Hi Mommas!
I just had my third baby five weeks ago and we have had a hard time with breastfeeding! He was tongue-tied when he was born and could not extend his tongue out far enough to get the milk out! He tore me up pretty bad so I resorted to just pumping and bottle feeding! We decided to get his tongue clipped so he could latch better and also so he won't have any problems with speech later on in life. I decided after I healed up that we would go back to exclusively breastfeeding, but during this time I developed a skin infection and mastitis! ugh! So here we are five weeks later and I am finally healed up! I have been nursing him as much as I can but it still feels like he isn't extending his tongue out to get the milk out! It is still painful to nurse him! He is opening his mouth really wide to latch on so I know that isn't the issue! My question is, does anyone know if he will be able to learn to extend his tongue out far enough to actually get the milk out? Will he be able to nurse or should I just quit because he won't learn how?
Thank you ladies for any advice you can offer! I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!
Kellymom.com has good info and you can go to a certified lactation consultant in person and show her what he's doing. You may need to try a different hold.
My first concern is did they clip the tongue enough? Usually that clipping works like magic on newborns and they are nursing with gusto in a couple of days.. I understand you had to heal. But now that you're healed, nursing together should go smoothly given his age.
Definitely call La Leche or your hospital's lactation consultant right away. And continue to offer your breast as often as possible.
What about using a nipple shield? They protect you and it might help him latch better as well.
Sorry it's not smooth sailing yet. Please call someone local to analyze this.
I would ask your doctor if they can connect you with a lactation person who can help you with this. Usually they can help with most breast feeding issues. If not they should be able to direct you to someone who knows, or maybe your doctor could help you.
Can you try a breast shield? Call a lactation specialist to find out what kind to get. Explain like you have here. I'm sure she could help.
Dawn
H.,
Hang in there! He can learn! I know lots of moms with tongue tied babies and with time, he will figure out how to get the milk. Keep putting him to the breast and feeding as often as he will take it. He will get the hang of it~!
I dealt with the same issues you are dealing with. I elected not to have my child's tongue clipped, because the doctors felt it wouldn't impede her speech (which it hasn't...she's two and a half and speaks clearly.) I know there are different degrees of tongue tie, however.
What DID work for us was using a nipple shield for the first three months of our nursing relationship. :) You can buy them at Target...it's a thing that extends your nipple out much farther than it normally is, and is very easy for a baby to latch on to. I had to use it partially to break adhesions in my own nipples (they just didn't stick out far enough) and partially due to her tongue tie.
I also went through five months of excruciating mastitis and through courses of I don't know how many antibiotics until we found one that worked (I'm allergic to penicillin, so it makes it tough sometimes!)
I wasn't pain free nursing until she was seven months old...but now, at two and a half, I am still nursing and I am so happy I stuck with it.
He will learn how...just like mine did. I went through the pump cycles and bottles and everything else, but by four months was nursing exclusively without any aid (although not yet without pain...that was at seven months when the infection was finally gone.) You just need to ditch the bottles and give him only the breast, and he'll figure it out!
Make sure you are working with a good lactation consultant. My daughter did not have the same tounge problem, but she did have a weak suck which make it impossible for her to get enough milk and in turn didn't stimulate me to make enough milk for her. The road I took to exclusively bf was really hard, but this is what I did:
My baby needed nursing practice to learn to develop a good suck. So I nursed her for 30 minutes for her to practice and topped her off with the bottle. After every nursing session, I pumped so that I was stimulated to produce more milk and to supplement with BM as much as possible. There was a time I had to give some formula. I kept meticulous charts and found that I was giving less and less formula every day. Eventually I only pumped 6 out of 8 feedings, and worked my way down to pumping about 3 x a day. Eventually I was nursing exclusively. But pumping 8x a day is a job I wouldn't wish on anyone. You have to be really committed.
Lactation consultants are lifesavers. It can take work, but with their help you can get back on track. Your insurance may cover it because there are medical issue. Ask the hospital or your OB for referrals.
Have you tried a shield? My daughter's first and second babies could not nurse without one. Her third used the shield for a month or so but then was able to nurse just fine without it. The shield gives the baby something more substantial to latch on to.
I've had 3 tongue-tied babies and three different experiences. Don't hesitate to contact La leche or a lactation consultant from the hospital. Have someone weigh your baby, feed him, and then weigh him again to see how much milk he is getting.
My first baby was 2 months old and was starving by the time we clipped his frenulum. Breastfeeding was excruciating before then and my body never got the proper stimulation to establish a milk supply. I wanted to breastfeed and tried all kinds of things to generate more milk (fenugreek supplements, near beer, etc) but I never was able to pump more than 2-3 ounces at a time. I used formula in a tube on my breast to encourage breastfeeding for a long time, eventually resorting to pumping and bottle feeding when he became to frustrated to nurse. I managed to supply milk for 8 months though.
When baby 2 was also tongue tied, I didn't mess around. We had his frenulum clipped at 2 days old. I was worried about my milk supply and met with a lactation consultant multiple times. They assured me he was getting enough milk. He wanted to nurse a lot,like every 1 1/2 hours for an hour or more, but I stuck with it and was absolutely delighted when he legs finally plumped up.
Baby 3 was also tongue tied, but the pediatrician and lactation consultant assured me it would be fine when he appeared to be able to latch on just fine. They were right. We left his frenulum intact and hope it doesn't interfere with his ability to be a good kisser later in life. :)
Baby 4 was (amazingly) not tongue tied. By way of comparison, the first 2 weeks were very painful anyway. He didn't want to open his mouth wide, but beyond that, my nipples blistered, cracked, and bled. They would sting sometimes while not nursing. It really took the first 6 weeks to feel like we got everything down for breastfeeding to be non painful.
My advice is to stick it out. It sounds like you are really past the hump of difficulties and from here on out, it should be pretty smooth sailing. ;) Good luck and congratulations!
