What does baby’s lip blister mean?
Does your baby have a blister in the middle of their top lip? Or their lower lip?
The key to successful breastfeeding lies in the movement of your baby's tongue.
Elevation of the mid-portion of their tongue to the hard palate creates a vital seal, allowing for efficient milk transfer (not to be mistaken with baby’s lip seal). The alternating movement of lifting the mid-portion of the tongue to the hard palate, then lowering it, generates a vacuum that pulls milk in through negative pressure.
If your baby has an obvious lip blister, it’s a sign that something is not right with this seal. It indicates your baby is compensating with their lips because the tongue is not moving in a functional way. This may be due to an underlying tongue-tie (tethered oral tissues) or decreased tongue strength.
A baby who is compensating with their lips to feed can have a lot of tension in the muscles around their jaw, as they attempt to create a vacuum in another way. Your baby may fatigue at the breast because it is hard work for them to feed efficiently, and no they are not “lazy”. They just haven’t had the right support.
A blister anywhere else in the body indicates excessive pressure or friction, so lets look at why this is happening when your baby feeds.
Be sure to grab my FREE guide Preparing For Frenectomy
So what can you do about baby’s lip blisters?
Always look to the address the cause of symptoms and signs
Seek the support of an experienced IBCLC
Get a thorough assessment for tongue tie by a practitioner who has extra training and experience with tongue-ties.
See an osteopath to address fascial restrictions, cranial strains and regulate the nervous system
Don’t accept any of these myths as a solution:
“ It’s only a mild tie”
“They can stick their tongue out past their lips, there’s no tongue tie”
“Tongue tie doesn’t impact breastfeeding”
Pin this post!
You Might Also Like:
Learn how to differentiate reflux from colic symptoms in 4 simple steps.
The sucking reflex develops in late pregnancy (around 32–36 weeks), so term babies usually arrive with a basic suck in place, while late preterm babies often have a weaker or less coordinated suck at first.
In the first months, sucking is largely reflexive and then gradually becomes more voluntary between about 2–4 months, so “dropping” the dummy is very common while baby is still learning to organise tongue, lips and jaw together. If a baby is otherwise feeding and growing well, frequently losing the dummy in the first 8–12 weeks can be within normal developmental variation, especially when tired, overstimulated or premature.