Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

'tongue tie' baby - any experiences?

26 replies

olatt · 19/06/2007 16:48

my ds is almost 4 weeks and the hv said today she has a tongue tie and recommended we get it snipped - she feeds (bf) well and that seems to be the main reason for doing it so i'm not sure we should. any thoughts? thanks!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

hertsnessex · 19/06/2007 16:50

IF SHE IS FEEDING WELL, THEN THERE IS NO NEED TO GET IT SNIPPED, IT WILL STRETCH OR BREAK OF ITS OWN ACCORD IF NEEDED.

Mercy · 19/06/2007 16:54

If she's feeding well then I can't think of any other reason for it to be done tbh.

My mum, my brother adn I are tongue-tied and it has had no effect on our lives (other than not being able to poke tongues out a people or do French kisses!)

My mum said we were a total nightmare to feed - breast and bottle took for ever - and wishes the this procedure had been around then.

flamingtoaster · 19/06/2007 16:58

If she is feeding well then there is no need to do it now. My daughter was tongue-tied (though no-one realized it and feeding was a nightmare). It was spotted by our dentist and when she was seven we gave her the choice of having it done or not as her speech was very slightly affected. She chose to have it done and our dentist did it as she trusted him. It was a very simple procedure.

bobsmum · 19/06/2007 17:02

DD had this and it did stretch. She's 2 now and has the longest tongue I've ever seen! No speech problems at all - she's a real chatterbox.

There were no feeding problems as such, however she was incredibly windy and I wonder of that was because she had another tight frenulum (?) tying her top lip to her gums. Combined with the tongue tie meant her latch was rubbish - no pain for me and plenty milk for her, but plenty air too because there was no seal IYSWIM.

If your ds seems windy and colicky then I would consider it - it's only in hindsight I wonder if it would have made her more comfy, but other than that she didn't need it.

Dh is also tongue tied and can't stick his tongue out at all/lick an ice cream etc.

Pruners · 19/06/2007 17:04

Message withdrawn

Bouquetsofdynomite · 19/06/2007 17:04

My dd has a slight one according to the paed at the hospital. He recommended doing nothing unless it caused probs BFing. I can't see any difference between her and brother's tongues now but nobody ever mentioned he had one.

yogimum · 19/06/2007 17:10

My ds has tongue tie. I spoke with a specialist at Southampton and he wasn't having a problem feeding he advised us to do nothing. However he did say that he could have problems with lumps when he went onto solids but this wasn't the case. If you decide to get it done its best to have it done now rarther than later as usually is done under a general if left.

kath81 · 20/06/2007 12:18

My ds was tongue tied and couldn't breast feed and could only use 1 sort of teat so his was snipped when he was around 3 weeks.

Has she said to what degree it is tied? The midwife at our hospital was able to look at how much it was tied and recommend that it was snipped or left alone

cupcakesgalore · 20/06/2007 12:27

All my 3 were tongue tied to varying degrees. I found BF v. uncomfortable and had v.v.v.v. sore nipples although the latch was fine. All 3 were also v. colicky. My youngest has the most marked tie and although it has improved (she's 2.5 now) and she chatters and communicates fine, she does have a heavy lisp and some speech difficulties. In my area the m/ws have just trained to do this snip at birth / early on and if the next one is as tongue tied I will get it done.

Smithagain · 20/06/2007 21:18

DD2 was tongue tied. I thought she was feeding well, but I was getting a little bit sore. Nothing major, just not totally comfortable.

Went to see the breastfeeding counsellor who said we were doing very well to feed as well as we were and it would be better to get it done.

We did get it snipped and she fed even better, straight away. Much more comfortable for me! And it was a totally non-traumatic event as far as she was concerned.

If you are very sure her feeding is fine, then I don't know of any good reason to do it - unless it's so bad that they think it will affect her speech. But if you have any doubts about the feeding (e.g. colic, nipple soreness, clicky noises), I would go for it.

CarGirl · 20/06/2007 21:22

dd2 had this and had it snipped at a couple of weeks old dut bf pain!!!!!!!! It was quick and easy and I would recommend it as I know other people who have had to get their dc done when older because they had problems spoon feeding or speech problems. It is very simple and quick when they are little, more traumatic when they are older!

Pruners · 21/06/2007 16:17

Message withdrawn

Bouquetsofdynomite · 22/06/2007 10:05

LOL, so you and the doctor had made it up eh?
Do you know, looking back maybe DD's slight tongue tie was the reason for me giving up BF after a week. It was certainly a pretty horific experience but because she was feeding ok I thought it was just me being crap. I couldn't face feeding my 2nd but if I manage to convince DH of another, I'd give it my best shot and ask for help and also specifically ask them to check for tongue tie.

Original poster

olatt · 09/07/2007 16:06

thanks for this - i had to go away for a while just after i posted and have only just been able to check! she is a pretty unsettled little thing but i don't know if it's linked. hv said tongue tie was 'not as bad as some i've seen' although i had noticed it before she mentioned it so it's quite visible. tempted to do it just as she does seem windy but she is thriving and feeding well etc ... aaargh hate decisions like this!

OP posts:

flibertyplus2 · 09/07/2007 16:52

Hi, olatt, I've just been through this with my DS now 6 months.

