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Hi everybody and welcome to season 3 of Airway First, a podcast from the Children's Airway

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First Foundation.

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I'm your host, Rebecca Downey.

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My guest today is certified myofunctional therapist, Brittany Bailey.

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Brittany found a passion for myofunctional therapy initially as a patient, seeking care

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for dental crowding and severe clenching.

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After going through the process and seeing the positive changes it made in her own smile,

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confidence and breathing, Brittany decided to pursue a career in myofunctional therapy

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in order to further the education and awareness for others.

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Brittany holds a bachelor's degree in health sciences with a minor in nutrition and a master's

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in breathing sciences with certification training in myofunctional therapies from the

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professional school of behavioral health sciences.

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You can find out more about Brittany at joyfulbreathingcolorado.com.

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And now here's my interview with Brittany Bailey.

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All right, thank you so much for joining us today, Brittany.

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I really appreciate it.

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Thank you.

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I'm happy to be here.

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Great.

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So I'd like to talk a little bit about your journey and what led you to become a myofunctional

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therapist.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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So I did the traditional braces in middle school and went through that process.

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And then I started to have a lot of jaw issues, a lot of clenching and grinding.

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And my oral behaviors undid that initial set of braces.

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So when I was in college, after going through a lot of jaw appliances and components of

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that sort, I needed braces again because my teeth were back to being crooked and my

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mouth was narrow, my palate.

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And so we went through braces again.

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And then within three months, I undid them and did the braces in regards to I was released.

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I was done.

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My teeth were straight.

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It was great.

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And then within three months, they went crooked again.

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And I didn't know why.

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I didn't know what was going on.

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I wore the retainer.

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I did everything, trying to be a good patient.

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And that was when we first heard of myofunctional therapy.

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We as in my parents and I.

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And so we went that route and I found out I had a tongue thrust.

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That's where the tongue pushes forward or to the sides in a swallow or even while at

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rest.

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And that force was enough to move my teeth.

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It was.

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Yeah.

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And you know, the teeth don't push back, but the tongue has a lot of force.

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Right.

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A group of muscles.

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So after going through that, I learned, of course, about the tongue thrust, but my eyes

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were open because we were going into this avenue already with about 11 recommendations

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for double jaw surgery.

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Just for structural purposes, it wasn't going to be helping my jaw issues is just for more

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aesthetics as driven by the doctors, but that wasn't our goal.

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So my okay.

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And I, I loved the natural side of it.

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I loved how it worked with your body and acknowledged where one is starting, but then learning

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what are better ways, what are better tools for the mouth, for the muscles.

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And then I learned about breathing.

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And I was an open mouth breather and didn't know it.

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That's just what I was.

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And I had tonsils and adenoids removed young, very young, but I still breathe through the

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mouth and learning how that impacted me and was impacting me just changed, changed my

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view on what I wanted to do career wise.

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I was looking for something in the health realm.

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And so personally experiencing how it impacted me and my health and just my confidence, my

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smile.

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And I, I just wanted to go further and learn more about it.

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Cause I was just fascinated and I was wondering, why isn't this well known?

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Like why is it more, more known instead of, I always say you hear about myofunctional

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therapy when you need it, but I want that to change.

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Like I want it to be before someone needs it.

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We can do preventative.

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So it was a personal journey, but one that I think, you know, professionally, it helps

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me all the more cause I've been, been where people are on the other side of my table.

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Absolutely.

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I absolutely.

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And when you were talking about jaw surgery, I just kind of want to go back and revisit

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that just for a moment because there are times, yes, that is the only option.

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I get that.

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Yes.

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But it was kind of the way you said it that really resonated with me.

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So you were being advised to do that more from just cosmetic.

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Yes.

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Versus, you know, when people are looking at it from, okay, wow, you have a retreated

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jaw, let's bring it forward.

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So you know, as a parent, how would you know the difference?

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How did your parents know the difference?

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You know, it, and I agree with you time and place, it is definitely needed at times for,

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for us, how we were being advised for it.

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It wasn't for the root of the issue.

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It wasn't even for the issue.

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It was just like, wow, you're really narrow palate.

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Your jaw is retro-nathic pushed back.

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And so those are good points.

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And we went into my with the mindset of, okay, let's try this first, you know, because it

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was such a big leap.

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And due to other layers I had, it was going to be really risky.

