Upper Lip Tie?

kateitho · September 2014

I had a friend bring up that my son might have an upper lip tie. I have brought it up to the lactation nurse twice and the pediatrician twice, but neither one even looked at it. They both just said lip ties don't effect BFing. I looked it up online, and I think he does have one, and everything I've read says it can cause big BFing issues. We are currently struggling to stay latched, he's leaky, and I've got low supply issues. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am calling my sister's pediatrician today to try to get a second opinion, but what do you ladies think?

PS I know your not doctors. I'm just hoping someone else might have been through this and have more info than I do.

bumpuser10199668 · September 2014

My LO has a lip tie and tongue tie but we decided not to clip since he is gaining. I still have a bit of pain while nursing but my LC helped me to adjust my hold so that he gets a slightly better latch . The upper lip tie can cause pain while BFing and some people have it cut to try to avoid braces as it will cause a gap in your upper teeth. I know I'm not a doctor but I can say with a lot of confidence that your LO has a lip tie.

I do know that our pedi cuts tongue tied but refers to a dentist to cut lip ties as they are a bit more complicated so you may want to go straight to a pediatric dentist for an opinion

bumpuser10199668 · September 2014

Oh here's a super cute pic of ds lip tie

str13 · September 2014

Not trying to high jack but @CarmAlarm‌ how freaking cute?!

And I'm glad OP that you brought this up because I didn't even know that lip tie was a thing?? I've only ever heard of tongue tied! Can it cause problems later?!

Everyusernameistaken · September 2014

There was a pedi at the hospital that could have clipped baby #2 's tongue tie but he refused because "he doesn't believe it effects bf." Yet I had it done with my first child (at over a,week when I already had damage) and had immediately less painful nursing sessions. Finally the Dr who delivered baby #2 came to the hospital after her office hours to do it (a quick clip, he didn't even cry) because I refused to leave until it was done since I'd had so many issues with baby #1. Guess what-- immediately better nursing sessions!
My doula says lots of drs refuse to do it because there isn't a lot of hard literature on it but TONS of anecdotal evidence.
I would see different care providers until someone helps you out and make a bit if a stink if need be. Good luck!

kateitho · September 2014

Thanks ladies. I called a ENT specialist, and explained what's going on. He got us scheduled for tomorrow! He seemed mad that the LCs at the hospital didn't check it when I mention it, because he could have walked down the hall and diagnosed us weeks ago....

bbadger22 · September 2014

DS had lip tie and tongue tie. I agree with PPs in that it definitely affects BF, speak, tooth decay, etc. Also, lip tie babies often have posterior tongue ties which are harder to diagnose. I highly recommend checking out the tongue tie babies support group on Facebook. There is a list of recommended providers there and tons of great advice.

pshaortao · October 2014

Had anyone else gotten the upper lip tie clipped yet? If so, was there a difference in breastfeeding? My LO just got seen by the ENT doctor and she was pretty hesitant since her team are against doing it for nursing reasons. Fortunately she went ahead with it today. Here's to hoping it gets better from here since my nips have been hurting so much lately (and she's 5 weeks old now). I attached a before photo.

Ju111310 · October 2014

My LO's lip tie looks just like that. He is still able to flange his top lip out while nursing (often, I have to help him) so my pedi isn't concerned. I'm much more concerned about the future dental/speech problems & I'd like it to be clipped while he's still small & won't be traumatized by the procedure. We're supposed to reevaluate at 2 month appt & consider a referral to an ENT or pediatric dentist at that point. But I might call around to dentists before then & see if I can find one that performs the procedure.

Soogerplum · October 2014

I spoke to several different people about my DD being tongue tied and stressed to them how she couldn't latch, I was in serious pain etc. Nurses, LC's and even her pedi didn't do a damn thing about it even though the tie was almost to the end of her tongue and her and I would both cry out of frustration while latching. I finally ended up just calling and ENT and they got me in the very same day and clipped it. They took her back to a room, I heard a quick cry, and then they brought her back with just a little frown on her face. She's had to relearn how to use her tongue but is latching much much better now. Not quite the same situation as a lip tie but thought I'd share since they're pretty similar. Don't let them shrug you off if you know there is an issue!

kateitho · October 2014

I went to the ENT, and they said that while it is definitely tied, it's not tight enough to cause concern. They showed me how to slip my finger in his mouth and gently stretch his lip towards his nose. We had to do that several times a day, and we switched to Gumdrop wide neck bottles to help make him flange for his supplements too. Things have gotten much easier for us!

bbadger22 · October 2014

DD ended up being tongue/lip tied just like big brother. We had it (lip tie and posterior tongue tie) lasered by a pediatric dentist about a week ago and things have improved. There is less pinching when nursing, less spit up, and she doesn't seem to be gagging/choking as much.

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