Tongue tie/Lip tie support thread

[Emerald87]

Emerald: how was your LO after getting the lip tie cut with laser? We are going to Dr. Kotlow tomorrow. He's the expert here in the US for tongue and lip ties. At the very least I want a consult to hear his opinion on how restricted my LO is. We had her LT clipped with scissors but there is still a very thick piece of skin holding her lip down. I'm not hopeful this will do anything for our BF relationship at 3 months old. That's why I'm not sure it's worth it to pursue more than a consult right now.

Kaida didn't get hers done until around 2 months and after stretches and healing it made a big difference. She doesn't click anymore and gets less wind. It's also important for her teeth

Was she in a lot of discomfort after? Olivia has never clicked but she sure is a gassy little thing! He's going to assess her PTT also. I just don't think anything we do will make a difference with my supply issues at this point. I hate to put her through any procedure based on "what ifs.". Very very nervous!

Never give up on your supply. Some women completely relactate from almost nothing so the fact their milk had come in previously means very little.

Yes, I'm sorry, LO was uncomfortable and very swollen post laser even though they guaranteed she wouldn't be. However there was no bleeding and she didn't cry or have troubles feeding like she did the second time she got her PTT clipped. Two days later she was mostly healed and doesn't remember a thing.

I have moments when I question if I did the right thing but then she looks at me and pokes out her cute little tongue and I know I made the right call

 

[Sparkly baby]

Went to get dds tongue tie revision assessed yesterday and it has healed back up. Got it done again yesterday and have been doing the tongue stretches and massaging the wound. I am terrified og it closing back up. She has even been clamping down on the boob with her gums again this afternoon, do you think it could have healed up so soon?

I'm very annoyed as the dr said we didn't need to do the stretches and yesterday going in about how I needed to do them.

 

[Monalissa]

Emerald: how was your LO after getting the lip tie cut with laser? We are going to Dr. Kotlow tomorrow. He's the expert here in the US for tongue and lip ties. At the very least I want a consult to hear his opinion on how restricted my LO is. We had her LT clipped with scissors but there is still a very thick piece of skin holding her lip down. I'm not hopeful this will do anything for our BF relationship at 3 months old. That's why I'm not sure it's worth it to pursue more than a consult right now.

Kaida didn't get hers done until around 2 months and after stretches and healing it made a big difference. She doesn't click anymore and gets less wind. It's also important for her teeth

Was she in a lot of discomfort after? Olivia has never clicked but she sure is a gassy little thing! He's going to assess her PTT also. I just don't think anything we do will make a difference with my supply issues at this point. I hate to put her through any procedure based on "what ifs.". Very very nervous!

Never give up on your supply. Some women completely relactate from almost nothing so the fact their milk had come in previously means very little.

Yes, I'm sorry, LO was uncomfortable and very swollen post laser even though they guaranteed she wouldn't be. However there was no bleeding and she didn't cry or have troubles feeding like she did the second time she got her PTT clipped. Two days later she was mostly healed and doesn't remember a thing.

I have moments when I question if I did the right thing but then she looks at me and pokes out her cute little tongue and I know I made the right call

That's what my LC told me about Relactation, but we are 7 weeks in to domperidone, pumping and several other supplements without any consistent progress. I guess I should be happy I'm breastfeeding at all but it's pretty stressful worrying that she's not getting enough. It makes me sad because she prefers breastfeeding by far and I cannot provide 100% of what she needs. Tonight I had to use the Lactaid because she refused the bottle.

Her PTT was still there when we went to Dr. Kotlow on
Tuesday. He revised her lip and tongue again. Now I see that you cannot get the same level of revision with a scissor as you can with laser. She's ok aside from the stretches which are getting better each time (she stops crying almost immediately). Her latch looks so much better from the outside but my nipples are still coming out creased and I can still slide her right off. So I don't know once again if it will help anything.

 

[kitabird]

An update on our situation: Felix has had his tongue tie cut this morning. I felt terrible about having it done, especially if it doesn't improve anything, but actually it didn't seem to hurt him very much. Worryingly the surgeon didn't think it could grow back, despite several ladies on here having experienced it with their LOs. Also he wasn't familiar with lip tie, which I'm pretty sure Felix has, so there's no hope of getting anything done about that
Any advice on how to best latch a baby with lip tie?