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And so we wanted to be fully certain.

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And some people do go through my oh, and then they still need Joss surgery.

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And it, but my, oh, was a good, let's narrow it down.

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Let's really learn deeper what's going on orally.

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And then after we've done that, let's see what is needed for Joss or a tree.

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And for me, it wasn't, wasn't no longer needed or recommended.

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So the myo was enough to help with the retreating jaw in your case.

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Yes.

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Wow.

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Yeah.

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So it's, it's fascinating.

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My, my job was back, but really is because of my tongue.

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And, you know, the tongue, it has a resting place.

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And for most people prior to myo, it's low.

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It's on the bottom of the mouth or kind of hovering or pushing forward on teeth.

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And especially at night, that has the potential for the tongue and the jaw to slide back.

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But part of the myo goal pretty much for everyone is to get the tongue up on the palate.

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And when you do that, the jaw automatically comes forward.

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So for me personally, again, everyone's so different.

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I was able to learn a proper tongue placement, which then rippled into the jaw alignment,

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which then helped my jaw joint, the integrity of it and my clenching.

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And for me, those were just the missing puzzle pieces.

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It wasn't something we needed to change structurally.

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It was more behaviorally.

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Right.

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And how old were you the second time when you, when the braces didn't work, anyone in

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the myo?

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I was 20.

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Wow.

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Yeah.

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So I was that cool kid in college with braces.

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Yeah.

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And the cool appliances.

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Right.

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And not what I planned.

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So it was it was neat to go through it at that age of not just thinking, okay, this is just

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traditional braces, but being more of an adult and thinking, okay, how is this going to help

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me further?

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And it has had, yeah, I think a deeper appreciation for it, of course, leading to the profession.

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Absolutely.

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Yeah.

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But it was 20 initial braces were 13.

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Uh, was 13.

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And then from 13 to 20, um, I had about 20 jaw appliances.

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So we tried everything until you got to myo.

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And so on your website, which I will put a link to on our show, show notes, the joyful

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breathing, Colorado.com, you define breathing education.

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So for our listeners, if you would, please just explain what that is and what's the goal

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behind that concept.

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Absolutely.

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So breathing education, it's, it's really with the concepts that we can breathe, but

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is optimal.

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And are we breathing what is correctly?

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Um, and kind of the textbook correct way of breathing is through the nose driven by the

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diaphragm in a relaxed manner.

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But, but that isn't always natural.

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It isn't always, uh, doable.

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And so we really like to explore, okay, where is the breath currently?

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Is it coming through the mouth?

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Is it really shallow in the chest?

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Is it fast?

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And we even dive deeper.

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Okay.

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What are the beliefs behind the breath?

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And a great example is if there's someone who has asthma and has had a good chunk of

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their life, um, with asthma and it, like my mom, for example, she does have asthma and

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she has had asthma attacks in the past.

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And I've been working with her, but she discovered the belief that no, I gotta breathe through

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my mouth to get the next breath.

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That's safer.

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It's safer for me.

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So there's beliefs that get established through experiences.

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Right.

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That's one example.

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There could be trauma, there could be injuries.

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Um, there could be illnesses where maybe a certain way of breathing had to happen.

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And then the illness cleared, but that breathing habit stayed.

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Okay.

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So we want to learn what are the current habits.

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Um, and then also then move forward of, okay, is that benefiting you?

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Is that bringing you wellness in the sense of your body and your mind, emotions, spiritual

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wellness, um, just however far deep someone does want to explore that.

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And then we try to find just what are little, um, the changes we can make.

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And this is by the person's choice to just make the breath even more beneficial and just

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more optimal to them, to their goals, to their future future wellness.

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Um, and sometimes it is just a matter of switching from mouse to nose.

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Um, but we recognize there are layers and it's kind of getting like a personal master's

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in your own breathing, you know, there's, there's a lot that can be explored.

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And so it is with the goal of how can we just support the body with the best breath that

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one can get.

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And it's not just, not just, you know, how you're sitting or breathing through your diaphragm,

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but based on these examples, I mean, you're even teaching people, this is, I guess, where

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psychologically it comes in, you take a flight of stairs and when you're gasping, don't go

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open your mouth and do this.

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You teach them ways to calm themselves to where they can maybe trust their breathing.

