. You found the specialist who will help you and your child immensely. Lizzie was incredibly helpful throughout my nursing journey with my second daughter. Through the lip/tongue tie procedure and beyond, she provided our family with hands on support and so much knowledge. She provided the most thorough evaluation I have ever seen and I work as a school psychologist who is exposed to several different domains of evaluations on the regular. Lizzie is amazing with kids and they respond so well to her. She provided information regarding my daughters motor skills and sensory development which helped us understand her needs so much better. I really enjoyed my visits with her and she truly was an invaluable resource throughout the first year. I was able to breastfeed for 14 months despite a crazy difficult start and I know that without Lizzie's help this would not have been possible. Thank you Lizzie, you are the best of the best!! read more

We are so grateful for the incredible care our baby received from our occupational therapist, Lizzie!! From the very first session, she was warm, attentive, and truly invested in our son's progress. She helped us navigate torticollis, feeding challenges, and oral-motor development with a level of expertise and patience that made all the difference. She not only supported our baby, but also taught us practical techniques we could use at home, supporting us every step of the way. Thanks to her guidance, we saw steady improvements and felt so much more confident as parents. We can't recommend her enough. She was amazing, and we're so thankful for the positive impact she had on our baby's growth and well-being. She was truly the most helpful and knowledgeable person we've talked to out of all the professionals we dealt with. read more

We are beyond excited and grateful for the amazing help we received from Lizzie (lactation consultant, who is also an occupational therapist, WOW)! Our baby had tongue and lip ties that were released, and breastfeeding felt impossible at first, but thanks to her expert guidance, we're now successfully exclusively breastfeeding! We started seeing Lizzie around 7 weeks postpartum and my baby would only scream at the boob. Lizzie was incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and supportive throughout the entire process. We can't thank her enough for making this journey possible for us--she truly worked a miracle! Highly recommend her to anyone in need! P.S. don't give up on breastfeeding, get the right support like Lizzie. We didn't establish breastfeeding until about 9 weeks ( 2 weeks after seeing Lizzie) and we are so happy we didn't give up! read more

Lizzie is an outstanding source of guidance and support, while embodying a cheerful and friendly approach, and showing tons of patience and empathy as we tried to learn and overcome our (first) newborn baby challenges with feeding. Her being a mom was clearly evident too, in the bond she had with our baby. We needed help with our little one eating more and better and Lizzie was key in evaluating what the hospital doctors and their lactation consultant advised us (hint: it was wrong and led us down the wrong path), asking us the right questions, and suggesting simple but effective alternative options. We worked through getting the right tools/parts that made all the difference and trying simple step-wise fixes to building better habits. Lizzie being a dual lactation consultant and occupational therapist was hugely beneficial and streamlined our game plan and frankly saved us tons of time, energy (and probably money). Totally happy we found Lizzie! read more

Truly could not recommend Lizzie enough! She has been an integral person to my daughters feeding difficulties who was born 7 weeks premature. My daughter automatically eases when she's in Lizzie's arms. I look forward to our visits and truly appreciate how thorough she is. Lizzie is extremely knowledgeable and I always appreciate how she provides actionable tips. This area is her calling and I would recommend her over and over again without any doubts. read more

So grateful to have found Lizzie during my breastfeeding journey! She has the kindest, most welcoming energy and I truly enjoyed every visit! She is so knowledgable and SO great with babies. She not only provided all the lactation support I needed but also development support in giving guidance on movement, exercises, food, teething support - you name and Lizzie has the best advice! Thank you for all your support and expertise, Lizzie! All your guidance and support made (almost a year) of breastfeeding so enjoyable! read more

We are so thankful for Lizzy! We saw her before and after my son's tongue tie release, and I can honestly say she made the whole process so much easier for both of us. She has such a gentle way with babies and an incredible depth of knowledge--you can tell she genuinely loves what she does. Every visit was full of practical tips, reassurance, and encouragement. If you're looking for someone who's not only skilled but also warm, caring, and easy to talk to, she's the one! read more

We are so delighted and grateful to have found Lizzie to help us with our baby's feeding needs. She is professional, knowledgeable, and clearly passionate. I am consistently impressed by Lizzie's subject matter expertise and her empathy. She also makes sessions so much fun with her bubbly personality! She really cares about baby's forward progress, but also knows how important it is for baby and mama to be happy too. I really feel like I can trust her guidance, knowing she has our best interest at heart. read more

