Posterior Tongue Ties

JennMof3

Anyone deal with this before? We just had my LO's clipped via laser last Monday. What were your experiences with healing, fussiness, improved nursing, and weight gain?

My LO is 5 weeks today and just surpassed her birth weight last Friday. 

shmarpler

No experience, but how is she doing?

doodleoodle

DD1 had hers clipped at 1 week but we still had feeding issues. We then discovered she had an upper lip tie at 2 months of age when she started losing weight and got that lasered as well as her tongue tie as the dentist said it wasn't clipped enough. It was too late though and she couldn't figure out how to feed. She wasn't that fussy though after the procedure. 

DD2 had hers clipped at a day old and wasn't fussy, and ate a lot better immediately.

JennMof3

She was eating better for a few days and not making the clicking noise as much. Breastfeeding has been better with a lot less pain. However she is a lazy eater and hardly stays awake beyond the initial letdown. So this along with supplementing has decreased my supply. I feel like I'm treading water with it. It's hard to get her happy enough to put down so I can either pee, eat, shower or even pump. Plus with 3 other kids with needs so I've got competing priorities. 

I really wanted to be EBF but this tongue tie issue has messed it up for us. I feel like her suck isn't very strong for long because she gets tired from fighting to eat for so long. The doctor said its like trying to drink through a straw with a hole in it, eventually you just give up. 

I feel frustrated that some doctors aren't trained well enough to find it early. I asked the first pediatrician who saw her on day one and he said nope she doesn't have one. 

I take her back in to see the doctor on Friday to check her weight. If she hasn't gained much I'm sure we'll end up in some form of therapy to help her eat better. 

mamaelle27

@JennMof3 sorry to hear you're dealing with that, sounds very frustrating. Hope it gets better soon! You're doing everything you can for her. 

GoodWitchoftheNorth

Just had LOs tongue and lip ties lasered today. He did pretty well during the actual procedure but seems to be in a bit of pain this evening...hoping it doesn't last long. Really nervous to do the stretches!

JennMof3

@GoodWitchoftheNorth The stretches stressed me out. We're two weeks in and she fights it now and tries putting her gums together. Still not sure it's healing as it should but nursing has improved a lot. She is at about 10lbs now at 6 weeks so that's promising. Birth weight was 9 lbs. 3 oz. 

sejica

@GoodWitchoftheNorth, the exercises are tough but they do get easier, though it took over a week for us to get efficient at them. I found it helpful to do tongue first then lip. Eventually I also let her chew on one finger while I did the lip exercises, but no guarantee that will work for your LO, just passing on what worked over here. We are about 2 days away from getting to taper down the frequency.

GoodWitchoftheNorth

How long did it take for nursing to improve? Our first session after the procedure was great...but since then, not so much. Still needing to supplement...chalking it up to him just being in a bit of pain? And he's always been a sleepy morning water.

@JennMof3 2 weeks of exercises? Our dentist told us 7-10 days, then a check up at 3 weeks. Why do these doctors have such different standards?! Makes me crazy.

JennMof3

@GoodWitchoftheNorth I agree 100% right after was amazing. I do feel like it's not been as good as then. I'd say the first week was much better and almost no pain. I notice midway through week 2 that my nipples started to look like lipstick tops again. From what I hear that shouldn't be happening and I'm experiencing some soreness. Baby has also been wanting to cluster feed so I don't if it's a combination of things. 

We had our revision done by an ENT and he said 4 weeks and on the 5th week reduce from 6 times a day to 5 and so on until you're at one and then done. I feel like my LO has been fighting them and I'm not 100% they've been done right the whole time. I guess I'll see when I have a follow up with lactation at my doctors office. 

I'm trying to only supplement 1-2 times a day. Baby has been on the boob nonstop it seems. I'm trying to build my supply this way and she seems to be clinging to me more and more. Something about being at the 6 weeks mark. 

Edited to add info :-)

GoodWitchoftheNorth

Now he's just flat out refusing breastfeeding 

JennMof3

GoodWitchoftheNorth said:

Now he's just flat out refusing breastfeeding 

Ugh that's so frustrating. Has he pooped lately? Maybe he is feeling gassy uncomfortable that's why he doesn't want to nurse. 

