As this calendar year wraps up, I’ve been taking some quiet time between holidays for year-end reflection.

This past year was the first time I leaned more into the Chinese New Year calendar alongside our conventional Gregorian one. I found myself paying attention to the symbolism of the Year of the Snake, a year associated with shedding, transformation, and patience. (I like EFT Tapping Practitioner Melanie Moore's annual explanation on YouTube in case you're interested - year of the horse incoming!).

In my husband’s family, we choose a word for the year instead of resolutions. This past year, my word was "flow".

Flow meant many things to me, but the theme that kept resurfacing was the experience of feeling stuck. Resistance, after all, is antagonistic to flow. And sometimes life feels exactly like that: stagnant, unclear, or slower than we expected.

What I’ve come to appreciate is that “stuck” doesn’t always mean nothing is happening. Sometimes it means the foundation is still being laid.

As this year comes to a close, I’m finally seeing momentum in places that felt immobile for a long time.

This year, I found myself in unfamiliar territory professionally. I knew I wanted to connect more deeply with other professionals, but I didn’t yet have a clear vision for how to do that. I tried a few things. Some landed. Some didn’t.

Eventually, a colleague pointed me toward a coach, and that support made all the difference.

I’ll be honest, I hesitated before saying yes. I had invested in a group coaching program in the past and didn’t get the results I was expecting, and that experience left me more cautious about investing in myself again. I don’t think asking for help is something most of us are taught to do well, especially once we’re used to being the one others turn to.

This experience reminded me that sometimes the support we need isn’t more information. It’s a different kind of education altogether. Feeling stuck rarely means someone isn’t trying hard enough. More often, it means they’re carrying too much on their own, without a clear map or a trusted outside lens.

Nobody wants to stay stuck. Sometimes we just need another perspective.

That insight is shaping what I’m building next.

What I’m Working On

Many of my next steps are informed by recent conversations with groups of professionals, including sleep coaches, myofunctional therapists, occupational therapists, craniosacral therapists, mineral balancing coaches, and more, about the challenges of working collaboratively with airway dentists.

One thing became very clear: parents are not the only ones feeling overwhelmed by this system.

Here are a few themes that kept coming up:

Dismissal within care teams can set families back

Well-meaning providers who "don’t know what they don’t know" can unintentionally undo progress when they dismiss oral function, airway health, or early intervention. I’m developing high-impact, research-backed shareable resources to support better collaboration and more productive conversations so families don’t have to carry this burden alone.

Requests for directories: “Where are the others who get it?”

I regularly reference dozens of directories when helping families build care teams. I’m working on a mega directory, and I’d love your thoughts. Should this be parent-facing, provider-facing, or both? This isn’t about gatekeeping. I’ve simply never organized my randomly collected directories over the years. I worry that knowing which ones to rely on may not be clear, but maybe that just means I need to clarify which ones are helpful for what. Let me know what you think.

A financial reality guide

The financial and emotional burnout families experience on this journey is real. I’ll never minimize the costs of interdisciplinary care. But, after years of struggling and suffering, when adult corrective jaw surgery can approach $80,000, all of a sudden, an $8,000 early intervention plan suddenly looks very different. Families need more context to see the full picture up front, and I’m working on finding a way to support this dialogue.

These are just a few of the resources currently taking shape.

In the Meantime

If you’re looking for existing resources, don’t forget about:

• ​The Healthy Mouth Manual, foundations for oral development at home
• ​Airway Alert, a visual screening tool
• ​Smile Support Stairsteps, my framework for making sense of confusing dental treatment options

More is coming in 2026.

If you resonated with my own story and you know that you’re feeling stuck, I'd love to connect with you and help guide you. Feel free to set up one of the following:

• A free discovery call for parents​
• A connection call for professionals​

Behavior or Biology?

A sleep coach who attended one of my webinars this year reached out with a collaboration idea that I loved.

Many sleep struggles get labeled as behavioral when there may be an underlying biological contributor, or vice versa. Georgia from Thyme4Sleep helped me create a short, thoughtful guide exploring this balance.

You can find the PDF and learn more about Georgia with the link below. I’ve also listed several trusted sleep professionals on my website resources (Professionals I Love Learning From --> Sleep Resources), each offering a slightly different approach.

Check out the resource here: Behavior or Biology.pdf​

A Cool New Tool I Wanted to Share

I’ve been following the physical therapists at Progress Through Play, who are participating in an exciting new app from SkullyCare. It allows parents to monitor infant head shape changes at home while staying connected to professional guidance. The way the bones of the skull develop is directly related to how the jaw bones will develop.

I love seeing innovations that bridge the gap between parental intuition and professional support, especially when families feel dismissed or unsure where to turn. It reminds me of how Toothpillow has filled a similar gap in the dental space.

I’ve linked their blog and SkullyCare if this feels relevant for your family or someone you love.

I’ll likely be hiding in the bathroom with my dog tonight - because fireworks. I hope your evening is festive, but more importantly, I hope you set an intention that feels supportive as you move into the year ahead.

I’ve already chosen my word for 2026. I’ll share it next month.

If you’re not quite ready yet, that’s okay too. The Year of the Horse doesn’t begin until February. I still have some shedding to do, but for the first time in a while, I can clearly see the path forward.

If you need help getting unstuck, don’t be a stranger.

Wishing you a happy, healthy 2026,
Dr. Julia