My Newborn Has Tongue Tie

Three of my grandchildren were born that way and also my brother. They clipped my brother but my grandchildren outgrew it. my brother is now 51yrs old. Never had a problem. My cousin has a son to but drs. wouldn't clip his and now is having trouble doing things like licking a ice cream cone or saying some words.

I have no idea about this problem but I have a great lactation consultant you could call and talk to. Her name is Doris Christenson and you can look her up at pump-n-go.com.

Hi I am not sure on the details of why your breastfeeding is painful. I am sure it could be this issue or women have painful breastfeeding for other issues as well. so if by chance your nipples are sore or if they or your breasts are cracked and bleeding, then try what I did which was soooo simple and a life saver. While your breasts are healing just buy some silicone type bottle nipples at the store and snip off just the very small tip of it and hold that over your breast while you nurse. What a relief! This way nursing does not hurt, you can heal and your baby can still get the valuable breast milk and you can keep your milk production up.

My mom is a peds nurse and recommends getting it clipped. It is so quick and painless for babies, since they numb it.

We have an awesome breastfeeding support group at Banner Gateway hospital every Thursday at 10am. If you would like to get support from other breastfeeding moms and have a lactation consultant there to ask questions or get help from, please join us! The group is open to the community, you don't have to deliver there. Go in the main entrance and ask for the Grand Canyon conference rooms. Hope to see you there.

we had our sons clipped when he wa sjust a few days old. and he quickly figured out that he could impress or gross out people bysticking his toungue way out and touching hsi nose or even picking his nose with hsi tounge. its a great conversatin starter or so he tells me.

We had our son's tounge clipped at 2 weeks, and saw results almost right away. Within a couple of days, his nursing times were doubled. We wished that we had done it sooner. Good luck.

Our youngest son ws tongue-tied. After it was clipped things went smoothly! He is now 21. It will be just fine!
K.

a great place for breastfeeding help is at www.mothering.com
click on the "discuss" tab, which will lead you to the forums. once there you will find lots of forums, including about three specifically dealing with different aspects of breastfeeding. good for you for breastfeeding - that is so great and such a wonderful gift to your little one!

A.-

My son was tongue tied as well. The procedure was so simple and quick. I fed him right afterwards and he fell right to sleep (It was his nap time anyway). I did the in office clipping and opted out of the anesthesia. I thought my child was too young for that! (I mean for a non surgery procedure) After he was clipped he did eat better. Unfortunately he never got really great at breast feeding but I was able to pump for a long time and he took to the bottle just fine. Everything will work out. Goodluck!:)

My daughter has tongue tie and it was extremely painful to breastfeed for me. I ended up using a nipple cover most of nine months that I fed her and that helped a lot. We didn't get it clipped as our doctor said that it was a lot to go through for a problem that would eventually fix itself. She hasn't had any problems besides that and she speaks perfectly. She is three now and everyone says how well she speaks and how smart she is. I know you are having the procedure done today, but it's just a thought. My doctor thought it was completely unnecessary. I'm glad we chose not to have it done.

My sister had two chilren that had their tongue clipped. If I remember right she felt relief quite quick. Like within a day or two. With the first baby it took 7weeks before she was able to get it diagnosed and clipped. I think it was a pretty quick and simple procedure. Good
Luck L.

Both of my son's were tongue tied. The proceedure is very quick. Be in the room but don't watch. They strapped my 1st born down to a papoose board and just opened his mouth and clipped it. He cried very hard. My other son had it done when he was 4 and was having his tonsils taken out. No matter how they do it I am so glad it was done. They eat better, speak better and will be able to function better in the future. It's going to be fine and it will help your daughter.

My son was tongue tied at birth, but not diagnosed until he was 4 weeks old. By then, breastfeeding had become extremely difficult. His odd way of latching on made me crack and bleed. When we had his tongue clipped, he actually slept through the whole thing and did not even cry or wake up! Breastfeeding did get easier after that, but not immediately because I was so sore that it took time for me to heal. But at least he was no longer causing the problem to become worse.

Also, although it may seem like you are not producing much milk, remember that they don't need much at a time at first (only about 2 ounces per feeding). As long as she is eating every 2-3 hours and seems satisfied afterwards, and has gained back her birthweight by 2-3 weeks, you shouldn't have to worry. Hang in there! If you are sore, it will take time to heal. But you can get through this little bump in the road!

