Tongue & Lip Tie

I'd like to start by saying that even before getting pregnant, I have been very passionate about breastfeeding my children. What I didn't know or realize is how difficult and frustrating it really can be. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I began reading. I read everything from magazines, to online articles to books. ("So That's What They're For" by Janet Tamaro is a great book by the way). I was determined to breastfeed and know everything I needed to know beforehand. I honestly thought breastfeeding would be so natural and enjoyable.

When my son was born, he latched almost immediately and ate for a few minutes. The next day however, I was not so lucky. Baby Alex began to not latch and developed jaundice. I partly blame myself because I was so tired and allowed him to sleep for 6 hours straight with no feedings, so I could sleep as well. Anyway, I ended up having to supplement with 10 cc's of formula to get his blood sugar back up. From then on I woke him every 3 hours to feed but had to use a nipple shield in order to get him latched on. I continued with the nipple shield for about a week and then with lots of practice, I able to get him latched without it.

As the weeks went by, I realized that something wasn't quite right. Although my son was gaining properly and seemed to be transferring milk correctly, things just didn't feel right. I felt as if he was pinching my nipple. It was unbearable. I would literally cringe whenever he could latch on (& my nipples came out of his mouth very misshapen), and we would just cry together whenever he couldn't. There were so many late nights that I seriously contemplated just making him a bottle of formula and handing him off to daddy just so I could get a wink of sleep. Of course that wouldn't have made a difference since he could not hold onto a bottle whatsoever. After a few weeks had passed and I knew this wasn't just normal beginning breastfeeding pain, I finally went to see a lactation consultant. Alex was about three weeks at this time. That is when I learned my precious son was tongue tied. Before that day, I had barely even heard about tongue ties and had no idea how they could affect my breastfeeding relationship. I did my research and called a few doctors and found a doctor who would snip little man's tie. I was so nervous but the procedure took about 2 seconds and Alex seemed more annoyed that the doctor had his hand in his mouth than anything else. Unfortunately, I didn't notice much of a change in the way he was latching. The lactation consultant said everything looked good and that maybe I should give it a few days and see what happened.

 After a few days had passed and still no change, I began doing more research and found information on lip ties. I nervously lifted Alex's top lip up to find that he indeed had an upper lip tie. I went back to the doctor who told me that the lip tie would not affect breastfeeding and that my son would most likely fall in the future and end up tearing it (awesome!). He also mentioned that my son had a posterior tongue tie but that he was unable to take care of it. I was devastated. I thought my breastfeeding days would soon be over. I began pumping in preparation, but luckily I was able to stick through it and am still going strong at 4 months.

I was determined to have a good breastfeeding relationship. So, I dealt with the pain and continued doing my research. It seemed as if no one really understood the affects of tongue and lip ties except for other mothers who had children with them. I could not find anyone in my area who would even look at my son's ties, let alone do something about them.

Finally, I stumbled upon a group on Facebook called, Tongue Tie Babies Support Group and lo and behold, lip and tongue ties are far from rare and far from being, "no big deal." The group had so much great information and support that I finally made the decision to find a doctor as close to us as possible and make the trip to get these ties taken care of once and for all. Unfortunately, during this time we were also battling thrush for 2+ months but that's a whole 'nother story.

Anyway, we now have our appointment set up and are prepared to take a 13 hour road trip to Portland, OR. I am a bag of mixed emotions. I am so nervous for my precious bubby, but I know it will be worth it in the end, not only for our breastfeeding relationship but also for his speech development and hygiene later on in his life. I really hope this procedure gives us some relief and allows both him and I to benefit from breastfeeding in the way that nature intended.

Lip Tie... getting a pic of his tongue was impossible.