(Meet Taylor)
Registered Dietitian, IBCLC & Food Allergy Warrior
Taylor Silver, RDN, IBCLC
For as long as Taylor can remember, she’s loved everything about pregnancy, birth, and babies. She grew up listening intently to her aunts, who worked as Labor and Delivery Nurses, tell stories of multiple births in a single shift. This fascination carried through into adulthood and fueled Taylor’s passion for women’s health and pediatric care.
After growing up near Portland, Oregon, an unexpected life change moved her abroad for two years where she discovered a second passion: nutrition. Her education at an International School opened her eyes to a bigger world. Taylor says, “I had a deeper thirst for experience, culture, food, and nutrition. I noticed how much food made a difference in how I felt.”
She realized food impacts how you feel every single day. Her love for nutrition led to extensive education that directly applies to our Free to Feed families’ needs.
Elimination diets and cutting food groups seriously impact your health and milk supply. We’ve nailed down how to get to baseline, and now Taylor’s going to help you succeed on your food allergy journey by keeping you nourished, supported, and heard.
We want to make your life easier — and Taylor’s unique expertise does just that!
Taylor’s Favorites:
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Food? — “Give me a good stinky cheese, fresh baguette, and a really good ripe mango.” (She spent almost two minutes on this decision, so she didn’t take it lightly!)
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Show? — “Call The Midwife cures all my baby nerdiness! Watching how people had to give birth back then –even though I’m well aware it’s not real and a tv show (ha)– fascinates me.”
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Hobby? — “DIY projects, cooking, gardening, and spending time outside with my family.”
She Brings Diet Sustainability to Our Food Allergy Families
After coming back to the US, Taylor decided to deepen her understanding of nutrition and pursued her degree in Dietetics at Utah State University. Added bonus, this was where she met her husband, Sam.
She began her career at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City where she expanded her knowledge in pediatric nutrition. Taylor witnessed firsthand how food impacts everything from diseases and illness to injuries. And most significantly she learned the power and value of supporting families through difficult times.
Taylor’s Education & Experience Propel Our Mission Forward
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Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition, Dietetics & Food Science (Utah State University)
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Minor degree in Family and Human Development (Utah State University)
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Certificate in Human Lactation
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Clinical Dietitian At Speciality Children’s Hospital
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Pediatric Dietitian
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Lactation Counselor
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Food Allergy Expert
Her additional education in breastfeeding and nutrition only helps our community more. Food allergy babies can feel like one roadblock after another. Was it a food reaction or is it oversupply? Taylor gets answers fast with her thirst for knowledge in both fields to get your family on the road to healing.
She also has been mentoring with tongue-tie savvy lactation consultants at Utah Breastfeeding and Tongue Tie Center where she has learned even more about oral dysfunction and breastfeeding.
Her expertise supports you, as a hungry parent, AND your growing children. Balanced nutrition (with support and guidance) impacts a happy and healthy family, and that’s what Taylor’s all about! Restrictive diets take a toll on your health in multiple ways and she’ll ease this strain.
As hard as this journey may be, with support, resources, and FOOD — your world doesn’t have to come to a halt!
Taylor makes sure the whole family’s fed and healthy during your food allergy journey. She’ll find ways to get essential calories, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients into your diet.
She brings diet sustainability to our families, and we couldn’t be more excited. You need to be nourished and healthy on this journey too, however long it might be for your family.
Taylor’s A Food Allergy Mom & Wants Your Family To Have A Easier Experience
Ringing in the New Year of 2020, Taylor gave birth to her own son. She soaked in every minute of newborn bliss despite many common new mom breastfeeding challenges. As she worked through the many postpartum roadblocks, her desire to continue on the path of becoming an IBCLC was strengthened. (She takes her IBCLC exam Spring 2023)
Introducing solids fascinated her as a dietitian. At first, her son consumed the top 8 allergens, like dairy, eggs, and wheat, with no reactions. Sam joked during that time that Taylor looked crazy, intently watching their son at meal time. her son ate just about anything! He did throw up bananas often, but they never thought much of it. (FPIES anyone?)
Her world suddenly came crashing down when her son had a serious reaction to cashews at 7 months old. Unsure as to where to go for help, she scheduled an appointment with a local Allergist.
They performed a routine skin prick test (SPT) that came back positive for wheat, eggs, milk, peanuts, and cashews. Doctors said to eliminate these allergens herself (to continue breastfeeding) and withhold these foods from his diet until age 5. (Horrible, horrible advice.)
Taylor humbly says, “I was a healthcare professional, specializing in nutrition and pediatrics at the time my son was experiencing all of this — and it was like I knew nothing.”
She did what many food allergy parents do, including our beloved Dr. Trill — follow directions and starve themselves for long periods. Taylor endured her elimination diet for a much shorter time because her body felt the strain. Both she and her son suffered negatively without essential nutrients.
He plateaued on the growth charts, and Taylor reached an unhealthy weight — in two months. She remembers many comments about “how skinny I looked after having a baby. But I felt awful. I was always hungry, tired, and never satisfied.” (Thanks, toxic culture…)
With the stress of food allergies and not eating enough, Taylor started to lose her milk supply. In desperate attempts to keep feeding her son breastmilk, she pumped and bottle-fed until after his first birthday. Her son never returned to nursing, which pained Taylor’s heart. She deeply understands the struggle, and brings this experience to our pumping parents.
Ultimately, her personal experience created a stronger passion for her work in this field and pushed her to learn more.
After a lot of digging, she found a great allergist who performed oral immunotherapy (OIT). OIT gave Taylor a sense that she was finally able to ‘do something’ in a situation she had felt very out of control.
We’re happy to share he outgrew ALL his food allergies! Taylor’s first-hand OIT experience gives parents additional support around those fears.
As a food allergy parent, you need all the support you can get — in every way, shape, and form!
Taylor’s nutritional expertise guides restrictive diets for our food allergy families.
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Picky Eater?
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Tight Budget?
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Holistic?
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Not Great In the Kitchen?
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Not Close to Specialty Stores?
Between countless challenges with a food allergy baby and your personal preferences as a parent, Taylor’s got you covered. Not everyone has a Whole Foods around the corner, but Taylor’s passion for food, cooking, and nutrition fuel your body for the long haul. She supplies resources to keep you and your baby nourished, from a feasible grocery list to recommending a supplement your body desperately needs.
Taylor’s Advice to Parents Who Just Found Out Their Baby Has Food Allergies
“Seek professional help from people who specialize in this. I remember feeling pressure to figure it out myself because I was a nutritional professional — and as a mom, that I should know what to do. I should be able to know and help my baby. I know now that it’s too much to navigate alone. And with Free to Feed, you don’t have to.”
Taylor's Motivation to Continue Breastfeeding Through Infant Food Allergies
“I understood very deeply the benefits of breastfeeding from my background and education. Also, it gave me peace of mind knowing that my body was still providing nourishment to my baby. That was really important and empowering to me.”
What Taylor Wishes People Understood About Baby Food Allergies
“First, knowing it may not be a forever thing. I immediately went down the rabbit hole of having a food allergy kid forever, and it was hard on my mental health. Second, moms need more support going through elimination diets. It was hard for people to understand I was turning down food for my son’s safety, not because it wasn’t ‘healthy’ or because I’m picky. Even though this seems small, it was frustrating to feel like I was falling into their dietitian stereotype and more support would have been nice.”