Written by the team at The Baby Element Clinic, Wilmslow. Last updated: 1 August 2025.
Bringing your new baby home is wonderful, but feeding can be challenging, especially if your little one has lingering tension from the birth journey or needs a tie revision. These fun, simple oral exercises for babies and infant suck training are designed to help your baby unwind and develop the foundational oral motor skills needed for a deep, comfortable latch, efficient milk transfer, and better overall oral alignment.
We start by focusing on the core movements needed for a deep, satisfying suck and swallow:
Tongue Mobility & Extension: Developing the strength to fully extend the tongue and move it smoothly from side to side (lateralising).
Creating a Seal (“The Hug”): Teaching the tongue to cup or groove around the nipple—like a gentle embrace—to create a functional vacuum seal.
Jaw Rhythm and Strength: Establishing a consistent, rhythmic jaw motion for milk transfer.
Sensory Confidence: Helping the baby’s mouth and palate become comfortable with touch without immediately defaulting to a strong gag reflex.
Think of these oral motor exercises as loving, playful interactions, not rigid drills. A few minutes during a mid-feed nappy change is often all it takes!
Start with quick, fun sessions—a bit like “can you follow my finger?” The goal here is simple exploration and muscle activation. Use a clean fingertip for the oral motor exercises to prompt the tongue to move and stretch.
Once your baby is happily engaged in sucking (on your finger or a clean pacifier/dummy), we introduce the concept of resistance to strengthen the vacuum seal:
The Gentle Tug: Apply a very slight, careful pull outward. This prompts your baby to suck back in response, which is a low-effort way to strengthen suction and ensure their tongue is staying forward and cupped.
Suck training and oral motor exercises aim to help your baby maintain a wide, functional gape (key for a deep latch on breast or bottle), we gently challenge their structure:
The Chin Support: While performing the gentle tug, use your finger to apply light downward pressure on their chin. This encourages the jaw to stay wide and open, enabling the tongue to work harder to maintain its lifted and extended position. This is key for sustained, deep latching. Oral motor exercises help develop skills and optimise the tongue’s function.
The way a baby holds their tongue when resting is vital for breathing and stability:
Resting Posture: Encourage the tongue to rest up against the roof of the mouth with a closed mouth to promote nasal breathing. This focus on oral alignment is especially powerful following a tongue-tie release to support the tongue’s new resting place.
Simple toys and tools can be wonderful assistants in this work:
Vibration: Gently holding a vibrating implement (like a vibrating toothbrush handle) while you perform the exercises adds deeper sensory input to help stimulate stronger muscle movement.
Textured Implements: Choose teethers or toys with texture and bumps to prompt the tongue to explore, aiding in lateralising and palate desensitisation.
Targeted Pacifiers: Some pacifier shapes require a wider hold, serving as a subtle trainer for suckling stability.
Remember, this process is about supporting your unique baby where they are right now. If you would like support in optimising your baby’s oral motor skills book an appointment with Nikki at The Baby Element Clinic.