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Is that kind of where you're going to allow?

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Absolutely.

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It's really being aware of the breath and realizing that sometimes in life, that's all

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we can control is the breath.

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And the breath is so powerful.

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And are we using it against ourselves or are we using it as a tool?

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And we, we always think about what someone has going on because what, how one person

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breathes will not benefit someone else.

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So it's very individually based and just, yeah, going upstairs when you have to make

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that tough phone call, how are you going to breathe to better assist you through that?

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When you do have to go talk to your boss, public speaking, just a couple of weeks ago, I, I

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spoke in front of about 200 people and of course I was nervous and I had the choice.

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How am I going to use my breath, even though I was talking about breathing, you know, I

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could have run away from me and kind of impact my nerves and confidence and self-esteem.

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But knowing the tools that I have in my personal toolbox, it's really just learning those

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little extra items to grab in those situations in the, you know, life layers we have to just

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really give ourselves TLC and power within the breath.

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Wow.

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So on your website, you also talk about a connection between breathing and oral facial

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biology, which I guess is totally different, separate component here.

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So maybe you could talk a little bit about that and talk about how myofunctional therapy

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works specifically with dog.

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That's okay.

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Specifically with the child who's diagnosed with an airway issue.

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The myofunctional therapy and oral facial biology are the same pretty much.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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Myofunctional therapy is now more the common term.

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I was trained with oral facial biology.

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So sometimes I have that written elsewhere.

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How they interrelate with breathing, you know, kind of generally if you're breathing to the

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mouse, myowise, we will really look at, okay, do you have the lip strength to bring your

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lips together to breathe through the nose?

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We really work on lips as well.

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And is the tongue able to go up in the palate to bring the mouth together?

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So we look at the muscular abilities in breathing and how it is happening.

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Mainly when someone wants to breathe through their nose, they just can't bring their lips

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together and keep them together.

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So it's as simple as that.

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But sometimes people will have issues breathing through the nose because the tongue, even

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though the mouth is closed, the tongue is inching towards the airway in the back or

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it's not, the tongue isn't toned enough.

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It doesn't have enough strength to be forward or it's just kind of bigger than what we

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want.

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So it's kind of chicken or the egg, really.

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It's really hard to say because you breathe this way, this is why your mouth muscles are

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this way or vice versa.

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So it's a matter of really like with the myofunctional side looking at structure of the mouth, airway,

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the palate, if the roof of the mouth is very narrow, that tongue is not going to want to

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go up and then it's just going to stay low or back in the throat.

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So we look at those components and then how someone, because of those factors, are choosing

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to breathe.

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And if it is a matter of, is it just a matter of breathing or are you breathing this way

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because of the structure of the mouth?

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So I never separate them.

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It's never like sign up for breathing or just sign up for myo because I believe you can't

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separate them.

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Or everything together.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Whether you're breathing in through your nose or mouth, air is going by your mouth.

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You know, how you look at it.

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It's only one way in.

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Maximally, yeah, down to the lungs.

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So it's very interwoven.

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And it's just really looking at all angles, really trying to see what is the full picture,

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as much of the picture as we can see, structurally, muskulally and functionally.

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And then, so I mean, obviously, we're looking at children's airway first.

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focused mostly on children. But myofunctional therapy is not just for kids, correct? I mean,

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that can benefit anyone? Yes, all ages. No age limit. So anyway, no age limit. Yeah,

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the youngest I've seen is six days old. And then, yeah, and then all the way on up. So.

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And then I've always wanted to ask this. So because I'm sure like our listeners,

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when I'm talking to people, they always talk about putting the tongue in the roof of the mouth

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and where it's supposed to touch. And it's supposed to rest against the roof.

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Just for clarification, because I have tried this repeatedly. Are you saying that literally it's

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flat? Like the whole tongue is flat up there? Or are we talking about just the tongue is flat

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on the mouth? We want, great question, by the way, we want as much of the tongue to be up

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as possible in a comfortable, relaxed manner. And that is tricky. Like you said, you tried it.

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You know, that's really where tongue ties come into play. We look, OK, is there a tie underneath

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the tongue that's just keeping it down? Does someone have the endurance to keep the tongue up

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there? Do they have coordination, the strengths? So it really isn't as simple as, OK, put your tongue

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up there. Ta-da. Right. It's like the pillows that say just breathed. OK. Yeah, exactly.

