[Spoiledwife]

Anyone familiar with tongue-tie, a condition where the baby's natural frenulum is thickened/extended ,which prevents the baby from sticking their tongue out?
This is a supposedly "rare" condition in a very low percentage of babies but guess what? All three of my kids have had it!! To complicate things, the appearance of the frenulum may vary greatly! With my first newborn, I thought the BF was going great until I progressively got more sore and ended up black and blue!! Just before leaving the hospital, the LC discovered the tongue-tie. She recommended having it clipped at his two-week appt while I pumped to help by breasts recover. He never did get the hang of it and after six long weeks, we switched to formula.
We discovered my second newborn's tongue tie five days after her birth when no amount of repositioning/pain meds could lessen the pain of nursing. I took her to the LC and her tongue-tie was less conspicuous but there, nonetheless. I had her clipped that afternoon but she still never got the hang of it!
OK, so we're thinking we're prepared for the third one!! Ten minutes after he was born, I was inspecting his mouth. And there it was!!! An awesome hospital ped came in on his day off two hours the birth and clipped him. This baby was able to nurse for four months!! For some reason, he didn't gain weight btwn 4-6 months and circumstances made it necessary to wean him to the bottle.
Well, the fourth one is on the way and though I'm very new to this site, I'm going to beg all of you to keep us in your prayers that, by some miracle, this baby will NOT be tongue-tied. Genetically, that may be impossible but here's hoping!!
I'm pretty sure this is our last baby and I really, really want to breastfeed for at least six months! I probably know too much about it and I tend to stress over every detail. Hope springs eternal!
Thanks for listening, everyone!! My little cherub is due on 12/28/07 -plenty of time for lots of prayers!!

[Alejandros Mommy]

Firstly Hello! Welcome to families!
With your history make sure the doc check this one out once born...it'll be easier for the both of you and help your babe by allowing them to learn to BF asap.
I hope that all goes well and your able to BF for a long time...mine just weaned himself 3 wks ago. Good luck to you

[QueenAngie]

Welcome to the board!

So glad that you figured out this problem and knew what to do.

When #4 arrives, either way, you are prepared with an action plan.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[kimmy0902]

Welcome!
My 1st ds was toungue tied. He couldn't latch on to my breast. The only way I could bf him was to use a nipple shield. I used that for 3 months but unfortunatly my milk dried up. I'm pregnant with #2 and I was told that more than likely all my children will be toungue tied. I guess it is hereditary...? My husband is. Hope fully this one will not be and I can bf'ed him. Good luck!

[twinzplus3]

Yes spoiledwife definitely have that babe checked out right away. I also would reccomend seeing a lactation consultant. As a pp mentioned, you may well have to use a shield but should never do so without the direction of a certified IBCLC or else. . .

your milk will dry up. Kimmy did you ever have his tongue clipped? This is the solution to the problem. . .and a shield will work short term but you can't use shields long term generally speaking because they do not allow the baby to stimulate your breast to produce enough milk. . .this is most likely why you dried up.

And yes, it is hereditary. It is not common--except in families. My advice to anyone actually whose baby is tongue tied is to have the tongue clipped and then if bubs doesn't get the latching thing right away (like in the next one or two nursing sessions) go see an IBCLC. Some people (mainly husbands might balk at spending the money but they will be able to help and it is A LOT cheaper than paying for formula. Sometimes your insurance will pay as well. HTH

[kimmy0902]

I saw the lactation nurse in the hospital. She told me to talk to my dr. about gettting it clipped. Well, they said they wouldn't do it unless he was loosing weight or if it was affecting his speech. It's not so.....I went ever week to a program my hospital has that the lactation nurse started to help mother's who bf. But, like I said after 3 months my milk dried up cause he couldn't latch on. As far as this baby goes, I'm more than likely going to pump for about the 1st month or so then switch to formula. I atleast want him to get the colostrum!

[twinzplus3]

I'm so sorry that was your experience. Most lactation consultants in hospitals are useless. They are nurses that have had a few hours of extra training in breastfeeding. I have had more training in breastfeeding than they have! UGH. . .anyways. . .An IBCLC is an actual certified lactation consultant that has passed a rigorous exam and has over 600 hours of helping mothers breastfeed. Don't get me wrong--hospital programs are great when it's your run of the mill stuff. It's when the problem is at all out of the ordinary that they cause problems and are not very useful. An IBCLC would've been able to get that baby latched properly even with being tongue tied if it was that long. I think I'm going to write a blog on this. . .

[Spoiledwife]

I, too, got the spiel about not clipping unless there was a "real problem." Hello!
The actual procedure is quick and relatively painless. The frenulum is essentially extra tissue. But it should be done by someone who knows what they're doing. With my first two, I don't think they were thorough enough and they were done by the same pediatrician. A different doc did my third and he really did a good job. I think it helped that this doc was also a strong supporter of breastfeeding! I'm glad to have it done. I think we've avoided problems down the road.

[twinzplus3]

Well. . .in theory tongue tied babies can breastfeed just fine. My pedi is actually great but I sometimes wish that you could stick your baby on their nipples so that when you say you are in pain--they get it!

My rule of thumb would be that if you're nursing fine right off the bat don't do it. BUT if there's any kind of pain, any kind of 'something's not right', I would likely get it clipped too so that bubs could nurse well from the get go. And you're right--doing it right away would solve a lot of problems.

[kimmy0902]

True, I was told he would be able to bf but....I have flat nipples. (didn't know if I wanted to share that...) Anyways, I was told that becasue I have flat nipples it would be impossiable. You can work with one but not with both. That's just what I was told.