How long after frenectomy did your baby improve at breastfeeding?

[zaycain]

Hi All,

Frustrated with breastfeeding! At 2 weeks my LO got a frenectomy cause she wasn't effectively eating. She had a posterior tongue tie and a lip tie. Right after she seemed to be swallowing better. It's been a week and after a really frustrating appointment with the LC She still is hungry and I have to supplement with pumped milk and formula.

I have an appointment to do the CST next week.

I need some hope. How long did it take for your LO to be efficient at breastfeeding after a frenectomy? I'm not ready to give up.. but I just need some reassurance it gets better.

 

[noon_child]

Inefficient feeding can cause milk supply to be low, so it may not be that she isn't feeding effectively but that as yet your supply hasn't quite caught up.

Signs she might still not be feeding effectively:

Still have nipple damage and pain through feeds
Still have blocked ducts/mastitis
Cant hear/see baby swallowing

Can you give an example of her feeding habits, and when you are supplementing and pumping etc.?

Switch feeding and breast compressions helped me when I was trying to avoid too much supplementation.

 

[lau86]

He had it snipped at 6 weeks and it was probably 4-6 weeks before things improved

 

[Marumi]

My lo had latch problems after the procedure and we used a nipple shield until 2 months pp. It caused my supply to drop and without it it took about another 2 months until bf was not painful anymore. He did always seem to get enough however.

 

[Tink_]

Hugs, I'm sorry you are having such a tough time. I've had a rough journey with breastfeeding and feel quite down about the fact that for me in the end I exclusively pumped for Noah as he really didn't want to/couldn't latch.

Initially after his tongue tie appointment he was fantastic and his latch was incredible. I was so happy but then unfortunately my poor little guy got an infection and after that he refused to latch again but I kept pumping.

I really hope things work out for you. You are doing great Momma! xx

 

[_Meep_]

Mine didn't have her posterior tie diagnosed and snipped until she was 4.5 months old. From around 10 weeks, she had consistently gone on nursing strike, lasting 1-2 weeks at a time. Dreamfeeding was our only option.

She had one more small strike soon after the snip. From six months, we never had another.

We found that breastfeeding side by side in bed worked best as she got used to NOT choking, clicking and gulping through every feed. By 10 months she was able to nurse more normally, sitting up on my lap.

She broke her lip tie on a coffee table when she was 11 months old, and things improved again, in terms of her latch.

Now she's an addict, still going strong at 20 months, and it's genuinely second nature to us. I honestly never thought it would get better - she used to scream in fear and desperation every time I even tried to feed her, and the whole process was upsetting and awkward.

I thought we were doomed, but, although it took a long time to get here, I'm quite sure we're going to make it to 24 months and beyond.

I promise you, it CAN get better if you can hang in there and be as patient and calm as you can be. Maybe you'll have one good feed - then suddenly you'll realise you've had a good week - and before you know it, everything will be ok.

Best of luck with it.