Crescent Health Collective

You might know Dr. Tina as one of the people we send our littlest patients to.

But kids are only part of what she supports at our clinic.

Dr. Tina is one of our naturopathic doctors, with a big focus on paediatric health and the everyday digestive concerns adults sometimes put up with for way too long. Things like:

→ Feeling bloated or just generally “off” after you eat
→ Constipation or bowel movements that don’t seem quite right
→ Feeling heavy or sluggish after meals
→ Digestive symptoms you’ve started treating as normal because they’ve been around for so long

For kids, her appointments might look completely different. Maybe you’re trying to figure out why your toddler is suddenly living on four beige foods. You might have questions about digestion, allergens, food reactions or introducing solids. Or maybe something just seems off and you want some reassurance.

That range is a big part of Dr. Tina’s practice, helping families better understand what their bodies are telling them instead of assuming they have to live with it.

So, consider this your not-so-formal reintroduction to Dr. Tina. 👋🏼

Have a question about whether she might be the right practitioner for you or your child? Send us a DM and we can help point you in the right direction.

If this sounds like you, we might have to revisit the definition of “fine.”

Digestive symptoms can become so routine that we stop thinking about them as symptoms at all. And with so much information available online, it can feel like everyone else is dealing with the same thing too, which can make it seem a lot more “normal” than it should.

So, we’re calling it out because common doesn’t mean normal.

You should be able to eat a meal without worrying about whether you wore the right pants, whether you’ll be near a bathroom, or how much time you need to leave between eating and whatever comes next.

This is where Dr. Tina can help.

She looks at the full picture of what your digestion is doing day to day. Things like bloating, bowel movement frequency, discomfort after meals, feeling overly full, changes in energy after eating, and whether certain foods consistently seem to set things off.

She works to understand the pattern rather than just working around it.

Is there a digestive symptom you’ve caught yourself calling “normal” because you’ve dealt with it for so long? Let us know. ⬇️

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An untouched lunch doesn’t necessarily mean your child didn’t like it.

There are many different reasons your child’s lunch could be coming back home with them.

Maybe there was simply too much food, or lunch felt rushed.

Maybe the container was hard to open, or the food took too long to eat.

Maybe they were overstimulated and a smell or texture felt like too much. Or their appetite just looks different at school.

Before you change the whole plan or start jumping to conclusions, start by noticing any patterns.

What gets eaten first? What comes home consistently? What container stays closed? What do they tell you when you ask about lunchtime?

Sometimes, but not always, there may be something else worth looking at too.

If certain foods consistently take a long time to chew, your child tires while eating, avoids particular textures or seems to have a harder time managing food in their mouth, there may be an oral or myofunctional piece that Jennifer can help assess.

Or, if you’re noticing a very limited range of foods, appetite changes, digestive symptoms or you’re simply worried they aren’t getting enough variety or nutrition, Dr. Tina can help you look at the bigger picture.

The lunchbox is just one clue. What happens around eating the rest of the day can tell us a lot too.

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Dr. Jen recently returned from maternity leave and is back in the clinic supporting prenatal patients.

She’s stepping back into this work after spending the last year navigating another pregnancy, birth and postpartum season of her own.

Dr. Jen is especially passionate about supporting women who are dealing with things like:

→ It hurts to roll over in bed
→ Getting out of the car is uncomfortable
→ Stairs are bothering your pelvis
→ Your ribs constantly feel crowded
→ Picking up your toddler is getting harder

Most of the time, it’s not one big symptom that makes someone book in. It’s realizing how much of the day you’ve started changing around because something hurts or just doesn’t feel right.

When that starts happening, it’s time to take a closer look at what’s going on.

Pregnancy is a huge transformation for your body, mind and heart, but that doesn’t mean you have to chalk up every ache, pain or change in how you move to “well, I’m pregnant.”

If this sounds familiar, send us a DM.

Know someone who’s expecting? Send this their way.

School lunches are already enough of a puzzle without losing one of the foods your child reliably eats. 😭

And when their list of reliable foods is already pretty short, “just pack something else” isn’t very helpful.

The best way to start is by figuring out what they like about that food. Is it the texture? The flavour? The shape? How it’s served?

Find the closest possible swap from there.

Want help finding one? Tell us your child’s go-to lunch food in the comments and Dr. Tina will share a few ideas to try. 💁🏽‍♀️