Tongue tie saga & trying to teach a 5 MO baby to BF...need success stories that this is possible!

[BarefootRedHook]

Hi all,

I have a 5 MO girl that had a poor, shallow, painful latch at birth and at 3 weeks she was diagnosed as posterior tongue tie. The ENT (Dr. Ari Goldsmith, Brooklyn, NY) recommended not to have it clipped because she would have to go under general anesthesia and said she would likely outgrow it in a couple of months. So I EP'ed, gave up trying on the breast and waited for her tongue to loosen up.

At 3 months, her tongue was coming out more, so I gave it a big effort to get her back on the breast. The problem was she had no association with my breasts being a food source anymore. I would try to offer my breast and nothing would happen. So I stopped bottles cold turkey and began finger feeding her with a Medela SNS. After a few days, I switched the SNS to the breast. After about a week, she began to get it, that my breasts were a yummy source of comfort and food! However, she still had a painful, shallow latch, so I went for a 2nd opinion while continuing to EP and bottle feed.

It took 3 weeks to finally get an appointment with the next specialist. She agreed to do the surgery but recommended waiting until 6 months because of possible sensitivity to general anesthesia. I was ready to book the surgery when I read an article in the NY Times that there may be a link to anesthesia and cognitive ability later in life (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/science/10anesthesia.html). Ok, not worth the surgery just to BF!

I researched looking for a new ENT. I read wonderful things about Dr. Elizabeth Coryllos and how she was the authority on tongue tie and how people would travel cross-country to get an appointment with her. Her phone number was not working, so I asked my LC and she said she was in her 80's and had a stroke which ended her long, wonderful career.

Finally...I came across a 3rd ENT, the amazing Dr. Linda Dahl in Manhattan and booked an appointment. She didn't take our insurance but only charged $200 for both the consultation and to have the procedure in office. No general anesthesia, yay! So after all of this time, we were finally able to have the procedure done yesterday. And to my complete surprise, Dr. Dahl clipped the front frenulum, not the back -- said the back was mild but clipping the front frenulum would give her the release she needed.

So here we are, 5 MO, has no association with my breast but I'd love to finally train her. Is this even possible at this age??? I've been finger feeding her for days and am trying to attach the SNS at the breast. So far no luck, she is very stubborn and set in her ways. Please tell me any success stories because I need motivation. And if so, how did you do it?! My dream is to stop pumping and exclusively feed her from my breast without a SNS. Has anyone had that great of success? I'm thinking of trying cranial sacral therapy but will cost $500 for 4 sessions. Is it worth the cost?

Need to hear success stories to know this is possible!! Thank you for any support or advice!

Cheers,

Heather

[homemademom]

I can't answer your question about wooing baby back to the breast, except to say that I've heard it's easier to start by nursing at night when baby is sleepy and less resistant

We had my ds's posterior tongue tie clipped at 1 mth, but his high, arched palate still prevents him from nursing.  We're seeing a CST and it's no where near as expensive as $500. Can you look around for someone else?  Some chiropractors are trained in CST. We saw one who was $30 a visit for CST. We're seeing a new one now, who is also a physical therapist, so she's a bit more expensive but our insurance covers it.  

[emilysmama]

I think you might have a pretty good shot at it.

My dd's situation was completely different from yours because ours had nothing to do with tongue tie, but my dd did not figure out how to breastfeed until she was 3 months old.  (Yep, we did the SNS, etc. too.) It was a very long three months! But as endless as those three months seemed, they were just a blip beause my dd was a strong nurser until she weaned herself at 3 years of age. So yes, after three months of EPing, one day, my dd no longer needed the SNS and fed straight from the tap.  I had to continue pumping because I wok out of the home full time, but when I was home with dd, I just sat down and nurse her.

I'm still not sure what happened, but I do think that it was just one of those things that just clicked one day.  So that's why I think you might succeed.

I think if you can continue to try getting your child to breastfeed, then I'd encourage you not to give up.  I do think you should consider giving up if you don't think you can continue without going crazy. But seriously, be patient, and keep trying, one day at a time.

I do think you should mentally prepare yourself not to be crushed if you can't get the breastfeeding to work. You have gotten 5 months of breastmilk into your baby already, and you have a way to get lots more into your baby, even if you're baby never figures out how to get it straight from the tap.  You have done a fantastic job with the pumping, especially because pumping is much more difficult than breastfeeding.

On the bright side, pumping at work is a piece of cake, compared to the 5 months of expressed pumping that you've already done.  (I never complain about pumping like other working mothers do, because that is nothing compared to round-the-clock constant pumping.) The frozen stash of breast milk I had was very impressive.

But I really do think that you have a good chance of succeeding.