My Son Tongue

My twin nephews had this problem and couldn't breastfeed. They got their tongues clipped early and breastfeed happily after that.

Please google "Ankylogolssia" (tongue-tie) and "Frenulectomy"

There are different classes of tongue-tie based on severity. My daughter has severe tongue-tie with the free tongue only 7mm, so she needed a Frenulectomy when she was 6 years old. She did not have a speech problem, but it took her forever to chew and eat before her frenum was revised (clipped). Her pediatric dentist gave her the diagnosis. If I remember correctly: if the free frenum is under 12mm, it is considered tongue-tie. Hope this helps!

If his tongue-tie is interfering with breast-feeding it is definitely an issue! Get a 2nd opinion. Doctors are not infallible and many don't support breast feeding the way they should.

S.,
My son's tongue is like that. So is my mom's. Mine isn't. I believe it's a hereditary thing. I never got my sons clipped and it has not interfered with his life at all. He'll be 7 in a few weeks. There are varying degrees of tongue-tied...I'd listen to your doc.

Hello
My son's tongue is the same way. He had no problems nursing, or sucking this thumb. I noticed it and didn't get it clipped. My son is now 14 years old, and he talks very well. If you think its best to snip it for his nursing, you should. I was told if its snipped, his tongue will grow bigger. I hope other moms have better ideas. Good luck with that. G.

I urge you to get your son's frenulum clipped. Both of my sons were tongue tied and yes, breastfeeding is near impossible until the clip is done. I was lucky to have a great lactation consultant to guide me though this the first time, and knew what to look for the second time. I see you are in Gilroy so not too far from Santa Cruz where I found the ONLY doctor who would perfom a frenulum cut in his office. Dr. Moler, google him! He's in a practice with several other doctors. Your son could have speach problems in the future w/o full use of his tongue. It looks like the top of heart at the tip right? It's a genetic trait, handed down from somewhere in you families.

As a mama whose first baby was tongue-tied, I whole-heartedly recommend you get his tongue clipped!!!! I breastfed my son, but didn't know what was wrong until I finally consulted a lactation consultant when he was 2 weeks old. She told me he was tongue-tied, and as a result, I ended up with grade 3 nipple infection and wasn't "allowed" to nurse for almost 2 months to allow my nipples to heal. At that time, I took him to an ENT who told me he wasn't tongue-tied; he just needed to grow because my breasts were so large.

I put him back to the breast at 3mo, and we were still having problems at 4.5mo so I consulted with a lactation consultant who was actually doing a study on Type 3 tongue tie. She looked at 2 photos of my son's tongue and immediately recommended I get it clipped. I took him to a pediatrician recommended by her, as well as well-known because she was such a good pediatrician. She gave him a tiny shot of Novocain under his tongue, had 2 nurses hold his arms, clipped his tongue, and it was over and done with in literally 3 minutes (that included waiting for the novacain to kick in)! BEST DECISION I MADE!!! He complained, and yeah, it bled, but he was more upset about the nurses holding him down. The doctor wanted me to put him to the breast immediately after the clip to see if things had improved, and I can't tell you the relief I felt when the latch was comfortable for the first time!!! He never showed any signs of pain or even discomfort, and I went on to breastfeed until he was 2.5yo.

I know people will tell you that it doesn't make a difference, that they are still tongue-tied as adults, but with such a simple and relatively painless procedure, I would get it done. Especially if you'd like to breastfeed!!!

Hi S., My son was also tongue-tied at birth. His pediatrican also told us to wait to see if it becomes a problem. He was bottle fed from birth due to other complications but he never had a problem drinking from a bottle. For the longest time he couldn't stick his tongue out either. One of the things we did was teach him to stick his tongue out, even though it is not polite, it was a way to stretch the piece of skin that is attached under the tongue. Our son is five now and has no problems with speech, etc. My suggestion is to wait to see if it becomes a problem. Although family seems to think they have the child's best interest in mind, you will know what is best for him. Good Luck!

My son was tongue-tied as well. He actually still is and is four 1/2. He has no problems with it as far as his doctors and myself can tell. He wasn't able to latch on for breast feeding and so we bottle fed him for that and other reasons. He never had a problem with that. His speech is wonderful.
We noticed his tongue while still in hospital and an ENT was suppose to take care of it before we left to bring him home. We saw an ENT at 2 weeks and he said as long as it wasn't causing any problems with him eating it didn't need to be taken care of.

