Tongue tie

[ScotchEgg]

I didn't want to hijack Chloe's thread so I thought I'd start a new one.

SausageRoll is 5 weeks old now and feeding hasn't improved in the last few weeks. He feeds well and is gaining weight perfectly but I still have pain throughout all his feeds. I've taken all the feeding support I can and an always told I'm doing it right, his latch is great and that it shouldn't hurt beyond the let down.

Tongue tie came up in Chloe's thread as a cause of pain. I was told SR had tongue tie shortly after he was born but that it wasn't a problem as he was feeding fine so I pretty much forgot about it.

I've seen someone today who says his tongue tie is quite extreme and very tight. She said when he sucks his tongue isn't covering his lower gum the way it should so he's using his jaw and his lips to bring the milk down not his tongue.

She asked if my nipples feel bruised and had a look - they are bruised, quite visibly. I didn't realise this was unusual until she expressed shock. She said people often describe them as feeling bruised but that she's never seen clear bruises on them before from feeding. She was impressed I've carried on so long.

We discussed options and the fact that such tight tt may impact his speech when he's older. We made the decision to get the cut. I'm cross it was brushed off in the first place and that this could have been fixed earlier and sorted the pain, but grateful that it had been sorted now.

He's a bit out of sorts tonight and I've been told I might not feel an improvement for a while because of how damaged my nips are. It was so hard to do something that hurt my boy but I hope it's for the best...

 

[TaffyRose]

Max was diagnosed with a tt at birth but like you because he was feeding it was left. In the end we ended up back in hospital as Max had severe jaundice and a consultant took one look at his tt and cut it as it was a bad one. I used nipple shields for a while before he had it cut as it meant he had more to latch onto and used them after to let my nipples heal. Other things that helps them heal is actually rubbing breast milk on them, it's magic stuff or using lansinoh cream, which you don't have to rub off to feed. He'll be healed in no time and I hope you are too xxx

 

[SpinSugar]

Oh hun, bless you for persevering for so long! Often if babies are gaining weight they get left, even though it's shiny. No wonder so many mums give up BF!

It will take time, it's not instant - but it WILL get better, slowly. 3 weeks post TT cut I gave up as I was in agony. I expressed & bottle fed for 2 days, then tried again. LO latched perfectly! Unfortunately it grew back but were getting there now.
I got some shells to help my nipples heal, wished I'd had them from the start!

She was also thoroughly miserable for a few days while it healed, in pain & wouldn't feed!
Once it's healed SR will start to learn to use his tongue more. Good luck & keep us updated! Xxx

 

[ScotchEgg]

I will do. We're having a tough night but he's drifting off now. I can feel a difference with feeding although not a difference with pain. It just feels different. It was the hardest thing in the world to let them hurt my baby but I'm hoping it's worth it.

I was lucky and had shells suggested from early on by a midwife. They are amazing aren't they. I've also been using breast milk and lansinoh which have kept my nips in the best shape they can be.

Thank you for your support. If it wasn't for this place we wouldn't even have known to try and I don't know how long I could have continued for

 

[ScotchEgg]

OK so he's feeding but my boobs are engorged. He's not feeding add long as normal, refusing the second boob every time. I know he's out of sorts after last night. Should I pump and freeze to keep my supply up or will one off day not matter?

 

[SpinSugar]

I'm sure one day won't matter but it might make it harder for him to latch if your engorged x

 

[knopk@]

You can always pump and freeze to have a stash. Xxx Hope it improves for you

 

[ScotchEgg]

Just thought I'd update here. I pumped and froze after a feed on Thursday and things improved dramatically once he was latching on to a softer boob. He's now taking both breasts for most feeds again.

He's less windy, sick less and feeding is already improving for me. I'm still very sore, but he's sucking less urgently which is having an impact on its own. I can feel that he's using his tongue instead of his jaw at the start of feeds although he slips into bad habits part way through. I'm happy to wait and see if that gets longer with time.

Also the 'nipples' he pulls out (I also suffer with completely flat nipples) are much larger than they used to be so I think he's getting a deeper latch.

It was such a hard thing to do but I really think it was the right thing. I'd love for the pain to go, but I feel hope it will now where before I felt I was getting towards a point where I wouldn't be able to carry on.

Thank you. Without this forum I wouldn't even have looked into tongue tie.

 

[SpinSugar]

So glad things are improving :-D

 

[ScotchEgg]

Oh no! Green poo! How long does that take to happen? Could it be from him not eating much on wed/thurs or is he still not getting enough hind milk? He's been on each boob much longer in the last 2 days. He's also hardly had any dirty nappies today where it's normally one with every feed but they've been as wet as usual.

 

[BeeSmall]

Green poo can be totally normal. Henry had it for a good 3/4 weeks and we are finally back to yellow again now. HV said as long as he was putting on weight, feeding efficiently etc then not to worry. It can be about so many different things and isn't necessary foremilk/hindmilk imbalance x

 

[ScotchEgg]

That's good to know. Just had a great big yellow one a again like normal

 

[SpinSugar]

Don't worry at all about the odd green poo, it's just as beesmall said xx

 

[BeeSmall]

These babies do like to worry us don't they?! When we first started getting green poo I became obsessed by the colour of his nappies haha my life really has changed an awful lot! X

 

[Samantha55]

Hope the feeds soon become less painful for you now. Well done for keeping going though, sounds like you're doing great xx

 

[ScotchEgg]

Just thought I'd do an update. 2 weeks after the tongue tie has been cut and feeds are not really painful any more. They're still uncomfortable and when he's tired he still latches on in his old way which hurts a lot but I'm slowly healing. I've stopped dreading feeds and when my boobs are full and telling me we'll be feeding soon I almost look forwards to it. He's definitely going through a growth spurt at the moment as my normal over-supply is just about keeping him going and he's feeding more at night. I'm tired but every feed feels like a milestone. I didn't know a few weeks ago how long I could keep going but now I know that I can do it

 

[SpinSugar]

So pleased things are improving for you x

 

[ChloeSmith]

Great news SE! X

 

[BeeSmall]

Yey glad things are getting easier for you. Well done for sticking with it, it's all worth it in the end isn't it? X