XP: experience with tongue tie?

this decaf life

Hey ladies, so it's taken until today for me to realize I'm tongue tied. And apparently, so is my sister.

I've had a rough time with BFing and DD still nurses about as often as she did at just a few weeks old, takes a long time & almost never seems full [which I think might be why she doesn't nap well & wakes about every 3 hours at night.]

I'm going to try to contact a LC at the hospital I delivered in but was hoping someone might be able to give me their experience with a tongue tied baby, especially if your baby was a few months old before you figured it out. I just don't want to feel dumb walking in there thinking maybe that's the problem if it's really unlikely because there are two things that make me think she isn't tongue tied.

1. She can stick her tongue out pretty far and it doesn't appear to be rounded.

2. Breastfeeding doesn't hurt in a painful way but I am sore for a few minutes after every feeding. 

Oh one more I just thought of, she's been about 25% for weight since birth, so it's not like she isn't gaining weight. She is a pretty thin looking baby though & hasn't really put on those adorable baby rolls.

I know the LC is there to answer these questions but I really hate feeling stupid so I don't really want to even bring it up if it just doesn't seem possible. 

schnena77

my DS was lip-tied and tongue-tied.  my milk did not come in til about 9 days which is why went to LC who referred us to a dentist who uses a laser to correct.  what they showed us were: DS puckered when he ate; he could not lift his tongue to the roof of his mouth and could feel the lip tie.  my boobs also were in pretty bad shape - would basically cry some when he latched on.  all is definitely great now - glad we got it corrected or I would not have been able to breastfeed.

this decaf life

One thing that makes me think even without all the signs that she could be tongue tied is that no one realized I was and I was BFed for 4 months before my mom decided to quit. My mom stopped to go back to work and give me solids so it didn't have anything to do with tongue tie. Plus I just found out my dad is also tongue tied.

I don't have problems with my speech but if I talk too much, like reading out loud for an extended time to DD, my tongue hurts and I have a hard time swallowing. That's what got me to figure out what's wrong with me because I was googling that! I always joked with people when I was younger that I can't stick my tongue out but I never realized that it was tied. 

this decaf life

amnat84:

I have no experience with this because I quit at 3 weeks because it was too hard for me.  Just wanted to say I read your blog and read your posts on here and I'm really impressed you've stuck with BFing despite all your difficulties.  I hope you figure it all out and it gets easier on you guys soon!

Thank you! I definitely think if I weren't able to SAH I wouldn't have made it this long. Plus I'm pretty stubborn and the more my mom suggested I quit the more determined I was to make it work! 

tdoyen

We live in the same area. Go to Susan Howard who works at VHC but is on their training staff, not one of the LCs or Northern Virginia Lactation Center I think that's the name. The LCs at VHC are terrible. Many use Dr Rothman in Alexandria to fix the tie. The support group at the hospital, led by Susan Howard, is quite good and you will meet lots of moms who addressed the tie there.

Allison546

Wow, interesting! Definitely could explain a lot of the issues you have had... Keep us posted.
DS was tongue tied and we had it clipped.. No regrets. I am still EBFing and noticed a big improvement in my comfort and the speed of his nursing.