Please Note: In order to spend more time with her family, Tess is no longer accepting new clients. Thank you for your understanding.
I'm Dr. Tess Townsend, a licensed Physical Therapist with a passion for helping babies and their parents get the best possible start
Laying the Foundation for growth
It is during gestation & infancy that a baby’s neurologic system is primed to discover the world. Their exploration seems simple, though the lifelong implications are great. Their most effective tools are their skin and tongue, allowing them to gain knowledge of their new environment.
My goals are simple: to help momma & baby off to the best possible start.
My hands-on services utilize my training in pre-crawling infant development and my advanced certification working with pregnant and postpartum women (CAPP-OB) from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
I am a believer that parents have the most skilled hands for helping their children and interventions are focused on teaching and empowering parents.
I am certified as a TummyTime Method Professional and have completed training in Pre- and Post-Frenectomy Care, Rhythmic Movement Therapy and Primitive Reflex Integration. My deepest areas of interest are babies working through tethered oral tissues (TOTS) including tongue ties, lip ties and buccal ties including both pre- and post-frenectomy care.
SERVICES
Therapeutic Tummy Time
Pre & Post Frenectomy Care
Baby Wellness Consultations
Conditions
Developmental Delay
Feeding Difficulties
Plagiocephaly
Torticollis
Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTS)
Tongue Tie
Education
MGH Institute of Health Professions
Doctorate in Physical Therapy
Cornell University
B.S. in Biological Sciences & Nutrition
Contact
Office locations:
Pathways Wellness Center: 969 Main Street, Suite 202, Millis, MA 02056. Please enter the vestibule near Nirvana Tea Cafe, past the elevators, and into the Pathways office door on the right.
Please bring a baby blanket and a few of your baby’s favorite toys to each session.
Reach Out
email: tesstownsendpt@gmail.com
Phone: 617-545-3450
Send Me A Message
Helpful Videos
The TummyTime Method is part of almost all of the home exercises I prescribe. The goal is to do 5 waves, 5 times a day.
The Sleeping Tongue Posture Hold (STPH) is a pain-free way to help minimize scar tissue build up following a release. The goal of this exercise is to perform 5 repetitions of a 20-30 second hold, 5 times/day.
Guppy is a fun and useful way to improve tongue function, decrease head molding and torticollis.
The Rolio helps with head turning preferences and is a great prep for TummyTime.
Parent Resources
Instead of scrambling to jot down different products I mention during sessions, please use this page as a resource for products I have tested and appreciate.
Valuable Podcasts
Head molding happens when movement is impaired or inadequate. Since 85% of a baby’s head development happens during the first year of like, addressing head molding early on is vital. Listen to Michelle Emanuel discuss head molding and “Flat-Head Syndrome” on the Birthful Podcast.
Feeding is greatly effected by tethered oral tissues, but oralmotor function’s importance extends much further than breastfeeding. Please listen to Michelle Emanuel discuss this in “Optimal Oral Function” on the Birthful Podcast.
Those who have babies with tethered oral tissue may enjoy listening to Hallie Bulkin on the“Untethered Podcast”
Testimonials
I have the privilege of watching amazing parents & determined babies grow and thrive together. Sometimes, it’s best to hear it from other parents:
“Tess was instrumental in helping our son with breastfeeding issues. She showed us exercises for his mouth, face, and overall body (through the tummy time method), which strengthened his muscles and eventually resulted in a properly functioning tongue. What used to be very painful for me and inefficient for him is now enjoyable for us both. She also helped correct his head turning preference before it became a head-shape issue. We are beyond thankful for Tess’ help and expertise. She was amazing with our son, who had a lot of fun “playing” with her and had no idea he was in a physical therapy session! We would highly recommend Tess!! -SI
Hi Tess, I was thinking of you today while watching E in tummy time. He’s made such great progress over the last few weeks and months! I’m so glad we were able to work with you. Your guidance was invaluable and you truly boosted our confidence as parents. I’m happy to say E has been eating well and sleeping well since our last session. He’s sleeping long stretches of 10 to 11 hours a night! He also started turning over onto his belly in the crib, so he’s been enjoying a lot of tummy time sleep. So much of the early interaction and play we did with E we learned from you. I wanted to thank you again for being so patient with us and sharing your knowledge!
I hope you are doing well! — S
“We hope you and your family have stayed well and healthy over the past months! As we are leaving Massachusetts this week for Colorado, we want to thank the people that have positively impacted our life. We feel so lucky that our paths crossed in the early times of H’s life. We’re thankful for your technical expertise, the referral to Marty, but especially for your energy and guidance. It feels like the therapy sessions were as much for us as they were for H. H has grown into such a happy little boy, and we’re sure that it is in large part due to your influence.
Thank you Tess, we wish you all the best this world has to offer! -O&K
We took our 4-month old twins to Tess for physical therapy related to gastrointestinal issues. Tess was incredibly helpful. She suggested exercises we could try easily with them at home, which actually worked and helped to minimize their discomfort while eating. She took the time to explain what she was learning as she evaluated the twins and truly included us in the solutions. Tess was patient, thorough, and kind. I cannot recommend her highly enough! - MW
We are first-time parents. Our dear daughter (DD) had feeding problems and was diagnosed with tongue tie. After a tongue tie release, we brought her to Tess for rehab. It was fun to watch Tess evaluating DD by playing with her at each session. She taught us a few exercises that we could do with DD at home, many of them were based on TummyTime method. It was a lot of work to squeeze in these exercises between our DD's feeding, sleeping and (occasionally) crying. But Tess's guidance and encouragement helped us to go through this journey. All the efforts eventually paid off. Within less than three months, our DD breastfeeds much more efficiently, her head control and upper body strengths drastically increased, her head-turning preference disappeared and her head shape became much more round. We really appreciate Tess's commitment to helping babies like our DD to improve their gross motor skills through tummy time. - TW
Thank you again for all your help and encouragement along the way, we are so lucky to have found you and I will definitely be in touch in the future if anything comes up! - VC