At the root of breastfeeding support is an understanding of how important your baby’s oral development is. If your baby’s oral anatomy and oral development are uncomplicated, there is a strong chance your baby will easily take to the breast, and breastfeeding will be a positive and rewarding experience for you.

One of the primary ways children develop new skills is through play, and oral skills are no exception to this rule! Oftentimes, we recommend particular toys to meet certain objectives in a care plan depending on your baby’s needs, but overall, all babies can benefit from playing with toys that encourage strong oral skills. In almost 7 years of supporting families, I have never thought, “Hmmm, that child’s oral skills are too advanced.” Oral development is always a good thing!

Note: Some of these toys appear on the list more than once because they can help us target multiple issues- these are some of our favorites!

Toys that Encourage Tongue Extension

These toys are perhaps my personal favorites, as well as the toys I recommend to my clients most often. They have thin structures that easily allow your baby to grasp and hold the toys and to independently move them to their mouth as early as just a few weeks of age. Once at the mouth, your baby will start to explore the toys, but the toy doesn’t easily end up further back in their mouth, and instead, encourages them to move their tongue forward. This encourages tongue extension and helps your baby become more comfortable maintaining the tongue extension they need to effectively latch at the breast or the bottle.

Links For Amazon:

Manhattan Toy Winkle: https://a.co/d/jhKRXzP

Baby Sensory Teething Ball: https://a.co/d/5IxxBJt

O-Ball: https://a.co/d/37HfLcR

O-Ball Rattle: https://a.co/d/cZbwyjL

O-Ball Pineapple: https://a.co/d/7VRQ8CS

Mushie Teether: https://a.co/d/bFRWPCN

Haakaa Silicone Teether: https://a.co/d/hofXVbc

Toys that Encourage Chewing and Tongue Lateralization

These thicker and more textured toys encourage your baby to chew on the sides of their mouths and to use the lateral movement of their tongue to move the toy side to side. They are fairly shallow toys that are unlikely to trigger the gag reflex of even a sensitive little one. The carrot teether has the added benefit of having many textures for your baby to latch on to to help encourage oral tolerance to a wider variety of stimuli.

Links for Amazon:

Manhattan Toy Winkle: https://a.co/d/jhKRXzP

Mushie Teether: https://a.co/d/bFRWPCN

Haakaa Silicone Teether: https://a.co/d/hofXVbc

Carrot Teether: https://a.co/d/aoLNfmS

Banana Toothbrush: https://a.co/d/bFLppnC

Strawberry Vibrating Teether: https://a.co/d/iCCuIfC

Teething Tubes

Teething Tubes are hollow, silicone, chewy tubes that encourage tongue movement, allow your baby to explore their gag sensation depending on how deeply they allow the toy in their mouth, and alleviate teething pain by stimulating the gums. These are typically dishwasher safe and come in multi-pacs which can be very helpful when you have a busy infant at this stage!

We also use these for babies struggling with biting at the breast due to teething pain. Some babies have an exceptionally high need to chew during teething and in over a decade I have not found something to alleviate the pain of teething as well to eliminate the need to use the nursing parent as a chew toy!

Links to Amazon:

Bebecan Teething Tubes: https://a.co/d/3LOPZno

Teething Straws: https://a.co/d/4zvEqeF

Shielded Teething Straws: https://a.co/d/aCSE2mY

Nuk Brushes

If your baby is not moving their tongue in all directions with ease, we may see issues as they transition from exclusively liquid feeding with breastmilk or infant formula to solid foods. Why? Because moving food in your mouth to safely swallow the food requires coordinated tongue movement. If your baby isn’t sure how to move their tongue, even if they can move their tongue, problems arise. The Nuk Brush is fantastic for allowing your baby to explore the texture, and later, using it to dip in a puree if your baby is of an age to have solid foods. This toy also helps provide pain relief for teething babies, and may be recommended if we are seeing teething related biting at the breast in an older baby.

Nuk Brushes: https://a.co/d/2eO7SP4

Nuk Brush Toothbrush: https://a.co/d/7GwbtnR

Z-Vibe for Oral Exploration and Desensitization

The Z-Vibe is an oral sensory tool commonly used in speech therapy that can be very helpful for addressing breastfeeding and oral development concerns at home. The Z-Vibe provides novel stimulation and allows your baby to both experience and control the stimulation. For older baby’s who have recently undergone or are preparing to undergo a tongue-tie revision, this tool can really help them learn how to explore their mouth with their tongue. This exploration helps to encourage an increased range of motion and tolerance to stimuli that translates to better feeding.

Z-vibe: https://a.co/d/dwWFHsH

Alternate Products to Consider:

Vibrating Baby Toothbrush: https://a.co/d/dDKS250

So how do I know what toys my baby needs?

The majority of baby’s thrive with whatever toys we give them, and they would enjoy any of the toys on this list!

When it comes to using toys for targeted oral development support, that’s where a professional assessment comes in. We work to understand exactly what your baby’s oral skills are at this moment in time, how it’s impacting your baby’s ability to meet your feeding goals, and what steps make sense to support improvement.

The great thing about these toys is that they are all safe, high quality, trustworthy options. They aren’t just therapeutic tools- they are easy to incorporate into baby’s daily play! Most babies love these toys and all babies benefit for oral stimulation!

I want to learn more about tongue-ties!

We’ve got you covered - feel free to check out our page dedicated to tongue-ties, OR tune in to our YouTube channel for some awesome 60 second shorts discussing tongue-ties!

You can also grab our free guide to tongue ties- this guide is everything I wish I had known about tongue ties before one almost derailed my first baby’s feeding journey and wellbeing. It’s designed to make the information you need to know accessible and easy to understand so that you can you advocate for your baby the way that is best for your family.

If you are concerned about your baby’s oral development, or want to make sure you get the most benefit possible from a tongue-tie revision, reach out today for support!

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