Trauma from tongue-tie snip, please help

[mia1972]

Dear all,
I am pretty stressed, my tiny 2 week son had his tongue snipped 2 days ago. We were told that it wasn't a severe case but his back frenulum was tight and it could make a big difference to the BF with which we really struggle from day 1, worth a try...
When they performed the procedure he bled for 8 minutes or so and was in obvious pain... since then he hasn't settled and is still in some discomfort, i have not managed to put him on breast at all as too distressed, and even bottle feeding is harder as his tongue goes towards the roof of his mouth and we need to not disturb the wound.
Someone else looked at it and said that it's healing fine and the cut seems perfectly normal ...but I don't understand what is going on and my baby went from happy and relaxed to being always quite unsettled.
Has anyone had a similar experience ? Please let me know as I am now wondering if i should have done it in the first place ...
Thanks in advance ....

DD had hers done and was a bit unsettled - I think partly as she was so tired afterwards from the crying. Have you tried making him go to sleep and feeding while he's asleep? Rock him (or get your DH to do it) then take him and slip him onto the boob once he's drowsy or asleep.

yes there yes I have tried and with no success so far, he wakes up and starts crying, but i will keep trying... thanks for the advice ...

I'm in exactly the same situation as you. I'm quite cross that I was told it wouldn't hurt him and found it really traumatic and still feed that way He's feeding ok now but the first day or so calpol helped (first time he had it). Also getting him to feed when sleepy. Perhaps try in a warm bath after a dose of pain killer to get him going?

I've also found that my DS is now waking a lot in the night but unlike before not going back down easily. He's also got a white spot still five days later and I'm worried if its an infection.

I don't think it usually hurts. My baby had hers done at a few weeks and was looking happily at the lady who did it. I've heard from others here and from chatting to the MW that babies who cry usually do simply due to being constrained/bundled and not from the snip... which would make me wonder if there's something else wrong with it.

Mine was diagnosed by a lactaction consultant (at the local nhs bosum buddies). Is there anyone like that you can go to to get help feeding?

Hi ThisOnce, i think that the white sore is normal, when did you get it done ? It is meant to be there for about a week ...Haven't tried calpol, how old is your little one ?

I am so cross, I had been told that they only get pain for a split second !! That is certainly not what happened to us ...I have been advised to go and see a paediatric cranial-osteopath for infants, apparently they can calm the area down but can't do that until next monday.

Mine was also diagnosed by a lactation consultant and we had since another lactation consultant cone to our house, problem was that when she came baba was in such distress we could not get him to latch ...

Ah, my DS is 11 weeks so a bit older in relation to pain relief. We were told 48 hours for the white sore to go but five says in now.

Have you tried feeding while walking around or bouncing on a yoga ball, the distraction seems to help a bit.

What feeding issues were there pre snip? TT symptoms can look like reflux as well...

He would find it very difficult to latch and would not suckle once on, and would not swallow anything according to lactation expert, shortly afterwards he would need topping up as really hungry

Ok keep trying to feed him asleep. It's hard trying to feed a newborn when it's all new anyway. Get the lactation consultant back ASAP as she should be doing follow up.

Try syringing milk into your baby so he's not hungry. Strip him and yourself naked and try feeding in the bath - try and relax because he will pick up on your stress. Keep baby with you all the time for the next 24 hours or so so you can read his cues and try feeding.

thanks!!

will he suck a finger? sometimes if you can get them to suck a finger to settle, you can slip the finger out and latch them onto the breast. (This trick also works with a dummy if you're using one.

or if you are giving the bottle successfully, a breast sandwich can work, so bottlefeed him for a while to settle, then breast, then finish with bottle if needed. It can take time post tongue tie for it to actually make a difference,
ime usually about 1-2 weeks with a posterior tie so definitely get the lactation consultant back!