Breastfeeding with tongue tie and reflux

[Babyangelfairy]

Hi,
I posted about two weeks ago about my son feeding every 20-30mins. Turns out it is linked to tongue tie (they either feed for long or tire and feed short and v.frequent) plus my son has reflux.
He’s seven weeks old now and had the tie snipped Xmas eve. There’s been no improvement in feeding and still feeds just as often.
He’s on ranitidine 3x daily for reflux and was told this can also be a cause for frequent feeding.
He won’t take a bottle or a dummy and in worn out😭 He’s my third child. My others were fussy feeders, my second had severe reflux and a skull deformity that requires surgery, but even he didn’t feed this often and took a bottle.
Any help or advise? Anyone else been in a similar position?
Many thanks xx

[LumpySpaceCow]

Hi,
I have 4 children and have had issues with tongue tie/reflux/shallow latch with 3 of them. In my experience, having the tie snipped wasn't the magic cure that I thought it would be (although I believe for some it is). If you can afford it, I would pay to see a lactation consultant - I did this with my 4th and even though he was my 4th breastfed baby and I am quite clued up on positioning and attachment, she really did teach an old dog new tricks.
Some say that tongue tied babies benefit from cranial osteopathy, worth a try but I found it a waste of money.
Have you explored allergies? Sometimes babies with cow's milk protein allergy display the same symptoms as reflux.
What I can say is that breastfeeding my 4th was the hardest - I was sore, tired and fed up - he also refused bottles and dummies - however, after about 4 months things suddenly got better xx

[Babyangelfairy]

Hi there,
Thanks for replying :)
Isn’t a lactation consultant the same as a breastfeeding counsellor? The one I saw discussed latching, watched feeding and she confirmed the tongue tie and did referral (hosp recommended her on discharge for TT referral) yet they’re all on leave until the new year at the moment and apparently after around 4/5wks they don’t help any more it’s the HV🤷🏼‍♀️ I asked about milk allergy, my first was intolerant to lactose (apparently) and I was told to stop BF and give LF milk (she’s 13 now) my second, I was told the same again but advised to go dairy free myself. He didn’t settle as much but I managed to combine feed (with the help of colief) ubtil he was 5mths and then weaned him off ready for his op.
With my son now (3rd) they’ve all dismissed any intolerance as his poop is normal colour- to be fair my others poops were green and often foamy.
So the HV and GP don’t think anything is wrong.
Did yours start taking a bottle in the end? I’m at my wits end as I am literally a human cow that’s rooted to the sofa or bed! Given the time of year I’ve felt extreme mum guilt towards my other two as well😥 xx

[Neverenoughspoons]

Hi, I agree with finding a private lactation consultant if you can afford it.
www.lcgb.org/find-an-ibclc/
Both the private one and the one that worked for a charity helped me enormously, up to DD being 6 months. I then very reluctantly gave up and she went onto Nutramigen due to CMPI.
DD had her TT snipped twice but I also found it didn’t make a big difference. She refused breastfeeding completely from 4.5 months, would just bite me. So I expressed for 6 weeks, then couldn’t carry on due to the effect on an existing health condition & time taken away from my older child.
Have you tried different shapes of dummies and bottle teats? My DD is much better with the old style long thin bottle teats, one of the midwifes said babies with TT often are because they go further back in their mouth.

[LumpySpaceCow]

No, he never took a bottle, the feeding just became easier - less painful, more time between feeds, the hours of crying at night stopped. He's still feeding now at 13 months (still annoying he won't take a dummy but I'll be thankful in the long run 😁).
I think a lactation consultant has more training but go off recommendations if you can.
Given the history of your other babies and the reflux, frequent feeding etc. a cow's milk protein allergy could be causing an issue. You could try cutting out all cow's milk products to see if that helps - I believe it can take up to 6 weeks to completely get out of your system.
If you're anywhere near the north west, I saw Shell Banks and would recommend.
Also, does your baby like being in a sling? Being upright may also help with the reflux x

[Neverenoughspoons]

I would second Shell Banks!