GoodWitchoftheNorth

@JennMof3 Could be gas...he did take a bottle though. It was the only thing that would stop the screaming. He just BF a few mins ago, yay! But this kid is making me doubt my sanity...

JennMof3

@GoodWitchoftheNorth My son was my 3rd and boy did he give us a run for our money. I believe he has an undiagnosed tongue tie as my two older girls do. It's genetic I found out. My ENT diagnosed my middle daughter when I was there with the baby. My son was such a tough baby and I gave up on breastfeeding at 4.5 months. He never latched well, was always hungry and I just got to frustrated. He had all the signs of a tie and it wasn't diagnosed. I feel bad looking back now wondering if I could have done more. I think at some point exhaustion kicks in and we all do the best we can with what we know. 

So glad your LO decided to BF! 

GoodWitchoftheNorth

@JennMof3 it's so funny you say that-I'm pretty sure DS1 has an undiagnosed tie, too! I gave up BF with him at like, 3 weeks bc of latch issues. He has a slight lisp and lately I've been wondering if that's related. He has a dentist appt next week, so I'll ask then. 

Do do you have a goal as to how long you want to BF or are you just taking it day by day?

JennMof3

@GoodWitchoftheNorth My DS is two and a half and has a great vocabulary in my opinion. A few people have asked if he has a lisp and now that we're coming out of the baby talk stage I'm thinking he does have one. My ENT said that not everyone is trained to check for ties. I asked the first doctor who saw my daughter the day she was born and he said she didn't have one. He is one of the team members in my pediatricians office. My DD's was actually found by lactation nurses and confirmed by a new doctor in their office. I'm now in a group on FB called The Cleavage Club: breastfeeding support group. The woman who started the group can diagnose ties through photos and also recommend someone to go see in your area. 

My first goal is to make it to 3 months BF. 

redheeler

JennMof3 said:

@GoodWitchoftheNorth My DS is two and a half and has a great vocabulary in my opinion. A few people have asked if he has a lisp and now that we're coming out of the baby talk stage I'm thinking he does have one. My ENT said that not everyone is trained to check for ties. I asked the first doctor who saw my daughter the day she was born and he said she didn't have one. He is one of the team members in my pediatricians office. My DD's was actually found by lactation nurses and confirmed by a new doctor in their office. I'm now in a group on FB called The Cleavage Club: breastfeeding support group. The woman who started the group can diagnose ties through photos and also recommend someone to go see in your area. 

My first goal is to make it to 3 months BF. 

The bolder - actually not possible, a tie is diagnosed by symptoms not appearance. Some you can see in a photo if they are that restrictive, but most are unable to be diagnosed via photos alone.

JennMof3

PartiallyDomesticated said:

JennMof3 said:

@GoodWitchoftheNorth My DS is two and a half and has a great vocabulary in my opinion. A few people have asked if he has a lisp and now that we're coming out of the baby talk stage I'm thinking he does have one. My ENT said that not everyone is trained to check for ties. I asked the first doctor who saw my daughter the day she was born and he said she didn't have one. He is one of the team members in my pediatricians office. My DD's was actually found by lactation nurses and confirmed by a new doctor in their office. I'm now in a group on FB called The Cleavage Club: breastfeeding support group. The woman who started the group can diagnose ties through photos and also recommend someone to go see in your area. 

My first goal is to make it to 3 months BF. 

The bolder - actually not possible, a tie is diagnosed by symptoms not appearance. Some you can see in a photo if they are that restrictive, but most are unable to be diagnosed via photos alone.

All providers I've seen ask about the symptoms I've been experiencing (related to BF) and have then examined my child. In the case of my older child he asked about BF and speech issues. The ENT I've seen is very well respected and people travel to my State to see him. He also does assessments via photo. I do see your point about needing to have all of the information to make a proper assessment and ensure something isn't missed. My suggestion was merely a starting point :-)

redheeler

@JennMof3 sorry yes, I should have clarified, some can be diagnosed via photo because they are simply so restrictive you can see it easily. But they can be diagnosed via specific photos with a trained provider who also has the other facts.