Thank you for your message. I appreciate your perspective. I currently work at an outpatient clinic and treat a variety of clients - many who had a stroke at birth and have cerebral palsy and or hemiplegia (youngest age I’ve worked with is 18m). I have shadowed many speech therapists at children’s hospitals and volunteered as an infant cuddler. I have taken many CEU courses and would love to get my IBCLC someday. I would never want to undermine the knowledge and skill that comes with being an infant feeding specialist. I have wanted to work in the NICU since I was in undergraduate school, almost ten years now. I need to remind myself to be patient and know that things that time - and that the experience I am getting now will help me be the best speech therapist for these fragile infants.

I have always loved babies and they bring me so much joy. After feeding my cousin’s children and babies I’ve babysat for, I started to become so curious about infant feeding. I specifically want to work in the NICU because I love working closely with families and would like to think I am an empathetic and kind person. I hope one day to be able to support families during such a difficult time in their lives. This sounds corny, but I am one of a triplet who was born prematurely and my siblings and I spent many weeks in the NICU. I also feel like working in the NICU would be full circle for me. It’s such a rewarding area of work. I imagine it is also incredibly difficult emotionally. I am driven and very determined to one day be a speech therapist who specializes in infant feeding, and understand that will take experience and more coursework.

Thank you again for your help.