Yes! See another doctor. If it is an issue affecting breastfeeding, it should be addressed. Some doctors don't understand the importance of clipping the skin under the tongue. But if it is interfering with nursing, you can easily remedy it. Life will be much easier for you and your son.

My daughter was also tongue-tied and I had a frenulectomy done when she was 3 years old. The doctors recommended to wait and see if there were any problems. The dentist recommended to have it done as soon as possible because it was starting to cause problems with her teeth. Her speech was fine, but I didn't want her to face any problems in the future with speech, dental or eating so we had the surgery done. Now she has no problems.

If your son cannot eat because of this issue I would get another opinion. I would ask to see feeding therapist (usually a speech or occupational therapist) and see another doctor. There could be a lot of reasons he can't stick his tongue out. Also ask to see a pediatric ENT (Ear nose and throat surgeon).

I am tongue tied as well as my oldest daughter. I had my tongue clipped when I was a baby.
Usually they wait to see if there is a speech problem to determine if it should be clipped. It turns out my daughter did not need it. If he is having a problem breasfeeding b/c of this, I am surprised the doctor did not clip it. I believe it is ultimately up to you. If you feel it should be done b/c of breastfeeding, you should talk to your pediatrician. It is not a major procedure. My mother told me that mine healed really quickly.

Sounds like bad advise. Did you see a lactation consultant? They like to have the clip done early so infant can learn to breastfeed. I would get a second opinion. And you should be proud of yourself for exclusively pumping for 6 months. Way to go mama!

I would have/would probably seek a second opinion give the fact that he was unable to breastfeed due to his tongue.

My mother's tongue was like that and it was cut.
I knew a child whose parents would not allow his tongue to be cut loose (for religious reasons, I think) and he was in second grade virtually and unable to speak!
But it depends on the individual how connected it is, I think.
Some parents responded that it created NO problem for their kids.
Since your son has nursing problems, I am guessing there could be speech problems too.
I would just get it done, or at least get a second opinion.

I would get a second opinion on it. If it is a problem now it would make sense to do something about it now then to wait when your son grows up.

Congratulations on breast feeding him by pumping this long--way to go! I know from personal experience how very hard it is to do.

My daughter had a tight frenulum when she was born. We had several issues getting her to latch on so the tight frenulum didn't become apparent until she was 4 months old. When I approached the pediatrician with the problem, he said that at 4 months of age she was too old to simply clip it. He was worried about her wiggling and if we wanted to do the procedure she would need to be knocked out. We weren't willing to do that. Then, we were encouraged to see a speech therapist by my lactation consultant. The speech therapist gave us some exercises to encourage our daughter to stick out her tongue and move it around in her mouth. Many of the exercises are too hard to describe in writing, but the one I can was simply sticking my tongue out at her and having her mirror the action. We didn't have the tightness of her frenulum measured, but we could see over time that her tongue movement and stretching increased. These exercises helped immensely and she is now 10 months old and has no problems eating or moving her tongue around in her mouth.

Good luck to you and your little one.
K.

If you are trying to breastfeed you absolutely need to have this taken care of...Peditricians are supposed to catch thjis or at least check for this at birth especially if you are breatfeeding. It is easy to take care of after they are born. My friend had her son's corrected easily at 3 days old and I had my son's taken care of by an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist at 4 mths. As they get older it is tricker to take care of. Lucky we could still hold my son still at 4 mths. Get a referral to an ENT from your peditrician. This is common enough they should have someone they refer babies to for being "tongue-tied." Even if you decided not to correct get information from the ENT. My husband grew-up like this fine but some kids have some speach difficulties when they are older. Just get it checked out it made breastfeeding more comfortable for me and much easier for my son. I was sorry I waited so long once I suspected it was an issue.
^mth sis to old for your peditrician to take care of but I would get an ENT to look at it...More information wouldn't hurt. But after the first few days after birth the peditrician can't correct it you need to see an ENT. If they can do it in the office it is quick and relatively painless. As they get older you may need anethsia but I've heard from moms who were happy they did this as well. We saw Mark S. Kita in Los Gatos ###-###-####). I really liked him and he was great with my son and was able to do the procedure in the office at 4 mth. ^ mths may be hard if you kid is strong and wiggly.