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But yeah, so ideally we want as much contact with the tongue to the roof because it does

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stimulate the release of serotonin or feel good chemical, centering chemical and also

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has connections to the vagus nerve, which from there does help our breathing with nerve innovation

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down to the lungs and other components head to toe. But then also as much of the tongue as we

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can get up that does help clear the airway. But that does take time. You know, if someone does have,

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you know, willpower will not override if there's a muscular or structural issue.

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Right. Which totally makes sense. What could myofunctional therapy actually look like for

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a child with an airway issue? And I mean, obviously we know your story now, but what kind of outcome

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should parents expect? Yeah. So if there is an airway issue of any sort, myo is through the form

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of exercises and games, fun games. But it is to for the the realm that we are able to work on, how can we

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get that tongue, as I mentioned, up in the palate, toned up. And it is through repetitive

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exercises, about three times a day, they take like two, three minutes at a time. And it's as, I mean,

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they're kind of simple, but they get harder people really realize, oh, this is like a workout.

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But with little ones, we do make it fun. We do try to make it fun where we're making silly noises

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with our tongues that they think they're being goofy and making sounds. But what they're really

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doing is, you know, contracting the tongue muscles. And just like, if you lift weights for your bicep,

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as that gets toned, it gets kind of smaller, you know, in appearance in a way. And that's the same

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thing for the tongue. So we're making it toned, the group of muscles helping and teaching it where

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to go. And that is where a lot of times parents do see better sleep quality, better behavior,

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you know, if their sleep was creating behavioral components, eating is better, they're breathing

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through their nose during nap time in the car seat. They, you know, they see those changes,

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because we are teaching the body what to do with what we're born with. That's not instinctive.

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But yeah, back to the exercises, they're fun, they're easy, they're quick. And with little ones,

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we get creative. You know, we have pom poms and feathers and bubbles and sometimes exercises just

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aren't a hit. And we move on to the next one, you know, we keep it lively and fun.

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But yeah, so that is exercise, but fun. And I hope that answered your question.

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No, no, I did. And how many times a week? And for how long? I mean, obviously, I know it

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varies, but just kind of to put a some put this in perspective for parents, are we talking

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one to two visits a week, at least normally, plus all the outside exercises for months,

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years? I mean, what does this look like? Yeah, so it is about every three weeks, I like to see

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families once every three weeks. And that is with the mindset that life happens, but that gives them

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three weeks to really establish a routine with the new set of exercises. There will be hit and misses

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where suddenly they went by and you're like, man, we didn't do it. So every three weeks, and it's

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generally about eight to 12 sessions total. So we want families to learn, make these changes. We

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want to make new neurological pathways so that this is the new normal. We want to make new muscle

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memory because no one wants to do tongue exercises the rest of their life. I get it. But it is with

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that mindset of let's change it. And then that way, there's these new habits and behaviors

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that will carry them lifelong. And sometimes with little ones, we pause, we recognize, okay,

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we've done what we can do at their age. We use other tools like a myo-munchy, other behavioral

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components. And we let them grow for about six months or eight months and kind of pick back up.

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You know, it varies. Everyone is so different. But it is something that we don't want to drag on

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because then the effectiveness of it is just not there because it gets dull and boring and drug out.

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So we do try to keep it concise and at a reasonable pace.

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And do you find, especially with kids, do you typically work more with

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dentists or ENTs or pediatrician? How are parents getting to you?

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Yes. So a lot of it is dental and orthodontics, but also body work practitioners, tire

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practice. Anyone that needs help with breathing, it comes from all over. But with kiddos, it is the

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dental side where they're great dentists. And I think Airway is being taught more in that realm,

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thankfully. So they're kind of the first line of defense in spotting something. And usually it is

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through tongue ties that a lot of people do come forward saying, hey, I think you need this.

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But yeah, even more and more now through counseling avenues, the breast component for anxiety

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and stuff is arising. I hadn't thought about that. I was thinking more for,

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you had mentioned snoring and that's something that we talked a lot about. I didn't think about

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the anxiety side of it. Yeah. The way we breathe either triggers our rest and digest or fight

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in flight and kind of a funny side story. I got my master's in breathing and during grad school,

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I developed panic attacks because I wasn't breathing. So it's like, what I'm learning

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about breathing. But then I just learned, okay, this is a stressful season for me. Learn breathing

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tools. And I haven't had one since. So the breath really is powerful. And I think we take it for

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granted until there is a child or someone any age where it's off balance. It's not at the baseline.

