My 12-week old son, Noah, had a frenotomy done as a result of an LC's observations. Unfortunately, the frenotomy hasn't made any difference in Noah's ability to transfer milk. He still loses suction easily, has a short gag reflex and prefers "shallow" latches where he slides off the areola toward the nipple. I have very prominent areolas and nipples. The pediatrician that performed the frenotomy noticed a thicker portion behind where she'd released his tongue and told us that an ENT would need to deal with that if we wanted to go down that route. We're wary of doing anything more invasive. Has this happend to anyone else where a frenotomy is done only to find that more "snipping" is necessary? An LC who specializes in sucking emailed me to let me know that the thicker band is the real problem in most cases, and treating it usually helps.
Thank you all. So, we went to an ENT and he found nothing more to cut! The original frenotomy had done the job. He's now 3 mos and still not latching on perfectly. He can transfer milk well when my breasts are full in the morning, but afternoons we feed him by bottle. I'm still hoping he'll improve.
Hi M.,
Call the La Leche League. See if they can help you.
www.lll.org 1-800525-3243
Hope this helps. Good luck. D.
I don't have experience in this area, but if it was me, I'd probably trust an LC who actually specializes in sucking issues, and weigh whether or not I think the breastfeeding relationship is worth it. (I do.)
The benefit your baby will receive far outweighs an invasive procedure of more snipping. That is my opinion, and I would completely understand if someone else did not come to the same conclusion.
It's a tough call. I'm sorry you're having these issues.
I sympathize with your situation. My daughter had the same procedure while she was still in the hospital and it did not help. No one ever told us their was an option for further snipping and we ended up getting frusterated with breast feeding by about 2 weeks b/c she was just not getting enough and switched her to bottles. Are you able to pump and give bottles? My daughter took a bottle with no problem but was never able to drink from the "bottles suggested for breast fed babies" she couldn't suck on it properly. I guess it all depends on how much longer you plan to breast feed if you are trying for 1 year or longer I would go ahead and do it. I personally only planned to do it for 3 months before returning to work so I wouldn't have done another snip.
Best Wishes and congrats on making it as long as you have!
Another option is to look at getting him into a feeding clinic where you see a developmental pediatrician & a speech language pathologist that specializes in feeding issues with infants. Less invasive :) These are usually at big hospitals that have children's specialties. I am sure DC Children's Hospital has a feeding clinic. Other than that in the area I am not sure.
I don't know if this would help, but have you tried laying down with him on top of you? It might help with the sliding off. I used to tell my son to "open wide" and make a wide open mouth and he'd get this huge grin on his face and open wide before I would put him on (but he didn't need a frenotomy either.) I wish you luck! D.
M.,
My son is 10 weeks old and he had a frenotomy at the hospital 3 days after birth. After the procedure, it still took several weeks for his tongue to properly stretch out. He and I were never able to breast feed -- for the same reasons you mentioned. So I have been pumping and then feeding him with a bottle -- a big hassle, but worth it. I recommend Dr. Paul German, he is an oral surgeon in Ellicott City. Perhaps he could give you a second opinion. The nipple shield suggestion may work for you -- it didn't work well for us. Also as suggested, we began sticking out our tongues at our son to get him to mimic us, thus stretching out his tongue -- it worked!
Good Luck!!
My son is tongue-tied and had a problem latching. I got a nipple shield. at around six months, I stopped needing it. Our doctor said to wait on the frenotomy because a lot of times it'll stretch, so we haven't had that done. Have you tried a nipple shield?
My daughter had problems too. I never thought about anything like snipping...I pumped for nine months it really isnt the hassle you make think it is. One of the benefits is that your milk doesn't let down when you hear some baby crying - at least mine never did :) Anyway I would suggest pumping and bottle feeding. They baby is going to bond to you no matter if you breast feed or any other option, but by pumping they get all the benefits of being breast fed! Good luck