Hi, S..
You've probably received enough responses already on the subject, but I want to encourage you to get your son's tongue clipped if you want to try breastfeeding again. I did not know what a tongue-tie was, and the pediatrician who delivered my son at birth said it wouldn't be a problem since he saw that the tongue-tie on my son was mild. My son latched on well, but he was never able to withdraw enough milk to satiate him. We would go through a vicious cycle of him sucking desperately, falling asleep on the breast, waking up every time we put him down because he was so hungry, and try nursing again. I went to see a lactation consultant when he was a month old and she recommended a doctor who would clip his tongue. (Many doctors don't offer to do this procedure for various reasons, so it is wise to get another opinion.) Despite the quick and painless procedure, my son had by this time developed "a weak suck" according to the lactation consultant and she said it was too late for him to change a bad habit. I was so discouraged and upset. I thought it was because I didn't have enough milk, but I was able to pump more than enough to sustain him for a whole year. So if you would like to continue solely pumping, know that you are not alone. It's time-consuming and tiresome, but it is indeed possible. Keep in mind that if you plan on having more kids, they may be born with a tongue-tie as well since it can be passed down from a family member. We got our daughter's tongue-tie clipped on the 5th day after she was born and she's been able to nurse successfully. I've done the research and I don't see any harm in clipping the tongue - I see only the benefits, like being able to lick an ice cream cone and facilitating speech. It takes seconds and it's not painful because there is only cartilage there. Hope this helps!

If it wasn't interferring with breastfeeding, I would say trust the doctor, but since it is, get a second opinion. I didn't have this problem, but many woman in my breastfeeding support group did, and the tongue clipping worked quickly, and they didn't think that it was very traumatic either.

It is rare, but occasionally it is tight enough that the tongue can't wrap around the breast adequately to strip the milk ducts. I would recommend checking with one of the experienced women at Nursing Mother's Counsel, if you haven't already. They should be in the phone book. It is an all volunteer organization, so no cost. If one of their counselors can't help you to successfully get your babe latched on, you might want to consider the second opinion from a pediatrician strongly supportive of breastfeeding. Hope it goes well... and hurrah for you for all your pumping...

My son had a tongue tie and we had it clipped! Our ped suggested we wait too, but I was concerned about it and am so glad we did it young. They literally just snip it - I can't imagine doing that with an older child. Our son is 2 now and we had it done at six months. I'm so glad we did it.

Hi- Your Doctor wants to "wait to see if it's an issue" You are pumping exclusively to feed your child IT IS AN ISSUE!!! You need a second opinion. My first daughter was tongue tied and it interfered with breastfeeding. We had to leave our town to find a doctor that would clip it (literally in the office, took 1 second and she cried for maybe 5 minutes at the most). She then was able to nurse normally until 24 months. For some crazy reason many doctor's do not recognize the imporantance of breastfeeing or support the breastfeeding Mom like they should. I cannot imagine pumping exclusively for 6 months! You are obviously a great Mom! Your missing out a huge part of nursing by having to pump and it is not necessary. Please contact Dr. Cantor at
260 San Jose St
Pacific Coast Pediatric & Adolesc
Salinas, CA 93901
He will do it and if you can't get to Salinas he may know someone in Gilroy that can help. I do not have his phone number because ironically, we did not use him as a pediatrican. He has some weird ideas about only nursing until 12 months which wasn't right for us. That just confirms how you need to be proactive about you family's healthcare. Educated yourself online, talk to lots of people and never completely trust what any Doctor says, all important decisions should be backed up with a second opinion. You should also contact your local La Leche League, they are experts on breastfeeding and can help you so much. Please contact me if you want anymore information, you will not find a Mom who had a tougher time nursing her firstborn then I did and I learned a lot. I commend you for your strength as I know how hard it can be!

I can only tell you of a friends experience. Her first child had this issue, so they worked very hard not to get it clipped and he was able to breastfeed but it became an issue up until he was 7 when she had to get it done. He was having social issues and it took him forever to eat. He was much happier after it was done and much more outgoing. So with her second child she got it done right away. The social pressures and the physical healing time were more than she wanted to put on the 2nd child. Good luck!