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It's not where one might want it. But yeah, it is powerful either for or against us. So we want to

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harvest that for good. Well, yeah, obviously.

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You are listening to Airway First with today's guest, Brittany Bailey. You can find out more

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about the Children's Airway First Foundation and our mission to ensure that every child has access

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to screening, evaluation and treatment of all children's airway disorders before the age of

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six on our website at Children's Airway First.org. The CAF website offers tons of great resources

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for parents, including videos, blogs, recommended books, comprehensive medical research, and so much

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more. If you haven't already, check out the Airway Huddle, our Facebook support group for parents of

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children with airway and sleep related issues. You can access the Airway Huddle support group at

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Facebook.com, backslash groups, backslash airway huddle. Are you interested in becoming a guest

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or do you have an idea for an upcoming episode? Shoot us a note via the contacts page on our

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website or send us an email directly at info at Children's Airway First.org. As a reminder,

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this podcast and the opinions expressed here are not a medical diagnosis. If you suspect your child

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might have an airway issue, contact your pediatric airway dentist or pediatrician. And now let's

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jump back into my interview with today's guest, Brittany Bailey.

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All right, so a lot of what I do is talk to guests about what to do if you suspect your child has an

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airway issue. But I want to switch that up just a little bit with you if you're open to this. So

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curious about what are some of the tips and guidance you can provide to parents that will help

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them support children that you know they're already dealing with airway issues. You know,

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they're already there. They don't suspect that they know what they're here.

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Yeah. I think number one, it is coming to the fact that stuff takes time. I think that's the hardest

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thing about the breast because you breathe all day long and say until a family realize there was

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an airway issue, that breast pattern was so established. And now going through a modification

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or a change, however it may be for that child, sometimes the body is like, whoa, whoa, what are

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you doing? Even though things are getting better with the airway size or space or structures,

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shifting the breast can be daunting and kind of nerve wrecking to the body just because it's

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something new. Even though it's something good, something new. So I think really creating that

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space to have that transition period in the patients was huge. Just sometimes people go, well,

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I'm more anxious now. Like this isn't working. I'm just going to give up. But it is that recalibrating

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phase. So that's a big thing, I think, just with any change in life. Sure. That grace.

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And I think talking about the breast is powerful, really bringing the mind to it also as parents,

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but as kids, like asking the kid, oh, where is your breast today? If your breath was a color,

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what would it be? If it was an emotion right now, what emotion would it be? Or you have them draw

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what they're feeling with their breath? And I think the more kids realize the breath isn't

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just something that happens without thought. They really characterize it. They really create it as

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a friend in a way in their mind. That just gives them all the more ownership and power of the breast.

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And yeah, I think just really acknowledging the air is a big one. And asking, do you like

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nose breathing or do you like mouth breathing? And why? Why do you like that more than the other?

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And that awareness thing is just huge in that, in that those steps moving forward, I think,

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to get better breathing behaviors. And also one kind of little boost of confidence I would give to,

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even though there may be like sometimes people feel very overwhelmed. That's like, oh, my child is

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mouth breathing and they are emotional, which is stressful. Like it's overwhelming and it's daunting.

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I think really kind of stepping back when looking at the breath and realizing, okay,

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they had to breathe that way for a reason. And that's not wrong. But now we're going to move

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forward and make just different choices, different breathing behaviors. And sometimes there will be

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days where mouth breathing happens or you hear snoring. And but you did it the day before. Why

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is it happening now? If steps are being taken to help that, you know, it's a roller coaster and

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healing or progress isn't linear. So those up and down will happen. But I always say every relaxing

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breath you can take is a deposit into your wellness. And so just the more deposits you can make,

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the withdrawals that happen with life, when stressed, when sick, when just having one of

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those days won't be as detrimental. So any effort, any progress, you know, any attempt

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at helping the airway and breath really does matter. And I think it's hard for parents when

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they're so up close. And they're in it, you know, they don't get a break. They would do anything for

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their child. And this isn't going as fast as they want. Dwarf, this is happening. I think just really

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patting themselves on the back and saying, I'm, I'm helping them. I'm helping their airway that

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takes time, but we're doing something. You know, I think it's scary when people go through life,

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not choosing to acknowledge the airway and its impact on our health, you know, but can't fault

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someone not knowing the reason why, but I think parents just kudos to parents who are

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just taking steps, even if they feel like baby steps, they're steps. Every step is a

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right direction. Right. And one of the things that I think is really interesting about having you on

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here, having read your website, but, you know, getting to talk to you now is you really do put

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an emphasis on the mental impact that goes with this. And not a lot of people talk about that.

