When feeding your child feels more stressful than it should, Sarah Maki, RD, helps you turn worry into a clear plan.

If you’re looking for a dietitian in Kitchener because your child eats only a handful of foods, mealtimes have become a daily battle, or growth has started to feel like a source of real concern, you want guidance that is both clinically sound and genuinely practical. You also want someone who understands that feeding is not just about calories and nutrients on paper. It is about development, routines, appetite, behaviour, family dynamics, and the reality of getting food on the table day after day. Sarah Maki, RD, brings exactly that balance. With training in applied human nutrition and child studies, plus hands-on experience in pediatric and community nutrition, she helps you understand what is happening and what to do next. Whether you are introducing solids for the first time, trying to expand a very limited food list, or wondering why your child’s growth curve has slowed, Sarah offers calm, evidence-based direction without blame, pressure, or overwhelm. Her approach is compassionate, practical, and built around the belief that nutrition support works best when it fits your child and your family in real life.

Sarah Maki, RD, brings together pediatric nutrition expertise and early childhood insight in a way that makes everyday family feeding finally make sense.

Sarah Maki, RD, is a Registered Dietitian whose work begins with comprehensive nutrition care, not one-size-fits-all meal rules. She supports a wide range of nutrition concerns, from family meal planning, feeding challenges, and healthy growth to nutrition education and medically informed dietary support when health needs become more complex. What makes Sarah especially effective is the combination of her Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Human Nutrition, her Bachelor of Applied Science in Child Studies, and her background as a Registered Early Childhood Educator. That blend means she does not just focus on what should be eaten. She also understands how feeding unfolds across development, temperament, routines, and family life. For you, that means advice that feels realistic, child-aware, and easier to put into practice. While Sarah provides broad dietitian care, you will find particular depth in picky eating, introducing solids, and growth stunting concerns, where nutrition science and child development need to work together seamlessly.

You will not get a rigid food plan or a lecture — you will get thoughtful, evidence-based guidance that fits your child, your schedule, and your family.

When you meet Sarah, you can expect a conversation that is thorough, supportive, and free of judgment. She starts by understanding the full picture: what meals look like right now, how appetite and growth have changed over time, which stress points keep showing up, what your schedule realistically allows, and what progress would actually look like for you. Instead of handing you a strict plan that falls apart in a busy week, she helps you build structure you can realistically maintain. That is what her dietitian services are designed to do: turn nutrition guidance into clear, doable next steps at home. Because Sarah works within CARESPACE’s coordinated model, your care can also connect with the bigger picture. At CARESPACE Westmount in Kitchener, that can mean collaboration with other practitioners when nutrition is only one part of what you are navigating. The result is care that feels more joined-up, less fragmented, and better aligned with your goals. Throughout the process, Sarah keeps the focus on sustainable progress, not perfection.

Her training spans NICU, outpatient pediatrics, public health, rehabilitation, and general surgery — which means she sees both the science and the real-life barriers behind nutrition concerns.

Sarah’s training gives her an unusually strong foundation for both everyday feeding questions and more complex nutrition situations. She completed the Dietetic Practicum Program through NOSM University, where her clinical rotations included NICU, outpatient pediatrics, long-term rehabilitation, community health, and general surgery. That range matters because it means she has seen nutrition from multiple angles: early feeding, childhood growth, recovery, medical complexity, and the practical challenges that continue once you are back in daily life. She also developed an enteral weaning protocol for NEO Kids as part of a year-long research project, strengthening her understanding of pediatric feeding progression and nutrition support. Before becoming a dietitian, Sarah earned a second degree in Child Studies and worked as an Early Childhood Educator, including creating meal plans for children ages 0 to 12. She has also led cooking classes, nutrition workshops, and diabetes nutrition education. Together, that experience helps her translate evidence into guidance that feels clear, useful, and grounded. Sarah is also fluent in French, which can make communication feel more comfortable for some families.

Whether you are facing picky eating, slow growth, or the leap into first foods, Sarah helps you move forward with more confidence and less second-guessing.

In addition to providing comprehensive dietitian care, Sarah brings particular depth in pediatric feeding and growth. If your child is a selective eater, refuses foods they once accepted, or seems stuck on a very narrow list of preferred foods, Sarah helps you step back from the daily tension and understand what may be driving the pattern. Rather than treating picky eating as a simple behaviour problem, she looks at appetite, routines, expectations at the table, developmental stage, food exposures, and how stress may be shaping eating. From there, she helps you build practical strategies that widen variety over time, lower pressure, and make mealtimes feel calmer and more productive. She also supports adults working toward sustainable weight loss, focusing on realistic, evidence-based strategies that improve long-term eating habits without relying on restrictive approaches.

When growth becomes the concern, Sarah brings the clinical lens you want. If your child’s weight or height trajectory has flattened, or growth stunting has been raised as a concern, she looks carefully at intake, feeding routines, energy needs, symptom history, and the broader developmental and medical picture. She helps you understand what the growth curve may be showing, where nutrition gaps may be contributing, and which changes are most likely to support steadier progress. That can include nutrient-dense meal planning, more strategic snack structure, food fortification ideas, and coordination with your broader care team when needed. Her goal is not to flood you with information. It is to help you focus on the few changes that matter most.

Sarah also supports families through introducing solids, one of the most exciting and anxiety-producing transitions in early feeding. She can help you make sense of readiness cues, texture progression, iron-rich first foods, allergen introduction, and what to do when feeding does not unfold the way you expected. Her background in NICU and pediatric nutrition is especially valuable when feeding feels higher-stakes or you want reassurance that you are building a strong foundation from the start. Across all of these areas, Sarah’s focus is the same: helping you feel confident in what you are doing, helping your child feel safer and more comfortable with food, and building habits that support growth, nourishment, and a healthier long-term relationship with eating.

The sooner you get the right support, the sooner meals can feel calmer and growth can feel less uncertain — book with Sarah today.

Book with Sarah Maki today so you can stop guessing, start getting clear support, and make meals, growth, and family nutrition feel more manageable sooner.