 

[Sproglet]

Don't worry too much about the lip tie, see how things go now the TT is cut, hopefully things will improve. Robyn's tongue wasn't snipped but she has far more movement now, when she was assessed the surgeon seemed to have stretched it or something, and once she had more tongue movement the lip doesn't bother us (other than slurping occasionally).

 

[Care76]

Monalissa your situation is so similar to ours.

We had our son's TT clipped when he was two days old, but I didn't think it was far enough back. We also noticed he had thick skin on his gums (you can miss it) and not until recently did I find out it was a lip tie. I kept thinking I had a supply issue but the doctors said nope, he is gaining weight, he just has colic. For 2.5 months he cried all the time and we tried EVERYTHING. So I thought everything was great feeding wise (except a screaming baby from the colic). We went to the International Breastfeeding Centre when I decided I wanted his TT looked at again and we were assessed for 3 hours. Turns out I DO have supply issues which causes our son to be hungry all the time. He also needed his tongue tie revised and he moves it much better now. I have never seem him lift it up and move it so much! We are still having issues with feeding, but I think he just needs to get the hang of it, plus it hurts. Hopefully my supply will be up soon and I won't have to supplement with expressed milk.

They wouldn't do his lip tie though as they didn't think it interferes with BF. I am not sure about that though. But I want it done regardless so we don't have tooth decay or need braces later on.

 

[Sproglet]

Bump

 

[xclairyx]

Found out today that my LG has tongue tie shes 13 days ive been trying to breast feed since birth an got really stressed with it but today i feel like im finally gettin somewhere. Im waiting on a call from a lady from the local hospital to come and check Daisy-may over, its good to know i can still succeed in BF yay!

 

[kitabird]

I didn't want to say anything in case I jinxed myself, but it's now 10 days since having the tongue tie cut and feeding doesn't hurt! There's no way of knowing if getting it cut is the reason, maybe he just learned to feed better, but whatever, yay!

 

[AriBerri]

Update on Eevee. I just wanna say: I knew it I knew it I KNEW IT!!!! She DOES have a TT AND a lip tie!!! Ugh that stupid stupid terrible awful LC that we saw when she was a month old!!

The nurse practitioner looked in her mouth and immediately went "oh my!" I asked her what and she said she has a very tight tongue tie keeping her tongue low in her mouth and she also has a tight lip tie. Unfortunately since she's already 7.5 months and gaining weight properly (due to us supplementing) they want to wait until she gets her first two top teeth before they cut them. the NP said if we would have gone when she was little and we were still have so much trouble they would have done it then and there but since not she's going to need anesthesia.

Go with your gut ladies!!! The LC said she couldn't feel one and I doubtfully let it go but this whole time I felt something wasn't right. Turns out she was horribly wrong and I was right.

It's such a relief though. It's like you go on and on for months saying something and no one will listen or help you and you finally find someone with knowledge on the subject who says "Oh yes I absolutely agree! Let's fix this!" and it just feels... Great lol!

 

[Sproglet]

That's exactly how I felt!

 

[Sproglet]

Bumpity bump

 

[minties]

Gosh, what an interesting read this thread has been. I am wondering if my LO has a tongue tie now - she can't touch the roof of her mouth with tongue, she's clicky when feeding, farts and burps a lot (so must be taking in wind), miss-shapes my nipples, end of tongue is an odd shape (not quite heart shaped but very close, sort of like the round bits on a B).

It's 10:45pm and she's fast asleep so I can't look at her mouth right now. Will have a poke around in the morning.

I had very painful nipples at first with massive blood blisters, and she just chomped on my nipples with her gums.

But because that pain cleared quickly, and she has always gained weight well, do I bother with having her checked by this age? It would be a posterior tie I would think. I can see the frenulum easily when she cries.

She has an upper lip tie, same as her brother, which extends over the gum but it's stretchy so I'm not too bothered. Her brothers has gotten looser as he's gotten older.

 

[Emerald87]

Sounds VERY much like a TT minties. If things are fine, no use doing anything now really You can have it looked at but treatment at this stage would be useless and may hurt your LO (as they worm a lot more at her age).

My paediatric surgeon said some kids/teens get their TT released if it really bothers them. They can stumble over some words (I do occasionally) but not too much else.

 

[minties]

Thanks! I've just had a look and feel, I don't think she has any major issues. When I did the test to see if her tongue can follow my finger tip around her gums, it did indicate a tie but I do the same thing with my tongue if I trace it around my teeth? So not sure on that one.