Lizzie is the best! Early on with my first baby we were having quite a few issues with reflux and pumping. We had gotten different opinions from both a lactation consultant as well as a pediatrician and as a new mom that was so confusing! Lizzie was able to break through all the noise and find the root of our issues and simplifying it to make it manageable for a new mom. She was extremely thorough and kind and understanding to both me and my baby. She really listens and cares deeply about her patients and their families. I saw a night and day difference with my baby and she really helped us!! Lizzie goes above and beyond for her patients. My baby needed additional physical therapy and Lizzie was so great working with the physical therapist and my pediatrician to make sure everyone was all on the same team and she was always a phone call or text away when I needed support. When we started solids Lizzie was there yet again to help us. We love Lizzie and I cannot imagine where I would be in my feeding journey without her!! I give her name to everyone I know! read more

Lizzie literally changed my postpartum life. She worked so well with my baby and I'd trust her 1000%. She is so knowledgeable in lactation and baby oral health. By her having knowledge in both, you learn so much during your appointments!! She makes things really simple by explaining really well and gives you a list of things to work on with your baby. I reached my goal of exclusively breastfeeding with Lizzie and couldn't have done it without her. I would recommend her to anybody!! read more

Lizzie is an exceptional OT and lactation consultant. I was referred to her by a fellow mama and she solved our breastfeeding issue in just a few sessions. This even improved night time sleep! I can't stop telling my friends about her. Being an OT she also has great exercises for us to prep for staring solids and checked developmental milestones. My daughter absolutely loves her as well! If you're looking for someone to get the whole picture she is your girl. She took the time to understand where we started and what MY goals were. I can't say enough good things about her and the services she provides! read more

Lizzie helped us with major bottle refusal. I had two sessions with her and after the first session, my baby was taking the bottle after 4+ months of trying (what seemed like) everything! It truly seemed like magic. Lizzie was super thorough and kind throughout the process. Would highly recommend! read more

Lizzie is the best pediatric OT around. She's a wonderful lactation consultant, the absolute sweetest person, and genuinely cares about the families she works with! We were referred to Lizzie after our son started refusing bottles at 8 weeks old. We had tried a number of exercises with other great lactation consultants, but it was time to take the next step. She came up with a care plan that would help our son, one we felt confident in as parents, and help achieve our goals. We knew our son had a tongue tie and a release was our last resort. Lizzie was incredibly patient providing various oral exercises while we came to the decision to move forward with the release. Lizzie provided the best dentist recommendations and even came to the release appointment! She is so supportive not only of our son, but to us as parents (especially first time parents!) AND she helped us achieve our goal - he now takes bottles! We LOVE Lizzie and absolutely recommend her to anyone seeking lactation or other OT support! read more

Lizzie is truly a lifesaver. I was lucky enough to find her while I was in the midst of navigating breastfeeding difficulties with my newborn. I was feeling desperate and defeated and Lizzie picked me back up and helped me piece together a rather complicated feeding situation. She helped me navigate my daughter's oral-motor challenges and gave invaluable insight into my daughter's potential food sensitivities. She also helped me with different nursing positions to optimize milk intake. When I first met with Lizzie my daughter was only gaining 0.4 oz/day but after only 3 sessions she was gaining 0.85 oz/day! My pediatrician was thrilled with our progress (as was I). Besides being ridiculously knowledgeable in the world of OT and lactation consulting, Lizzie is a blast to work with. She is kind, reassuring, hilarious, and patient. Truly a perfect pediatric therapist (and honestly mom therapist too). She makes an often stressful situation (feeding issues) fun and is the true definition of an optimist. I am forever grateful I found her and I truly couldn't recommend her more. read more

As an experienced IBCLC I still am still faced with challenging cases that I need additional expertise to assist with. This is when I turn to my colleague Lizzie Pluskalowski MS OTR/L, SWC, IBCLC. It's Lizzie's expertise in body work, specialized infant feeding evaluations and techniques as an Occupational Therapist and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant that make her stand apart from the rest. We have co-managed multiple patients together and this always leads to more positive outcomes for the patient! read more

Where do I start? Lizzie is a complete MVP. At 11 weeks with my newborn was in severe pain, nursing ALL day long and barely sleeping. After pulling our hair out trying to find help we saw Lizzie and she spearheaded our detective work. After helping us with our babies' suck-swallow-breathe with non-medicinal routes she helped us navigate which sorts of specialists we needed. Going way above and beyond! I'm happy to report our baby is now, indeed, thriving! Can't recommend this practice enough! read more

