Will be 37 due in April 2016 anyone else?

[allforthegirl]

P - can you take a pic of the potential tie??

 

[Qmama79]

P: let us know what the consultant says. It must be tough to be awake so much at night. How are you dealing w the lack of sleep?

 

[penelopejones]

Here's a picture of the upper lip. Sorry it isn't great - so hard to get a picture when he won't stay still!

 

[allforthegirl]

That is a VERY prominent lip tie. The lip frenum is attached to the bottom(top) of the gum line. I would get it revised if you can. It will make a difference in the way your nips feel and he will probably gain more weight too. Plus the best part is that he will be less gassy and sleep better at night.

 

[penelopejones]

Yeah, I've been reading up on lip ties and once I saw some pictures online and checked him out I couldn't believe that several lactation consultants and two pediatricians have missed it. I'm pretty upset about it. He's been gassy, refluxy, my nipples have been constantly sore, and I've been trying everything under the sun. Thankfully I have an appointment with a dentist who does frenectomies tomorrow. He said we will start with a consultation and if we want to go ahead with it we can do it right then. I'm really hoping this will help Franklin. He's had an awful time the last few days, spitting up and vomiting a lot, screaming and crying in pain, and grunting all night long. Thanks for responding so quickly!

His tongue tie is I think a bit less pronounced, and I think the people I saw were just looking at that and not the lip tie. I figure if it doesn't hurt I will get both addressed and see if it helps.

I've been sleeping when I can but it is not easy. I try to go to bed when Franklin takes his evening nap (usually starting somewhere between 7:30 and 9). That is his best stretch of sleep and he is usually calmest then, so I can get a couple of hours then and then a couple hours at best after his next wake up. Then he is often up grunting and crying anywhere from 3:00 or 4:00 until 6:30 or whenever we wake up. I try to get a nap in during Penelope's "quiet time" during the day, but sometimes he doesn't cooperate. Today for instance, he was screaming the whole time so no nap for me.

 

[allforthegirl]

I found trying to shove my boob in his mouth made things worse. If I just let him, what I call, slurp my nip into his mouth it hurts less. Another mom that her lo had both said the same thing. So I don't know if it may help you too.

 

[Qmama79]

Got a call from the hospital today. We're all to go next Tuesday fr blood work & tests. I guess he has vlcadd 😞 as they told us we needn't come back if he just was carrier. They wouldn't confirm over the phone but we're getting seen on first day doc is back from her holiday. Finley will get genetics done as well...this sucks...😞

 

[penelopejones]

So sorry, Q. How are you managing?

Overall we've had a pretty rough time of it in this group, huh?

I took Frankie to the dentist today who specializes in frenectomies. He said this was a really clear cut case. I knew the lip tie was pretty prominent but once he showed me the tongue tie as well I could see it was more restricted than I thought. The whole procedure took just a minute with a laser, and Frankie is nursing well and sleeping it off. He had one screaming episode for a while but I'm hoping he will heal quickly and show some improvements over the course of the week. I have a chiropractic appointment on Wednesday and a lactation consultant coming over to check his latch.

 

[allforthegirl]

Q oh boy I'm sorry. I sure hope he just a carrier.

P I'm glad you got it all fixed. I hope he heals fast and nursing improves a bunch for you.

 

[Qmama79]

P: just read up myself on lip ties & checked Q & bloody hell!!! How common is a lip tie? Looks just like Frankie's. Might be the reason he's still struggling latching on left boob & swallowing air & releasing latch all the time... seeing bf guru on Thursday morning. I'll see what she says.

A: at first appt. in hospital they told me that we needn't come back if he was just carrier. So, since we are going back ... were probably dealing with Q as a Vlcadd baby. 😞

I agree that this little group has not had it easy. I'm hoping it'll only gets better.

Personally I'm finding it hard to relax right now & that's something I will have to learn as I can't feel gut-worried 24/7 fr the next decades to come...

B: I hope you're adjusting well being at home.

 

[Bekah78]

So sorry Q. Not really sure what it means to be a vlcadd baby. Will look it up.

We're adjusting well thanks. Erik had his 3 week health visit appointment this morning and he's now weighing 9lbs 12. He was 7lbs 13 at birth. He's feeding well, in fact he screams the house down if his bottle isn't ready at the precise moment he's ready for it. He's such an easy baby, which helps with the healing I've got to do. I feel like I'm progressing though, and getting stronger each day.