Her frenulum is possibly attached reasonably far forward on her tongue but seems stretchy and not too tight, rather like her upper lip tie.

I'm guessing that latching issues and miss shapen nipples are more to do with my breast anatomy than anything.

Very informative thread though, no midwife or public health nurse I have ever met has heard of a tongue or lip tie. Even my previous doctor hadn't! I had to take Thomas to a specialized childrens hospital before I found someone who had. Even then she wasn't sure what affect a tie could have and had to take a photo and send it to some doc overseas to ask.

 

[Emerald87]

Ya know, comparing to yourself just means you may also have a tie ;-) I know I do!

 

[frstndonly]

So thankful for this thread. My DD was born on Feb. 1rst and even with a LOT of help in hospital we could not get her to latch. Saw the lactation consultant in the hospital on day 3 and she said that she couldn't find a reason for LO not to latch other than her having a small mouth and me having bigger slightly inverted nipples. I saw another lactation consultant and my little girl was diagnosed at 5 days with an upper lip tie and a posterior tongue tie. I saw a specialist in another city when my daughter was 7 days old and she snipped both the lip and tongue tie. I have seen the lactation consultant sine then as I still can't get my girl to latch. She said it is just because her mouth is still a little small and to keep pumping and supplementing with formula until she is 5 weeks and we can try breast feeding again then. Still a little sad and frustrated, but also stating to feel more hopeful as I am finally seeing a possible end to all of this. Really hoping to be able to breast feed soon.

 

[Emerald87]

Welcome frstndonly! You'll get there I promise! It takes some time and effort though.

 

[Care76]

So thankful for this thread. My DD was born on Feb. 1rst and even with a LOT of help in hospital we could not get her to latch. Saw the lactation consultant in the hospital on day 3 and she said that she couldn't find a reason for LO not to latch other than her having a small mouth and me having bigger slightly inverted nipples. I saw another lactation consultant and my little girl was diagnosed at 5 days with an upper lip tie and a posterior tongue tie. I saw a specialist in another city when my daughter was 7 days old and she snipped both the lip and tongue tie. I have seen the lactation consultant sine then as I still can't get my girl to latch. She said it is just because her mouth is still a little small and to keep pumping and supplementing with formula until she is 5 weeks and we can try breast feeding again then. Still a little sad and frustrated, but also stating to feel more hopeful as I am finally seeing a possible end to all of this. Really hoping to be able to breast feed soon.

Where are you in Canada? Can you go to the International Breastfeeding Centre in Toronto? I find it odd they told you to retry at five weeks, I was pumping and trying to BF even though there were latch problems. I would see another LC. Even if baby doesn't match her trying can help you produce more milk. I had to keep putting my son to breast every 20 minutes and some days do a day in bed skin to skin. It is hard but worth it off you can get it all to work. Good luck!

 

[frstndonly]

So thankful for this thread. My DD was born on Feb. 1rst and even with a LOT of help in hospital we could not get her to latch. Saw the lactation consultant in the hospital on day 3 and she said that she couldn't find a reason for LO not to latch other than her having a small mouth and me having bigger slightly inverted nipples. I saw another lactation consultant and my little girl was diagnosed at 5 days with an upper lip tie and a posterior tongue tie. I saw a specialist in another city when my daughter was 7 days old and she snipped both the lip and tongue tie. I have seen the lactation consultant sine then as I still can't get my girl to latch. She said it is just because her mouth is still a little small and to keep pumping and supplementing with formula until she is 5 weeks and we can try breast feeding again then. Still a little sad and frustrated, but also stating to feel more hopeful as I am finally seeing a possible end to all of this. Really hoping to be able to breast feed soon.

Where are you in Canada? Can you go to the International Breastfeeding Centre in Toronto? I find it odd they told you to retry at five weeks, I was pumping and trying to BF even though there were latch problems. I would see another LC. Even if baby doesn't match her trying can help you produce more milk. I had to keep putting my son to breast every 20 minutes and some days do a day in bed skin to skin. It is hard but worth it off you can get it all to work. Good luck!

I am in Alberta, so Toronto is too far, lol. I do skin to skin with her as often as possible. (lactation consultant suggested this) The reason she didn't want me pushing my LO to try to latch right now is that she roots great but when she gets her mouth on my nipple she gets frustrated right away and can't be consoled unless I give her a bottle. I was also told part of the problem is I have larger partially inverted nipples and she has a hard time getting close enough to me as my breasts are small.