Advice re a tongue tie

[MissRhead]

Hi all, you may have seen my post about having a hard time feeding since the beginning, have had ongoing support from feeding specialists and have been told now he has a slight posterior tongue tie and inefficient suck. At the minute I am combi feeding and it's working for us, he only dropped 2 and a half % of his birth weight at day 5 and was up 1oz at day 11. I'm being pushed now to book a referral to get it snipped but I don't know what to do, we are both happy with how things are right now but I worry if it causes problems in the future with weaning/speaking as I've been told it could that the procedure would be worse than it would be to do now. Any advice really appreciated

 

[harley81]

My baby had a severe tongue tie, to the point that he couldn't latch at all. I had to pump and bottle feed for 5.5 weeks until our appointment came through to get it snipped. at the time I thought I'd do a mixture of breast and bottle if he'd latch, bit to be honest he latched the first time I tried the next day and we've ebf ever since (apart from the odd bottle of expressed if I've gone out with hubby and left the baby with my mum).

Having it snipped took 2 secs and was no problem at all, they say that babies under 6 months have no nerves under their tongue so it doesn't hurt them at all, so I'm very glad we got it done early.

Hope my ramblings help

 

[qwerty310]

Just had DS clipped at 10d old and it lasted about five seconds. He was then breadtfeeding happily like nothing had happened. I was scared to Burt him but he has become a more efficient sucker/swallower!

 

[Sarah lo]

I'm in a similar situation. My LO has latched and fed OK so far and has been gaining weight but nearly 3 weeks in, my nipples still hurt when he latches, he's feeding very frequently (like the whole time he's awake!), and he's also very gassy.

So this morning I thought I'd just drop in at my local breastfeeding group and get someone to check his latch as I suspected he isn't opening his mouth wide enough. I really thought they'd say there was no problem but the lady had a look in his mouth and said she thinks he's got a mild tongue tie and that's why he can't open wide enough. She said it also would explain all the other issues I've been having. I have to go back on Tuesday to see an expert and if she agrees its a tongue tie she will refer us to get snipped.

I was told today that there are some parents who opt not to get them snipped and they go on to feed successfully once the baby's mouth grows a bit the impression I was given today that a very mild one like my LO (And presumably yours too) is that it wouldn't affect things like speach and weaning in the future.

If my LO does turn out to be mildly tongue tied I will definitely get it snipped, because its causing him discomfort in that he's getting gassy and he's taking ages to have a feed and tiring himself out in the process. Plus it will help my sore nipples and reduce the likelihood of me getting mastitis or blocked ducts.

 

[CandyDay]

I would get it snipped. The procedure is minor when they are young and it makes a big difference for BFing. I had my LO's done at 3 weeks and no regret at all. The procedure was simple and she latched correctly right after and I have been pain free ever since.

 

[Popples1]

We got my Lo's snipped at around 7 weeks (iirc) We were already combi feeding by that point and although I secretly hoped it might be the miracle cure leading us to EBF, it hasn't changed a great deal (though obviously I can't see how much he gets when he is bf, he may be getting more milk than he was before). I'm still glad we did it though as it was a really quick procedure and who knows whether we might have had speech issues in future.

 

[leigh5tom]

My sons was done at 5 days old and I was amazed at how much easier breastfeeding became. His latch was great! Now 11 weeks in and going strong EBF xxx

 

[pinklizzy]

I've already failed at breastfeeding, despite asking every health professional we saw to check for a tongue tie after we had lots and lots of problems with feeding, his posterior tongue tie wasn't picked up until he lost lots of weight, I started combi feeding and my milk dried up. Anyway, that aside I am still looking to have it snipped as he struggles even with bottle feeding and will have epsiodes of choking during feeds I'm concerned it will make weaning difficult too which I want to avoid if possible.

 

[Popples1]

You haven't failed, mama. Breastfeeding takes teamwork and sometimes our little ones and our boobies don't make the perfect combination

 

[sept2010]

Im sure you could re lactate at ur stage aswell if you really wanted

 

[Lady_Bee]

I was told that if the tongue's movement were not restricted enough to affect feeding then it wouldn't affect speech development either.

My first had a tongue tie that did affect breastfeeding and we eventually had it cut. It didn't help the breastfeeding by that point as he was stuck in bad habits and my milk supply sucked.

My second has a tongue tie too but he feeds beautifully and so we haven't touched it. I have a tongue tie and so does my husband (they are often genetic) and neither of us have had problems with speech or eating.