There is nothing sweeter than a newborn, newborn baby snuggles, and all the newborns smells. I’m getting baby fever just talking about it. If there is ONE thing that I wish I could give all new moms, it would be a guide to the best start at breastfeeding or bottle feeding, whichever they chose. In this guide I would include the red flags of oral motor dysfunction to look for – that indicate something may not be 100%, when to ask for help, and who to ask for help.
Moms are often left in the dark, questioning themselves, their parenting skills, and without a roadmap. My desire is that you are empowered and know that your baby is being adequately nourished or know when to seek out a feeding therapist.
Some red flags of oral motor dysfunction to look for on your baby’s feeding journey are:
- lip blisters, sometimes referred to as “cobblestone lips,” these indicate the lips are compensating and the baby is struggling to eat
- shallow latch, if your baby isn’t able to latch with a deep, wide latch at each feeding, this is a red flag
- small fat pads on their cheeks
- low muscle tone in cheeks
- chewing on nipple
- gagging
- choking at breast/bottle
- coughing at breast/bottle
- leaking milk
- fussy feeding
- on and off nipple
- gulping
- restless while at breast/bottle
- fussy
- colicky
- gassy
- reflux
- excessive spit up
If your baby has one or more of these symptoms and you are concerned, we encourage you to find a feeding therapist to evaluate your babies oral motor skills and feeding abilities. There is hope and feeding does not have to be a stressful event. Your baby can be calm and happy- not constantly spitting up and full of gas. We want to encourage you that it’s not your fault and there is hope!
Feeding therapy is provided by a Speech-Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist specializing in infant feeding. We hope this empowers you as you advocate for your baby!