I am expecting my first child in a few weeks and felt overwhelmed and intimidated by breastfeeding, harvesting colostrum, and all things lactation. Lizzie explained the basics of breastfeeding and gave me helpful paperwork to be successful in starting my journey. She answered my numerous questions with patience and ease. She did a flange fitting so I felt prepared to get going on my breastfeeding/pumping journey when my child arrives. I was even able to start harvesting colostrum so I can some stored for my baby! As Lizzie is both an IBCLC and OT, her unique expertise shone through in her ability to help me understand my role as a breastfeeding mother and my future baby's skills/development as a dyad. I enthusiastically recommend her for any mamas who are looking for highly skilled services. read more

Our son had challenges with learning to eat solids as he had a negative association with food due to severe reflux, and was having a hard time chewing solid food well. The first OT we visited at another business had decent information, but during our second appointment did not have very customized assistance based on our son's needs, and did not provide any help that helped him progress. We found Lizzie at Thriving Beginnings and our appointment was life changing! She came to our house to help our son in his normal environment, and after an hour and a half of working with him and us, our son was chewing on things he had never been able to eat before. It was a complete 180, and our son is thriving so well with solids and trying new things! Lizzie has a kind spirit and is so amazing with kids. She is very patient, and so informative and supportive for parents as well. read more

I originally was looking for a lactation consultant to help with my painful clogged ducts. Little did i know i was getting a 2 for 1 package with Lizzie's experience as an occupational therapist! My baby had a flat head at 6 weeks and she helped dramatically improve it in a matter of weeks. I wasn't aware this was something a LC/OT would support with. My baby now also has a better latch and my milk (over) supply is starting to regulate. She comes with a lot of great exercises and referrals too! if you're looking for someone to make you feel immediately comfortable, truly cares, and that your baby and family will absolutely love, check out lizzie! read more

Where do I start...Lizzie is amazing! She was the biggest help to me as a new mom trying to figure out where I was going wrong with breastfeeding and pumping! She is the one who realized my son had a tongue tie & that no matter what I tired that's why he wasn't latching. She got me in touch with a tongue tie specialist & was so willing to collaborate with the specialist to ensure my son & I were getting the best care and support. She's also the one who realized I had been incorrectly sized for my breast pump & was also using my pump wrong. She is such a positive light and made herself available whenever I needed her. She truly was the biggest help, I didn't know I needed as a new mom! I promise you won't be disappointed in choosing to work with Lizzie!! read more

Lizzie saved my breastfeeding journey! From day 1, I hated breastfeeding since my son had trouble latching and the pain was excruciating. The lactation consultants at the hospital gave me bad advice and said it would get better with more practice. As a first-time mom, I didn't know any better so I carried on for another month, but the pain never got better and I just knew that something was not right. Not knowing how to address these issues was frustrating and I was honestly ready to just give up. Thank goodness for Lizzie who helped identify that my son had a tongue tie which was the cause of his issues with latching/feeding and we were able to get his ties released through the specialist she recommended. Even after the procedure, she was there every step of the way to help guide us through the recovery process and coached our son on relearning how to latch properly. On top of that, she is such a wealth of knowledge and armed us with so much helpful info (i.e. positioning, bottle feeding, pumping, oral exercises, etc) so that we're set up for success even beyond our appointments with her. Lizzie significantly improved both my breastfeeding/pumping experience, and her level of care throughout the process was exceptional! I HIGHLY recommend her to all new mamas!!! read more

Lizzie is the reason our son is able to sleep comfortably in a crib, drink from a bottle, and get through diaper changes without arching and screaming in pain. When I felt so lost and hopeless, she helped us navigate his medical challenges. With sound knowledge, she thoroughly explained his diagnoses, directed us to the appropriate professionals when necessary, and developed successful treatment programs. She gave us videos to watch to make the exercises easy to complete at home. Our son's breathing instantly improved after seeing Lizzie; he stopped snoring when sleeping and developed an appropriate "suck" on his pacifier within 2 days of doing the exercises! In addition to her extensive knowledge, Lizzie creates a warm, nourishing space for her patients. She feels like family. Every baby or child will benefit from seeing Lizzie!! She is the absolute BEST!!! read more

Lizzie was a great help with my picky-eater, 14-month old! I was so stressed about how and what my baby ate as we transitioned to solids and Lizzie was able to provide us with really helpful strategies and tips to introduce foods in a way that was individualized to my baby. We are now eating meals with less stress and it's a more positive experience for the whole family. I'm so thankful for Lizzie's expertise. read more