Tongue tie dilemma

[charlieg22]

Hi i am currently breastfeeding ds2 who is now 4 weeks old. It has been v painful since day one + a couple of weeks ago the hv + midwife diagnosed him with a slight tongue tie. Have been referred to kings tt clinic + have an apt there tomorrow pm. Am now concerned if am doing the right thing - he still takes ages to feed + even after an hour of feeding still seems hungry - on one side it is constantly painful with him sucking really hard + pinching/pulling but on the other its 50/50 sometimes like this othr times he doesnt really suck but can feel what is either his gums or tongue rubbing which isnt as bad - ds1 refused to breastfeed so have nothing to compare it to. Really want to carry on but its causing jealousy issues with ds1 over the amoumt of time i spend feeding him not to mention making it hard to leave the house as hes constantly feeding or wanting to when hes awake. Dh thinks we should move onto bottles to make our lives easier + so he can share the burden a bit more + doesnt think we should habe his tongue clipped. Sorry to ramble but i guess i just wanted some advice on how it should feel if hes feeding properly to see if he might be able to i dont want to put him through the procedure if its not the reason altho been told it is likely to be. Has anyone been to kings + had it done? As i type hes thrashing around on my right boob when i know there is milk there its agony as usual. Any advice ir suggestions really appreciated thanks x

Please get it cut. (from an adult with a tongue tie).

I would get it done. I did with Dd and although it didn't make very much difference (I have IGT) for us it only took a few secs and she wasn't bothered. Some others have had it as a magic fix and although it wasn't like it for us, I would have always wondered 'what if' if we hadn't had it done.

DS had severe tongue tie, had it "clipped" at seven days - he had a 20p sized wound under his tongue, I was not allowed in the room while they did the procedure, he was handed back to me with a bloody dressing in his mouth. He still could not latch afterwards, I expressed as much breast milk as I could but from six weeks he was FF. I was in bits about it at the time.

Fast forward three years, DD was born with a mild tongue tie, very low birthweight, couldn't latch. I expressed as much as I could but she was FF from four weeks. I did not consider getting her tongue clipped.

I am totally bonded with my children, they are very healthy and intelligent

I know DS was an unusual case and I know plenty of people have no problems with the procedure but I felt incredibly guilty for putting DS through the pain that he obviously felt.

You know what's best for your family but formula isn't the spunk of the devil no matter what you might read on Mumsnet occasionally.

Good luck.

My DS had a 95% tongue tie that was cut at 9 weeks old. As the others have said, it's not always a miracle cure. I don't say this to be negative, but I know I really pinned my hopes on the procedure 'fixing' BF but we continued to have problems after as my milk supply never had the chance to establish properly and by 9 weeks I was fighting a losing battle really. Saying that, DS was EBF for 3 months and then I mix fed until 6 months, something I'm proud of given the circumstances and something that would've been impossible if we hadn't snipped his tongue tie. They have to relearn their latch which is like going back to the beginning and it's easy for them to slip back into bad habits but hopefully it should ease your pain going forward.

The procedure itself was all a bit traumatic at the time as my poor hubby had to hold DS while it was done, there was a long wait, and it was Christmas Eve but DS bounced back really quickly, fed directly afterwards and was fine even an hour later with a bit of calpol.

Ultimately I'm glad we decided to have it done. I have no 'what ifs' to torture myself with, there were no ongoing problems with weaning onto solids (which i think can be the case) and hopefully his speech won't be impaired either (bit early to tell at the mo as he's only 10 months but he's very noisy!). Hope this helps

I had DS's tongue tie cut at 3 weeks. As well as the feeding issues, it can cause speech problems later so I was keen to get it done as soon as possible when it is a very minor procedure.

Basically, ds was asleep when he got to the appointment. The Dr had DP lie DS on his lap, the Dr had a quick feel in his mouth, got out a pair of scissors and snipped the tie. DS woke up and cried, there was a spot of blood. Dr. suggested I should feed DS in the waiting room before we left but actually he went back to sleep by the time we got there so we just took him straight home. He had a small ulcer under his tongue for the next couple of days and his mouth seemed a bit sore but that was it.

DP has an uncut tongue tie and was keen to get DS's cut.

Get it cut. DS2 had an undiagnosed TT that meant I couldn't bf OR bottle feed him, ended up cup/spoon feeding him for the first 11 months.

It also caused MASSIVE issues with his speech, it was incredibly delayed. Still hasn't been snipped, as will need to be fine under GA after around 12 weeks. So much better to do it sooner before the nerve endings grow in.

DS3 had his TT snipped at Kings at 10 weeks old.

Best (but hardest) decision I have ever made, for all 4 DC's!

I managed to bf him to 12mo, would have been longer but I had to start meds incompatible with bf.

I will say, MAKE them check for an upper lip tie too at the same time, and preferably get that snipped too if you can, especially if it's bad, as DS3's was missed.

DS3 cried, but bf instantly, I could feel the difference instantly, and no tears or pain for him after that bf. I think the tears were more shock at someone putting something cold and metal in his mouth, rather than actual pain tbh.

It really was the best thing I have done!

And the upper lip tie thing - DS3's was missed, but did still cause issues with bottles and beakers, he struggled to drink from them, and it caused issues with his speech, but I hadn't realised until he fell, hit his lip, and split his upper lip tie himself about 1-2 weeks ago (he's 19 months now). He said words before then, but they were very unclear. Since he split the upper lip tie, his speech has exploded, AND it's much clearer and more understandable.

I would advise DO IT!

DH had his done at the age of 34. Yes. He says please do it.

I would say do it early, we had DS done at about this age, it was nervewracking for me but of course he remembers nothing about it - after the age of, I think they said 6m or 9m, the nerves have grown in there so it would be a proper operation with anaesthesia whereas at such an early age they feel no pain from it and don't remember it. It wasnt very nice for me as I had to hold his head utterly still in his swaddling whilst the (very good) nurse snipped it with what seemed like ultra long scissors and blood shot out of his little mouth, I was quite distressed later about it but at the time just held him as stoically as possible and he healed very quickly, there was hardly anything there. He had been finding it almost impossible to latch on, and although he was fully BF it was very very difficult for both of us until the TT snip then it was loads better. the midwives/nurses said it was one of the worst TTs they had ever seen and were quite firm in the need to get it done, and we're glad we did. best of luck :)

Do get it done..we did at 4 weeks and our little poppet slept through the whole thing! No crying/pain/after effects..just a huge relief!

DS had a tongue tie and we had it snipped when he was about 2 weeks old. Tiny bit of blood, quick cry, then he had a feed straight away and thought no more about it. I'd been having some trouble with getting him to latch for feeding as the tongue tie was causing a problem, but once it was snipped he was fine feeding. In fact, I fed him till he was two and a half (just morning/bedtime feed for the last year).