01/14/2025
Feeding and Mouths of Babies 👶 (a 2 minute read)
We get asked many questions on the mouths of infants and toddlers. Most are in regard to feeding but sometimes it’s about speech. Here are a few thoughts we wanted to share with you and can discuss more at your next well visit! A lot of recommendations you find on social media lack any evidence and can put your child through unnecessary procedures.
1. Tongue ties, unless they are severe enough to cause issues with breast feeding, do not need to be clipped. We recommend working with a lactation consultant first on positioning and latch as this will solve many problems. Our lactation consultant, Valerie, is a great resource! The same goes for lip and buccal ties, but even more so, as these are normal and rarely ever need to be removed. The American Academy of Otolaryngology as well as the Academy of Breast Feeding Medicine do NOT recommend lip or buccal tie release.
2. Sippy cups have not been shown to cause any issues with speech or with teeth. We recommend discontinuing bottles soon after a year and pacifiers by 18 months, but use of sippy cups after this time frame has not been shown to be problematic.
3. Infant reflux, even a lot of it, is normal. As long as reflux is not causing poor weight gain or discomfort, the problem will self resolve around a year of age.
4. We should try our best to make mealtime in toddlers a positive experience. If you’re stressed about their eating, they will be too. The best thing you can do is offer a variety of food and allow them to practice with new foods and textures. Try not to stress too much about the exact amount they are eating at each meal as long as they have good weight gain over time.
If you would like to read more on these topics we’ve attached a link for your review!
https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/2024-0122-ped-feeding-slp/full/