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We do talk about, in signs and symptoms, you know, when you're looking for a child with an airway

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issues, you go down the list at some point, ADHD comes up or behavioral issues. So we, we understand

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that, right? What we don't talk a lot about is the languishing impact that having a breathing issue,

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having an airway dysfunction, having an airway disease, this whole group over here, the long

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term mental impacts of that or the impact of having it not only just on the child, but as the parent,

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as a parent, you feel like, oh my gosh, I've let my child get here. Right. And so now they have this

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lingering thing over them that they're having to deal with. And, you know, for me, one is a parent,

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but also as a person with an airway issue. I appreciate the fact that, you know, you really

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are putting this out there that there is a mental component to not what just what not being able to

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breathe can do to your body, but you know you can't breathe, you know something's wrong.

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You may not really understand it, but you know you're different. You know there's a problem,

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you know you're struggling in some form or fashion. Yes. Yeah. And, and I sadly, like a lot of that,

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I think for me comes from personal experience. I have a chronic illness and it is something that

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is highly overlooked and misdiagnosed and it took about 17 years to figure out what it was.

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And so through that, I was a teenager and my parents were those parents going, what is wrong

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with my child? Like we are doing everything we can and I knew I was different. Right away,

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13 years old, I was out of my norm of I lost friends. I, school was harder. I had to quit my sport.

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So experiencing that, it wasn't an airway driven thing, but just experiencing that and knowing

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how people looked at me as an issue. Doctors looked at me and said, what are you doing wrong?

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You're just stressed. They blamed my parents, even though my parents, they would take it from me if

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they could. I did everything growing up that way and seeing how sadly some professionals looked at me.

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They didn't look at me as a human. They didn't look at me with layers, with emotions, with dreams,

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with goals, with thoughts, with hobbies. You know, that hurt. That was a bummer. And

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through that, I feel like if we can give hope to one family and see them as a human where,

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you know, what is talked about at their dinner table after a really hard appointment,

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they got hard news. What is discussed in the dinner table and what do they want to do with

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their life and hobbies and goals. And, you know, we're all humans with so many layers. And so

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it is just me coming alongside these families. It's they're the heroes of their story and of

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their journey. And if we can just bring joy, I mean, really ask where the name comes from,

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bring joy, even if it's in a sliver of hope to these kids, to these parents so that,

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you know, even just a little glimmer really keeps people going forward because there are

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those moments where it's like, oh my goodness, this is so hard. And for me, I can't speak for

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anyone else, but for my chronic illness, a lot of physical pain constantly, the emotional side

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was the hardest is the hardest for me. You know, so even just saying some having someone look at me

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and my family and say, I see you, I hear you, like what you're going to, you're a warrior.

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Like, how can we just continue to grow? And the more you know, the more you grow. And so that's

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what I want to be for others. What I didn't have through professionals, what my parents didn't have,

434
00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:29,080
seeking help for me. Yeah, that's really where that's driven from. Just being what I,

435
00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:34,600
I hope there's more of nowadays, but there wasn't for me and my family. Yeah, yeah, I love that. And

436
00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:40,680
now I truly understand the jewel of full breathing. Yeah, I love that. New parents,

437
00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:46,600
you know, they're, they're coming to the realization, okay, my child does have some kind of

438
00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:50,440
breathing issue. You know, whether they're a mouth breather, they're a chronic snore,

439
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:56,200
they're starting to see the signs. What do you recommend? What are the first steps?

440
00:36:56,200 --> 00:37:05,720
You know, that could go so many ways when working with newborn or baby of any age. I love to have

441
00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:14,280
a broad team of of course, you know, their, their PEED doctor and lactation and body work.

