Ok so the first 3 weeks of feeding went great. Extremely frequent but I was just so pleased that my dd had managed to latch on & was gaining weigh then as my dd hit 3 weeks she's never been satisfied since. I kept getting told it gets easier at 6 weeks. We are now at 7 & the past 2 weeks have been the worst. I am lucky to get 3 hours sleep as she has been on the breast constantly but she never finishes as she falls asleep. Despite been on there constantly she only gain 2oz in a week & as she was early with a low birth weight this is worrying so the hv recommended one top up a day with formula. I really want to continue breastfeeding so I've been pumping. I was hoping to give this instead of formula but she needs it after being on the breast.
So when she is on the breast she is
Dissatisfied - always hungry
Poor latch as not opening mouth wide enough
Falling asleep at the breast
Impossible to settle
Poorly belly - impossible wind but doesn't get this from the bottle.
Noisy suckling - this is with the bottle too
I have really sore nipples & some blanching.

I also recall when the mw discharged us that she said she had tongue tie but it would rectify itself. I mentioned it to the hv & she dismissed it so I thought nothing more of it. However as she is settling a better now the bottle has been introduced I've noticed that her tongue is a heart shape when lifted.

I will see the hv tomorrow to check for TT but if you've stayed with me (sorry for the looooong post!!).... My question is - if this is tongue tie, now I've introduced the bottle can we go back to exclusively breastfeeding or is it too late?

Hope someone can help xxx

If it's tongue tie it may rectify itself as ur MW suggested but it sounds like it could be causing problems. My LO had tongue tie and it was snipped at 6 weeks to release the tie and by ten weeks things were much improved. I had introduced a bottle and went back to exclusively bfing. It's never too late! But i suggest u ask to have it snipped. They may even say its small and doesn't need snipping but the degree of tongue tie doesn't correlate to the trouble it causes. The other thing is there's a huge growth spurt at about 8 weeks so it could also be this creating havoc. Good luck x x

Definitely agree on the tongue tie. Get that taken care of. Mine had hers clipped at 6 weeks and then reclipped at 8 weeks because it hadn't been sufficiently done. By 10 weeks we were doing great. Finally breastfeeding was pain-free as everyone said it would be. We also had to be treated for thrush, and then I think it makes a difference too that as they get older their mouths get bigger. But the tongue tie treatment was crucial. Plus it will make speech easier for them.

Oh, and I don't think it's a problem to go back to exclusive bfing once you feel like things are going well. We ended up going without a dreamfeed bottle for the past few weeks because our little girl refused to take it. Her weight gain since isn't as stellar as it had been and I want to keep her in the bottle habit since I'm going back to work in a few months, but I think your supply will adapt to the demand, especially if you phase out the bottle gradually over several days.

Thank you both so much for taking the time out to read & reply I am very grateful. Delighted to know that there is hope to return to EBF. I rang the HV today & we are going to see her tomorrow so fingers crossed we'll find out. She said that they would only refer my dd for the clipping if I was getting pain. Thought that was a bit of an odd thing to say. Well we will find out tomorrow.
Thanks again for your help & words of wisdom. I will let you know how we get on xx

Tell her you are getting pain!

Also, shop around, if the hv won't refer you maybe your gp will?

A consultant wouldnt snip my LO as she was putting on weight and clearly thriving despite the fact I was in pain. I thought her tt was the reason my nipples were blanched so I got a second opinion. Fortunately I live between two healthcare trusts and in the other trust they snip all tt regardless of whether they are causing problems.
The risks of getting it snipped as a newborn are tiny, so worth getting it done even if no obvious problems with feeding as it can cause problems with speech and by then it is thicker and the cutting is a more major operation.

If you are unable to BF cause of the tongue tie then say you are getting pain..........even if you aren't. The procedure is simple to have done and it makes a big difference. Forget waiting for it to maybe fix itself.

The hv confirmed that my dd does have toughie tie. As it isn't too the very end of the tongue they won't refer her. They got us to try a new feeding position. This is definately helping as far as her suckling & swallowing. She still looses some milk thru the sides of her mouth, has terrible wind & once the wind has passed wants more more more feed. Last night she was on & off from 6pm-11pm. Barely being off for 10 mins! They've suggested thrush which baffles me as wouldn't my dd feed less?
We've booked to see the doctor tomorrow to get his opinion in things.
Thanks again for everyone's help xxx