Tongue tied baby-what to do?

sarahbunny84 · January 2011

My son is a week and one day old, and we have been told that he is what is referred to as tongue tied. It doesn't affect his ability to breastfeed, but we are told that it could later affect his speech if we don't take care of it now. Basically they just snip the stretch tissue (frenulum) under your tongue using local anesthetic and i am told he should be able to breastfeed immediately following. I am torn about having the procedure done though because I have read that sometimes the frenulum will stretch out on it's own making the entire procedure unneccessary. However, I don't feel like it's something I can wait on because if we do it when he's one or two, he will have to be put under anesthesia which I would not be ok with. Have any of you had a child with this issue, and have any of you opted to have the procedure done? If so what was the result? And if you do have this issue with your child and didn't have it done what do you feel is the result of that? Looking for any help/ opinions I can get. Thanks.

coey03 · January 2011

Like you, I was very anxious about the procedure. It truly ended up being such a breeze though. Seriously only took about a second, and then he only cried for a moment. No joke, it was less traumatic than vaccinations. GL!

CarenOE · January 2011

I know lots of babies that had it done with no problem! I also have heard the pain is horrible for an older child to have it done.... GL

NancyJeff · January 2011

My daughter was also tongue tied. It didn't affect her ability to breastfeed, speak, etc.. She is 16 yrs. old now and just recently had hers corrected. She is now able to stick her tongue out and have the freedom to move her tongue around. She also has several friends at school that are still tongue tied and it doesn't affect their speech either. Like you said, your baby would have to be under anesthesia if you wait until later. It probably would be easier to have it done now. It really is a simple procedure. Though we don't like the thought of our child having to go through any type of pain or discomfort. Good luck. I'm sure you will make the right decision.

TayLynn · January 2011

I would get it clipped now.

punkyb0528 · January 2011

We had our son clipped at 1 week because it was affecting his BF & he was losing weight, which I know you are not experiencing yet but honestly as many others have said it is an easy, quick procedure & its better to do it now before problems occur. DS cried while they held his head to do it but as soon as it was done & they let go he was fine. Good luck!

kellyfromcali · January 2011

We had DD's clipped. She cried for about 10 seconds after the procedure (which took all of 2 seconds to do) and then she latched on great right away. I would get it done. Don't be nervous. It's a very quick and painless procedure. I think she cried more because of the awkward position they were holding her in while it was done.

Lisadi · January 2011

That's funny. When the doctor first came in and told me about our son being tongue-tied, my first question was whether that would impact his speech later on. (I was concerned if he would have problems with his S's since his name begins with an 'S.') I was told that it may or may not impact speech- no guarantee that it would.

Breastfeeding has been just fine for us, and we did not have his snipped.

ReidsMommy · January 2011

AmyG*:
by the time you realize it's causing a speech issue, even if you get it clipped, your child will have to go thru speech therapy to fix the way they hold their tongue to correct their speech.

This. I had it clipped and it was easy. I would do it.

Calabaza78 · January 2011

My son was tongue-tied and we had it clipped at one week. Like you, it did not seem to affect breastfeeding, but the nurse said that sometimes the effects show up later. I wanted him to have the ability to lick an ice cream cone and kiss someday, both of which would be hard if he couldn't extend his tongue (not to mention eating or speaking issues which could result.) I was so nervous, but like one of the previous posters said, the baby cried more for being restrained than for the actual pain. It is a quick procedure, but hard for parents to watch. We were able to nurse immediately after, and the only issue was he was bleeding a little bit (which stopped after he finished nursing.) After eating, he was a happy camper and there weren't any after-effects. Vaccinations and circumcision were MUCH more of an ordeal for him than this. I would highly recommend it for your child's benefit, because it is a lot easier to take care of as an infant than as an older child or adult (it grows thicker with age.)

Our nurse recommended this powerpoint presentation for some additional info. I found it helpful. https://www.brianpalmerdds.com/frenum.htm

av521 · January 2011

My LC also noted that my DS was tongue tied after having trouble latching. Had it clipped at 1 week without any problems - latched on 5 minutes after procedure!!!! Didnt even bleed, was over in less than 1 minute. I was worried sick about having it done but i am sooo glad that i did!

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