442
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:21,800
On my side, it is just teaching the little one what to do with the tongue. Really, it is through

443
00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:30,920
a parent assists, you know, the parents really assist and do intro oral teaching. And it is just

444
00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:37,080
teaching that little one how to breathe to bring the tongue up because whether it's from a tongue

445
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:43,080
tie, not having good latching. Again, it's not instinctive for that tongue to go up and for

446
00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:51,080
the lips to come together. So it's really having that team to really address all angles because

447
00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:57,800
not everything is perfect for everyone. But for me, it is just right from the start teaching the

448
00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:02,760
kiddo how to use the mouth because they're they're exploring the mouth. They're exploring

449
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:10,120
the tongue and things are going in the mouth and stuff like that. So it's, it's very at times

450
00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:16,280
preventative. Some people come to me and they're like, hey, my oldest had this. How can we kind

451
00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:25,080
of rewind for this one? And potentially families, right? Yes. Yes. So it's structural. There are

452
00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:31,000
genetic components with ties if tie was a part of it. But then also you can learn breathing

453
00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:38,760
behaviors from people around kind of how you hold your stress and how you breathe and how you react.

454
00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:45,880
So sometimes it is preventative with little ones. But sometimes it is how can we get that

455
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:51,640
structure from the beginning to be as optimal as possible with the behaviors and with breathing

456
00:38:51,640 --> 00:39:00,280
because sleep apnea can happen really at any age. At any age. At any age. Yeah. So and and oh,

457
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:04,600
sorry, go ahead. Oh, no, go ahead. I don't really think I had anything. I was just,

458
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:10,120
I could talk about this topic forever. But it is, yeah, just seeing those signs and really thinking,

459
00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:17,880
okay, is the tongue low and even mouth breathing for babies is not normal. It's normal, but not,

460
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:25,240
it's normal in the sense that it happens a lot. But it's not normal. It's not cute. It's not ideal.

461
00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:33,800
It's not good. That's a cultural change we have to put in place. Yes. Yes. And oh, yeah, that's,

462
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:38,280
that's my husband. He snores. That's normal. I was warned about this before marriage. I'm like, no.

463
00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:45,720
Oh, yeah, that's not normal. No, no. So I'm going to put you on the spot for just a second. And

464
00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:53,560
because in doing some research and things and talking to some of our parents on our Facebook

465
00:39:53,560 --> 00:40:02,680
group, a lot of conversation around sippy cups. So I'm watching your face. So

466
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:11,560
I mean, a lot of what we're seeing and the questions that keep coming up and quite honestly,

467
00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:17,640
you know, I'm not sure, you know, how do you answer this? Are you supposed to go from

468
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:22,440
ideally breastfeeding? Right? We know that's, that's ideal. That's what we want. That's going to,

469
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:29,560
you know, help the jaw on the tongue and from that straight to a regular cup. Or, you know,

470
00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:34,120
if we do what culture has taught us, we go from breastfeeding to a sippy cup to a regular cup.

471
00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:41,160
Is the sippy cup damaging? The sippy cup is not ideal if I answer it in a textbook manner.

472
00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:47,080
Because if I'm thinking correctly, the sippy cups have like a spout out.

473
00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:56,760
Yeah. Right. So what is tricky about that, much like a pacifier or a thumb, like if you're sucking

474
00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:03,720
your thumb, it keeps the tongue low. So the sippy cup comes in, that spout goes of course into the

475
00:41:03,720 --> 00:41:13,800
mouth and the tongue is below it. So then that when they swallow, they're not getting that full tongue

476
00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:20,680
palate contact with their swallow. And that is crucial. So sometimes with sippy cups, you'll see

477
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:26,600
more kind of choking or gagging, just kind of, you know, something went down the wrong pipe kind of thing.

478
00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:34,760
I think like when in public, if you're going on to the zoo and you don't want to have a mess or

479
00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:43,640
something, okay, time and place, I think, you know, life happens. But I think overall, we do want to

480
00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:51,240
teach the open cup, you know, that skill really early on, because then it does require that tongue to

481
00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:59,000
go up more, which that'll help the palate develop. It'll help the tongue be strong and stretch what we

482
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:08,200
can. And then it'll teach the proper swallowing wave in a way we want as much of that tongue to be

483
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:15,240
up. If the tongue doesn't go all the way up, that's really where it is teaching like tongue

484
00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:23,880
thrusting with swallowing other dental and orthodontic implications down the road. So ideally, no, we don't

485
00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:29,000
want sippy cups. But yeah, time and place, if you're going to someone's house and they're like

486
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:35,080
totally neat and tidy and you don't want to make a mess, okay. But then you have a bad kid. Yeah.

