Sorry so long -- Severe PTT snipped last week, baby still cannot suck. Is there any hope for us?

[featherblue]

Hi there, just after some advice really as I'm feeling very low atm. Baby girl born naturally 18 days ago. Posterior tongue tie discovered at 6 days and not snipped until day 13 due to delay in referral (and only then after many sobbing-down-the-line phone calls from me). Baby has never been able to suck hard enough to empty milk from the breast, though she can latch on. Severe nipple trauma that is now healing, but still too painful to feed from left side.

Breastfeeding specialist midwife says latch looks good, but that her tt was so severe that she just doesn't know how to suck properly. That it may get better, but it may not. Her suck is just very weak.

At the moment I am feeding from the right side and pumping from the left every feed (plus right side after feeding) then topping up with ebm if I have it and formula if I don't. I'm dealing with low supply as well (can only pump 40-60ml at each feed, sometimes up to 80ml. I assume because she's never been able to empty the breast enough to stimulate it). After the snip, they weighed her before and after a 40min feed and she only took in like 2ml.

We are sandwich feeding (breast-bottle-breast) as per advice from bf midwife. Baby even has trouble latching on and sucking from the bottle. :( Midwife thinks the bottle may help her to learn to suck.

She's still almost 10% below her birth weight. She's starving and is taking in up to 120ml per feed. Being weighed again tomorrow.

I'm distraught and desperate to bf. Spend a lot of time crying atm. Just feeling like we're at the end of the line for breastfeeding and I don't want to stop. I'm taking domperidone (sp?) and fenugreek and I've just hired a hospital-grade double pump to try. Just trying to continue like this for as long as I can.

Sorry for the novel, but I'm just looking for anyone who's been in a similar situation? I've read all the past PTT threads. Just looking for some hope I guess.

[BertieBotts]

Has she been checked for upper lip tie as well? My friend's baby had this and it caused no end of problems. He's unable to latch onto a bottle as well. She had more success with the biological nurturing position than any kind of cradle hold while feeding.

The Analytical Armadillo has a few articles on tongue tie with some links/comments/contacts who might be useful.

[featherblue]

Lucy, we find the breastflow bottles best too. She seems to latch most naturally on them and doesn't spill as much. I've hired an Ardo elite hospital double pump. Seems to be ok, though I'm still using it one breast at a time to save time while feeding. It is such a punishing schedule. I'm hoping it's worth the exhaustion.

Bertiebotts -- she does have an upper lip tie. The midwife who snipped her tt said it wouldnt affect feeding. :( the same midwife who delayed our tt referral.

I feel like she's been getting slightly more from my right breast lately - comes off with milk in her mouth more often. But she's also pulling off more quickly, I think cause she's hungry for her top up. Which doesn't bode well.