Both of my girls have tongue tie!

[Molliejo]

What kind of luck is that? My girls are about two weeks old and have not been gaining very well. I had an LC out to my house yesterday and she confirmed what I had suspected, that they have tongue tie. They are not transferring milk at all. Today we had an appt to have a frenotomy for both of them and were turned away. Apparently there is too much solid tissue there are they need to be seen by an oral surgeon.

I have been pumping my butt off and using bottles. Using bottles is a little foreign to me, but I am getting the hang of it. I just feel like my nursing days are over.

Has anyone on here had a baby (or babies) with tongue tie? How was is corrected or how did you get things to work? Or did you just switch to bottles completely? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Momo123]

Hello! I don't have twins but just happened to see this and my DS had tongue tie. You might get more responses if you post in the Health & Healing? Also there are past threads about tongue tie if you search the archives which have a lot of good info... Did they tell you that your girls had posterior tongue tie, which usually involves thicker tissue? Mine had a posterior tie that had to be clipped twice at 6 and 8 weeks because the first snip revealed more tissue. But this was done with just special scissors and a local anesthetic in less than a couple of minutes. I'm not sure about your specific situation but I'm not sure why an oral surgeon would have to get involved, I know it is harder for older babies and older kids might require general anesthesia but maybe it is a very complicated tie?

Also, you might want to look into craniosacral therapy for your babies after the frenulotomy to help them relearn sucking with their freed tongue (and unlearn the compensatory actions they are currently using). Your girls are still young and can learn how to nurse with the right support and it's good that the tongue tie was found relatively quickly! I ended up pumping and using a supplemental nursing system to nurse DS for a time but I am glad I tried my best. Best of luck!

[klocke]

Both of my boys (each a singleton) were tongue tied. My first was not bad enough to effect nursing. My last though was worse and nursing was very difficult. In my area there isn't a single doctor that will clip and I even had doctors tell me that breastfeeding was not a good enough excuse because my son could always just take a bottle. My situation was similar to yours in that my son was not gaining weight and I personally thought something was wrong very early because my breast felt differently than they had with my other two. At two weeks and after seeing 3 LC, my LLL leader and my son's pediatrician my son lost had lost 16% of his body weight and I was told he would never be able to nurse. I did start supplementing with formula because it was a health issue. But I still wanted him to have my milk too so I rented a hospital pump and began pumping like a crazy woman,LOL. We bottle fed him my milk and formula (to make up the difference I'm not a good pumper) for about three weeks and I found it incredibly exhausting. So I decided one day that I was not going to use the bottle any longer. I did some research and found some tongue exercises that involved gently rubbing your figure over the tongue to make it stick out over the gums. I did this constantly and basically glued myself to the couch and said we were going to nurse. He did get the hang of it well enough to transfer milk, previously he couldn't get a drop out by himself. I went on to nurse him for 15 months. That being said his tongue never covered his gum line and my nipples always hurt. Once he got teeth his teeth dug into my breast and I could not nurse for more that 10 minutes at at time without switching sides. That is a leading cause to why I weaned him early. He was exclusively breastfeed from 6 weeks on but it was hard and uncomfortable, definitely a different experince than with my other two. I honestly don't know if I could have done it with two babies. I am very nervous that the twins will have nursing problems and the whole situation has left me feeling unsure of my abilities to nurse. I would keep trying if you have the energy because they may be able to get the hang of it as they grow but also if they need the bottle to get them to gain that is important too. I don't know what I would have done if it was twins that I had to get through that with so I admire you for even still giving it a go. I don't know how many people told me to just give up and switch to formula but I felt lie I was cheating my son out of an experience his siblings had. Follow your instincts and do what is the best thing for yourself and your family!

[Intertwined]

PurpleHeather's second set of twins had double posterior tie and it had to be done in surgery. I remember her struggles until she could get it done (MONTHS!) because of her military insurance headaches. She didn't do bottles but she did suffer from bleeding nipples, obscene amounts of spitting up from the air they were swallowing, and neverending thrush. Makes me cringe just to think about it!

I think with the young age of your babies you've got a very good chance of getting them back to the breast, especially with a good LC. Don't despair. Lots of hugs (as if nursing twins isnt hard enough-poor thing!).

[Julia'sMom]

My babes didn't have tongue tie. I just wanted to say the my ds did not nurse for at least 4 weeks. He was fed first thru a nasal tube and then bottle fed. However, he was able to come back to the breast and successfully nurse. So, don't give up on that point, it takes time and patience, but can be done. Good luck!

[jennabelle65]

My twins had tongue tie, but we didn't have to go to an oral surgeon. My ped referred us to a specialist, but it was going to take 2 months to see him! A good LC in my area knew of a doctor who knew how to clip them. I had to pay out of pocket, but it was worth every penny. Once they were clipped they were nursing like pros!

[rachel65655]

5 of my 7 children have been tongue tied including the twins. I have always just had it clipped. The midwife clipped the twins within hours of them being born. The first twin still had latch issues and the both of them and I battled thrush off and on for weeks...and I was pumping all the time because of that. I still just exclusively pump for them and bottle feed and it is so much easier that when I was struggling to nurse them both. And a lot less stressful too.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I would call around and find someone who will do the clipping. There has to be someone out there willing to help you.