487
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:41,240
Yeah. But majority of the time we do want the open cup. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah.

488
00:42:41,240 --> 00:42:46,040
And then when you when you say tongue all the way up, are we talking all the way back,

489
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:54,280
like to the back of the jaw? We want as much, yeah, as much as we can. And for a lot of people,

490
00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:58,440
you know, maybe they're trying this right now, is there listening or whatnot? You may feel like

491
00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:05,480
your tongue is like, like clogging the back of your throat. And that's really a muscle tone component.

492
00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:12,600
So it's acknowledging how can we make that tongue a little more uniform and with swallowing,

493
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:18,200
we do not start that right away. That takes several sessions. So I usually start that like

494
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:27,240
session six, because there's just so many steps before that to get to in regards to the strengths

495
00:43:27,240 --> 00:43:37,240
and endurance and awareness and coordination. Got it. At the end of every episode, I like to open

496
00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:43,960
the Florida, our guests just anything you would like to share with parents, anything you would

497
00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:49,720
like to guide them on or just something to leave them with as far as, you know, this journey

498
00:43:49,720 --> 00:43:57,240
they're on with their kids. Yeah, I think I, you know, I alluded to it earlier, just those steps

499
00:43:57,240 --> 00:44:06,280
being taken forward is huge. And parents, you know your child, you know your child best and that gut

500
00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:13,640
instinct and you matters, definitely give voice to that. If you have a gut feeling or whatnot.

501
00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:19,080
And it's good to ask questions. You know, we really have to be our own advocates. And there are

502
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:24,120
awesome people that will join you on your team. And there are people that may have different views.

503
00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:31,480
But definitely ask the questions, do the research, be the advocate. You know, you are the voice for

504
00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:38,520
your child. And you're doing a great job. And just researching, sitting down after a long day of work

505
00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:43,000
and feeding your family and sitting down and researching at the end of the day. I mean,

506
00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:50,280
that's amazing. And everyone should be commended for that. And they again, every ounce of,

507
00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:58,200
every ounce of a good breath that you can help your child with matters. It really does matter.

508
00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:02,600
And you know, there's that saying of it takes just that one degree to boil water,

509
00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:10,920
you know, every, every breath adds up. And so keep at it. It's a long road, I'm sure. And

510
00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:17,800
but, but you're doing great. And it's, it's worth it. You know, from the breath comes everything

511
00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:23,320
else. So this is probably the most powerful thing you can do for your family and your child and

512
00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:30,520
yourself. Awesome. Thank you. Joyful breathing. I appreciate everything that you've shared with us

513
00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:37,480
today. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you. It was wonderful. I really appreciate it as well.

514
00:45:37,480 --> 00:45:44,520
Thank you. Thanks again to today's guest, Brittany Bailey for sharing her story and medical insight

515
00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:49,480
and to each of you for listening to today's episode. If you're new to our podcast, please

516
00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:54,200
don't forget to subscribe. And if you enjoyed today's episode, leave us a review or a comment

517
00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:59,080
telling us about what you enjoyed most. You can stay connected with the Children's Airway First

518
00:45:59,080 --> 00:46:05,720
Foundation by following us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also join us here

519
00:46:05,720 --> 00:46:12,600
at our Facebook parent support group, the airway huddle at facebook.com backslash groups backslash

520
00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:17,800
airway huddle. If you'd like to be a guest or if you have an idea for an upcoming episode,

521
00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:23,720
shoot us a note via the contacts page on our website or send us an email directly at infoat

522
00:46:23,720 --> 00:46:30,120
children'sairwayfirst.org. Remember this podcast and the Apprentice expressed here are not a

523
00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:36,280
medical diagnosis. If you suspect your child might have an airway issue or sleep-related disorder,

524
00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:41,880
contact your pediatric airway dentist or pediatrician. And finally, thanks to all the parents and

525
00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:46,360
medical professionals out there that are working to help make the lives of kids around the globe

526
00:46:46,360 --> 00:47:03,400
just a little bit better. Take care, stay safe and happy breathing everyone.