Question for moms of tongue-tied kids

[jenfl]

If you child had a tongue tie and couldn't maintain a latch, did they get frustrated or upset when they lost the latch? Or were they just chill, waiting to re-latch?

If you had a posterior tie clipped, how old was your LO? Did they re-learn how to nurse correctly? How did you find a doctor who would recognize posterior tie?

[GoGoGirl]

Hi mama! Did you read the tongue tie sticky at the top of this forum? That helped me a lot when we were dealing with TT.

I can't really answer your first question...DD wasn't latching correctly, and she was certainly hopping mad, but I think it was from not being able to transfer milk instead of the latch itself.

We got DD's posterior tongue tie clipped when she was 3 weeks old. She actually needed it done a second time when she was 6 weeks old. She did learn how to nurse correctly after the procedures. It was kind of a learning curve, she got better day by day, and was nursing perfectly after a few weeks. There are exercises you can do with the baby after the procedure to help them learn how to use their tongue correctly. We were pretty lazy about it though.

It was tricky to find a doctor who could diagnose posterior TT. The first ENT we went to (recommended by our ped) said, "Well she's not tongue tied but I'll cut it if you want." That doesn't even make sense! We got another recommendation and the second doctor was wonderful. I'd just ask everyone you can think of in your area...your midwife, your ped, and an IBCLC. Actually maybe getting a recommendation from an IBCLC would be a good place to start. Make sure you ask for doctors who are knowledgeable about posterior tongue tie, otherwise you might get any old ENT. If worse comes to worse and you can't find anyone, I'd email Cathy Watson Genna (contact info in the sticky) and ask if she knows anyone near you.

Good luck!

[novten_eep]

My son was tongue-tied.

My son is 2 months old and we just had the procedure done yesterday. He was born at home on 3/17 and was approximately 9lbs. He was a sleepy eater at first and it seemed to take forever for my milk to come in. We nursed at least every 2 hours but he was always crying. I assumed he was a fussy baby but really he was hungry. He lost at least one pound his first month.

We've been struggling with weight gain this last month. We aren't even back at his birth weight yet. The lactation consultant noticed his tongue 2 weeks ago and I brought it to my pediatrician's attention. She dismissed it. It was finally after a bad week of weight gain and the pediatrician telling us to supplement I went to a specialist for a 2nd opinion. My son was severely tongue-tied and he had the 10 minute surgery. So far I've noticed a little improvement, my LC says it will take a few days to learn how to suck. I'm glad that we did it.

[Vespertina]

There were times he was both frustrated and chill. His anterior was clipped at 11 days old and posterior at 6 weeks.

I currently pump as he still has difficulty transferring milk efficiently. He actually refuses to nurse on my right due to having a flat nipple and inadequate letdown. I'm weaning from that side because it's a struggle to letdown for the pump (and DS). Supply is good, but I can't actually get much of anything without a huge struggle with the pump. In order to get what I need, I need to spend a good deal of time on the pump and do breast compressions, which can be tiring and I have to use a high suction and fast speed. I'm often left with a bruised/sore nipple. I just can't do it anymore. So I'm in the process of building my supply on my left side.

I've tried reintroducing the breast a number of times and every time I noticed he'd lose weight (but I have to wonder if that's because he didn't like the right side--latch/letdown/supply wasn't as good on that side and my left obviously wasn't yielding 24-28 ounces). He also has a bubble palate. He nurses from my left at/through the night and I pump 3x during the day. I hope when he's older (10-12+ months) when he doesn't require as much then he'll be able to nurse more frequently and I can ditch the pump.

I was in Atlanta when I had him and when we dealt with his tongue tie issues. Only two ENTs in the area are familiar with posterior TT. Had we been anywhere else I would have had no other choice but to pump and if that didn't work then FF.