tongue tied...wwyd

Baby girl is a month old and the first week I had a lactation consultant come to the house. She said that dd had a slight tongue tie. We have been feeding every 2 hours with pumping after most times. So I tell DH about this and how its killing me in pain. The pediatrician looked at my request and said yes she does but because she's gaining weight and its just tight nothing else she does not recommend surgery. She then tells DH and I that her kids had it and for the first she did not know until later so BF was what it was. Umm what? Then she says that she would not have done it again. Now DH is telling me there's no way hes gonna let her have surgery. That its probably cause I can only nurse from one side that it's hurting and in time 3 months he says I will feel better or just pump and give her a bottle.

So am I a bad mom for wanting her to get it because I feel like she has to work harder and in the process she's killing my nipple. I don't want to give this up.

I need advice. Anyone experience this where DH isn't on same page ? And if this was you child wwyd?

Message edited 7/15/2012 10:30:14 AM.

tongue tied...wwyd

My friend's DD was born tongue tied. She never had the surgery and never had any feeding issues luckily. But its a very common surgery so don't feel bad if it needs to be done. If she's eating ok and gaining weight then I personally wouldn't do it bc I would feel it wasn't necessary. It stinks that you're in pain :( Good luck in your decision!

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

My friend's DS is tongue tied. Same thing she could tell based on his horrible latch. Ped denied it (he's a huge kid LOL). She still bfs now at 16 months and a diff. ped finally said he is tongue tied, but at this point they decided against the surgery. This is her second child so she did say that bfing is more painful now, and if her first ped had agreed with her, they would have gotten the surgery right away. But it must not be too bad if she's still bfing at 16 months, LOL.

Message edited 7/15/2012 9:06:12 PM.

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

My dd was.tongue tied and had a hard time patching and when she did it hurt sooo bad! I used a nipple shield which helped both her and I tremendously. I never had supply issues using the shield either (I nursed twins)
At firrst I didn't do anything about it the ped said it was up to us. But then around 2.5 months I noticed she had an indentation in her tongue bc it was so tight.
We wound up having it snipped. It was quick and easy and she was back to herself and nursing like a champ by the time we got home.

If you have any questions let me know

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

My son was born tounge tied, and is actually scheduled for the surgery next week He had no problems eating solids or formula, i never BFd. But he does have an indentation in his tongue bc its so tight. I brought him to the ped, who really didn't have an opinion either way. "if he is not having problems eating, its up to you" I then brought him to two ENTs and both said it was bad There is a great chance that he would have speech problems in the future (lisp?), dental issues, and he may not be able to tongue kiss! So although these are all just possibilities, the benefits out weigh the risks, which everyone that I have spoke to this about say "it is a simple, quick procedure" So we are choosing to get it done to avoid any future issues. GL I know it is a really hard decision.

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

My DS had a tongue tie that was not diagnosed with the first visit of our LC. It was diagnosed when he was 7 weeks old and we did have it corrected. I wouldn't consider it "surgery". I went to the specialist's office (I believe 2 are on LI), she put a local topical on to help numb him, and clipped it. I am not going to lie, it wasn't a pleasant experience. But he recovered very quickly. I think DS being circumcised was worse. It is a very quick procedure. If you want more info, feel free to FM. Also- there are structural/speech issues than can result from a tongue tie depending on the type and severity. I used Dr. Corrylos, who is basically the top expert in the country on this and located in Mineola. I am due with #2 soon and if this baby had a tongue tie, I am going to meet with Dr. Scott Siegel, (Rockville Centre and Melvlle). He does a laser treatment, which is probably less painful. Buit I would definitely do it again, as I believe it is in the best interest on both baby and Mom.

ETA: Because of DS tongue tie, he could not latch on to me at all, and by the time it was properly diagnosed it had been so long that he didn't know what to do. I had to use a nipple shield and pump A LOT (until almost 5 months old-then he was able to latch). It was sooooo difficult to keep up with him, because he would take more from a bottle than from me. From my experience, most peds are not well versed in tongue tie, my ped said he didn't think DS had one, but the top expert said it was actually moderate to severe. At least see if DH will have a consult with a specialist/lactation consultant. G/L!