I asked midwives & doc at hosp, community midwives, GP and HV about my sons tongue tie and was told 'we don't do anything with these anymore and certainly not if you are managing to bf'.

I went along with this at first but found that although I managed to bf, it was tiring DS out and it took longer than other babies to feed. In the end I researched it on the net and found the baby friendly site:www.babyfriendly.org.uk/page.asp?page=152
It gives the details of how/why and under "Dividing tongue tie" you can find people in your area who perform the procedure. I just printed the details of the surgeon who does it up here and gave it to my GP. We went through my reasons and they made the appointment 2 days later. I think the main reason that no one took it seriouly before then was that they had'nt had this problem before and didn't know where to refer us to. It seems that because it's such a long time since bfing was strictly routine, the knowledge about tongue ties causing problems has been lost too.

I was also told that according to WHO, if the frenulum hasn't torn or stretched by 6 wks it isn't going to.

Having the procedure improved feeding immediately and he doesn't get as frustrated when he is really hungry. One thing I hadn't expected was his babbling is noticeably clearer and less muffled. I wasn't keen on having it done unless we had no option but by 5 months DS wasn't feeding any quicker and there were still short gaps between feeds so I reconsidered. I wish they still did this routinely at birth as it is so minor to fix when they are small but can make everything harder, particularly establishing bfing. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined either, particularly if you've been through the vaccinations already!

Thoughout, I haven't read many reasons against it other than the procedure being uncomfortable itself, only slight chance of infection or blocked saliva duct (both unlikely & easily dealt with).

I have heard all of these reasons for it:
easier bf
easier to wean
easier to learn to talk
can cause problems with tooth decay as tongue can't move food around and clean teeth as efficiently
can't lick/french kiss
can't stick tongue out at adults!
might be singled out by other kids for it

Obviously, not everyone with tongue-tie will have all these problems and it all may depend on the type and severity but these are what I came across reading around the subject.

Wow, mammoth post! Hope that helps, feel free to ask any questions or CAT me if you want to know more.

flibertyplus2 · 09/07/2007 16:56

I got the 'not as bad as some i've seen' comments too and DS was swallowing a lot of air too. His was visible as a heart shape when he cried or tried to stick it out. It is quite common for it to be dealt with when they are older if it causes speech problems. I was just happier knowing it wasn't going to become a problem in the first place.

wulfricsmummy · 09/07/2007 17:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

LoopyLouLisa · 10/07/2007 19:12

Hiya Olatt,

My son had a moderate tongue tie which was noticed seconds after birth. Apparently it
should have been divided at a day old as it's easier/less risks. At 6 week check I asked gp and they referred us to local paed dept. my main concerns were that we couldn't bf, and future development ie talking/dental hygiene. After being on the waiting list he had it divided at 8 months in the local hospital as a day case. it did need a general anasthetic due to his age but this was a very mild dose/type and within ten minutes of being taken into theatre he was in the recovery ward, wide awake and loudly requesting his food! I am 7 months pg with dc2 and will definitely have it done if this baby has the same problem. I was especially keen to have it corrected before he started to talk, so that he wouldn't have to re-learn.

NAB3 · 10/07/2007 19:13

I would check that your baby does in fact have tongue tie. We had months of worry and then the GP told us the baby didn't even have tongue tie.

Hulababy · 10/07/2007 21:32

My neice has toungue tie when born and had problems with feeding. IIRR the HV also went down the "we don't do anything route" which was not helpful for them when there were obvious problems. They opted to go private. Was about £65 I think and took minutes to perform. Has had no problems since.

milkybarsrus · 13/07/2007 21:34

my baby had a tongue tie and it was really difficult breast feeding him. the h/v said she would refer him to hospital (private) to have it done or would have to wait 6 months on nhs waiting list! not possible with a hungry baby to feed. so opted to go private and spent my maternity pay on it, it cost £450.00! was it worth it?YES would i reccomend it? YES. it takes seconds to do, and has no side affects. get it done before 6 months old or baby will need to have a g.a.

Hulababy · 13/07/2007 22:30

£450 BIL & SIL paid a fair bit less than £100 IIRR!

FoghornLeghorn · 13/07/2007 22:32

DD1 had this, doesn't having now and she's nearly 3. Can't recall when it corrected itself but has never given her any trouble at all

MarsLady · 13/07/2007 22:36

Is it causing you difficulty? Sore nipples? Does your baby feed a lot and not seem satisfied?

The improvement in bfing is instant and the pain is gone as quickly. You need to put the baby to the breast as soon as it's done.

Some babies have slight tongue-tie and huge problems. Others have severe tongue-tie and nothing!

It's up to you.

juliewoolie · 13/07/2007 22:51

My LO is now 6 weeks old and I had dreadful trouble BF him my nipples were badly cracked and bleeding. When I saw a BF counsellour she noticed his tongue tie straight away. Luckily we had private health care and we managed to see a consultant within days. The procedure takes seconds to do and my LO didnt even cry he went straight on to the breast and the difference was instant. He is now feeding beautifully and is thriving.

I would thouraghly recommend you get this done. If only so that when your LO is older he can stick his tongue out at people and lick an ice cream.

Flip

1 2