P.S. Did you know that tongue tie is actually an inherited trait? I found out later that two of my husband's siblings were also tongue tied!

You are so lucky to have found out so early- it wasn't until my son was 4 that we found out he was tongue tied- it all made sense then as to why he could never latch on- we had to formula feed. I hope the clipping goes well and she is back to breastfeeding soon- pump if you can in the meantime to increase your milk supply.
Good luck

Hi-
My daughter was also tongue tied and initially, nursing her absolutely ravashed my breasts to the point of broken skin... horrible. BUT I used APNO to fix the wounds and we had her tongue clipped the day I left the hospital (she was 5 days old).
She was latching normally just about a day after the clipping. (She actually nursed the day that it was clipped, but I had to work with her on proper latching for the first few times). What kept my production up was vigilant pumping--even on the wounded breast. Before the clip, I nursed her exclusively on the okay breast and pumped the injured one VERY gently. It hurt like #@^% but it worked.
Congratulations on your baby girl!!

I have three children. I have successfully breastfeed all three, still feeding my third she is 8 months old. When I say breastfed all three I mean almost... My second child was tongue tied. I noticed when he was born, but the doctor would not clip his frenlum to unattach it. I could not figure out why it hurt so bad to breastfeed. So I purchased a medela breastpump and actually pumped all his milk for him. So I he was fed breastmilk, but out of a bottle. Well I felt I was doing the right thing the only problem was that he went to a babysitter and when she gave him the bottle because he did not manipulate his tongue the milk would run out of his mouth and that caused him to have constant ear infections. I fought and fought with my insurance company to have his frenlum clipped, well after two sets of tubes in ears, consults with speach and hearing specialists I finally convinced my insurance to cover the procedure....Finally it took four years. My advice is talk to your doctor about having her tongue clipped. If you get it done early you can still pump before she has the procedure and then enjoy breastfeeding after. Sorry so long winded. Take Care.

My first daughter was also tongue tied and we had it clipped at 5 weeks. The first 2-3 weeks of breastfeeding were painful for both kids (the 2nd is almost 4 months). (and I mean REALLY painful!) it is totally worth it in the end though. Anyways, the tongue tied one had a lot of difficulty latching on and it was really hard for about 2 weeks to be sure breastfeeding was going to work. By 5 weeks things were going okay but I think it did help her. BTW I breastfeed her as soon he was done which helped her deal with the pain, which wasn't too terrible as far as I could tell. Didn't seem to be any recovery time either. Good luck!

My youngest son was tongue tied as well. My doctor wanted to wait and see if he out grew it but at 6mo he was having an impossible time swallowing solids and wasn't making any sounds that required using your tongue (ex. dada). We took him to an ENT and he def thought his problem needed to be fixed. It is not a difficult procedure, done in less than 5 minutes and he wasn't fazed by it! Nursing was easier instantly and got better each day. He was able to swallow easier and a few days later he was able to stick his tongue out and start saying dada. Your son may not change as quickly but it should definately be better quickly!

My son was also tongue tied. We were having a hard time with the breastfeeding so I went to a lactation specialist and she diagnosed him as being tongue tied. We made our appt with the ear, nose, and throat doc the next day. The procedure was more painful for me than it was my son. It only took a minute or so. I think my son cried more because of having the nurse hold his mouth open and doc proding around in there. Once he finished I took my son and breastfed him right there. It still took a while before the breastfeeding became "easy." Since, I've been able to breastfeed with no problems.

A., I personally havent dealt w/ this although know its very common. My baby was in the NICU after birth & many babies had this (from speaking w/ the nurses)..I'm writing though because I DO understand not making much milk at first because the baby cant suck correctly or in my case she wasnt allowed to eat for the 1st 10 days because of a condition she was born with. My best advice is PUMP PUMP PUMP to get your supply going strong because she WILL bounce back quick! Nursing my daughter has been the most amazing bond I can ever imagine.
I had a hospital grade pump forever but believe it or not my $50 avent ISIS manual pump works JUST as well if not better. And its designed so you dont have to pump constantly & your hands dont get tired.
Good luck & congrats!
S.
www.shannonstair.myarbonne.com