Message edited 7/15/2012 9:10:37 PM.

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

my dd was born with a slight case of tongue tied too and our dr also said its not that bad shes eating n gaining weight that we dont need to get it clip (its not a surgery its in office they numb it and clip its over in 3 seconds) Anyway he did say that if we chose to not get it cliped that it may cause a speech inpediment (spelling sorry) so we took her to the ent and he said he would clip it if he wanted that ifs not a must due but it would cause her to have probelms with some words. So i decided to have it done. Im telling you it took all of 5 seconds and she was sucking on her paci right after like nothing happen. We did it at 2 weeks old though.

tongue tied...wwyd

we had it clipped on ds when he was2 days old.. honestly in our family it was hereditary and me my niece and nephew who didnt have it cliped needed speech lessons.....

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

My DD has a slight tongue tie as well that we are keeping a watch over for now. She had probs staying latched on from day 1 so I've been EPing since we've been home.... She is now 8 weeks and pumping is still going strong and she takes the bottle very well! Lots of work for me but she is doing well so we are not going for the surgery just yet.

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

I'd do it in a heartbeat. If your DH wants to nurse painfully for three months or try to EP, he is more than welcome to try it. IMO the surgery isn't a big deal - it's a common problem and a routine procedure. Your baby will be able to BF much better once it's done, and you'll feel better, too. The baby will probably have to have it done at some point, because tongue tie can affect speech.

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

My daughter was tongue tied and at 11 months we had her clipped. I can honestly say finding the right doctor to do it was more difficult that the surgery. We had one dr (older woman) who told us that it was "simple" procedure -- they would bind her and we would hold her down, with a nurse holding her head and she would do it in the office with not even numbing the area. I dont think I even let her finished talking I RAN from that office. We saw one ENT who made out this long drawn out surgical plan.....wanted to check adnoids, etc...

We went with Dr. Saul Modlin in Garden City. My daughter was talking or beginning to at that point and it was affected her speech and drinking properly from a regular cup. We had the surgery done at winthrop, they made sure the surgery was done early b/c of the no feeding prior to the surgery, they let her take her favorite dog in and I carried her in. I think I was more traumatized leaving her, she didnt' even know what was going on. If she was in there 10 minutes it was a lot and by the afternoon she was eating, drinking and playing normally -- she is now much older and has no speech issues.

I would not only consider what you are going through now, but what the implications of having it done/not done will do for her going forward.

(I had it also and had mine clipped with my wisdom teeth removal, I went through speech therapy for S, and TH sounds if that helps any)

Good luck -- whatever you decide is the right decision for your baby. :)

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

DS is tongue tied and having it snipped in a few weeks. He will be 2 months. It's actually an in office procedure with no anesthesia. We go to Dr Glick at LIJ. I am an SLP and it can cause speech problems later on so I definitely wanted it fixed.

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

DS was slightly tongue tied. At about a month old we got it snipped. It was in the drs office, it took 2 seconds, he sucked on the bottle afterwards like nothing. The Dr. said if you wait until they are older, it is so much harder. I don't regret doing it at all.

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

The lactation consultant said this too to us for both kids.

DS AND DD would have feeding issues... latching was painful (but I don't think in my case that's due to the tongue tie & it went away with time) & they were "violent" feeders: would move, kick, make noises, etc.

Both were able to grow out of the difficulty in a month or two. I supplemented both with formula.

DS is talking now. He's got absolutely no problems with anything... well... maybe he doesn't make the "L" sound well yet, but his "S" is spectacular. I never thought about it effecting his speech (but it makes sense).

Good luck with your decision.

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

Re: tongue tied...wwyd

My son was tongue tied and we had it snipped when he was 4 months old. He is six now, and has a lot of speech problems. Now, speech therapists are telling us that it MAY or MAY NOT related to the tongue tie. My big worry about not snipping it has to do with speech problems. I can't advise you, because six years on I am still not sure I have done the right thing...

tongue tied...wwyd

DS was also tongue tied. The doctor snipped it when he was about 5 days old. I think it was worse for me than it was for him. But he was having some sucking issues and we worried about how bad it could hurt him if we snipped it when he got older. I'm glad we did it when we did.