 

[penelopejones]

Bekah, I'm glad Erik is an easy baby! You sure deserve it.

Qmama, I think lip ties are fairly common. Apparently it is a dominant genetic trait, and now that more people are breastfeeding and people are looking out for them they are being noticed more. Apparently the symptoms Q has (and Frankie has) are associated with the lip tie. I was looking on some different websites and there was one dentist in the Vancouver area who was mentioned a lot who does releases with a laser--I think a Dr. Chan.

So far I'm not sure whether Frankie has improved. His latch seems deeper, but on one side he is really clamping down and it is sore again. I'm meeting a lactation consultant tomorrow to check his latch and see if he needs to be retrained. He was also still spitting up last night and this morning, but seems less gassy. He had some fussy periods over night, I think due to his mouth being sore, but today seems relaxed. I guess we will see if he improves in the next week or so.

Q, are there any online support groups for vlcadd? It might help to hear from other parents who have gone through it. Is it mainly dietary changes that are required, or medication...?

 

[allforthegirl]

Q~ we are here for you. Ties are very common, more common than we think. My first had a very tight lip tie, and I now know that is the reason for my nipple almost separating completely. My third, and fourth have a decent lip tie. Z won't let me look, but I did struggle bfing him too. I will post J and E's ties.

B~ glad Erik is such a good baby for you. I agree you deserve that after all you went through....though I think that those that have a rougher time do have calmer babies....My last two have been such a blessing. I had a rough go with Z having such a bad haemorrhage post DNC, and then with my gallbladder and D. Well at least for me this was true.

P~ it took D and I a while to get back at a better comfort level with nursing. We still struggle a bit but it isn't nearly as bad. The one thing I noticed right away was that he was taking the nipple further in, but in turn that hurt a bit too, as my nipple wasn't used to being stretched that far, it was used to being flattened more. I was disappointed that I didn't have the immediate relief some talk about. Another problem that causes D not to nurse properly is my overactive letdowns (over supply). While I was in the hospital my milk slowed down and nursing was so lovely and he was able to comfort nurse for the first time. I loved it. Just yesterday I was dealing with engorged breasts and D not latching properly because of it, more gas and fussiness, not to mention sore nips. I am trying block feeding, under the supervision of my LLL leader, to try and get us both back to that bf paradise.

 

[allforthegirl]

 

[penelopejones]

My husband has a pronounced one too, and my daughter. When did you have D's done?

 

[allforthegirl]

My husband has a pronounced one too, and my daughter. When did you have D's done?

He had his done at about 7 days old.

 

[penelopejones]

I wish I would have done it sooner! I met with a very good lactation consultant today who gave me lots of information and tips for helping Frankie. She said he has a high palate that is also affecting his latch, and that he has to relearn how to nurse now that he can move his tongue and lips better. Basically he seems to be a lazy nurser, primarily waiting for the letdowns and not actively drawing the milk out, which explains why lately he has been feeding more frequently. I hope we can figure it all out. Breastfeeding is so complicated!

She also thought he had a lot of tightness and restricted motion in his neck and shoulders, which is what we've been working on at the chiropractor.

She also gave me some different positions to try. I generally find nursing awkward because I have large boobs and a long torso and some positions, like any variation of a cradle hold, are awkward for me. She suggested laid back nursing but I find that awkward because cradling him in my arm pushes my boob into his face and I need a third hand to help position him while I support my breast. The other position she suggested had him sitting up, but that requires two hands (one to hold him up and the other to hold my boob). I usually use cross-cradle hold but she said that wasn't as good for eliminating gulping, at least the way I was doing it.

Anyway, I want to continue bf'ing but I wish it were easier and part of me is tempted just to switch to bottles. I'd pump and give him that milk but I don't know when I'd have time to do that since I pretty much go from nursing Frankie to putting him in the carrier for a nap during the day. He has very short periods of awake time still, and sometimes just wakes up and nurses back to sleep even during the day.

 

[allforthegirl]

I'm so glad you found such a great LC.

D and I like to use a modified laid back position.

I read that it can be very normal for baby to have a high palate with a tongue tie because their tongue cannot flatten it like others. I'm pretty sure D is a bit high but super high

 

[Bekah78]

Is it tomorrow you've got your appointment Qmama? If so best if luck. Will be thinking of you and Q!!

 

[allforthegirl]

Thinking of you Q