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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

1 yr old DS has badly cut tongue and can't BF - help!

32 replies

Honeymoonmummy · 17/04/2012 20:11

Hi all, I have a 13mo DS who I am still BF first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Yesterday morning he fell and bit his tongue really badly, I'd say about 2-3 cms wide and quite deep too. The hospital said they couldnt do anything but that it would heal quickly. Since it happened he has been unable to BF, he is no longer in pain but he seems unable to latch, whether due to lack of sensation or the fact that the left side of his tongue is quite swollen. I have therefore not BF since yesterday morning.

When do I need to worry about my supply? I do have a pump but I'm useless at expressing and it would take 30 mins out of my evening when I haven't really got the time. Obviously though, I do want to continue to feed him once it is healed.

TIA.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/04/2012 21:36

Well your supply should be well established but obviously if you're not feeding for a few days it will dip.

Hope it heals soon.

Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 17/04/2012 22:23

Thanks. Do you think it will be safe to leave it until tomorrow night then (3rd night of trying) and I will then express if he still cannot feed?

Does anyone have experience of this happening, is there a chance it may last a while/ be permanent??

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sickofshittynappies · 17/04/2012 22:42

aww poor little man mine done excatly the same on fri and is still finding it a little uncomfortable to eat solids and pushing his food to one side of his mouth it has almost healed up and docs said it should'nt have any lasting effects.

hellymelly · 17/04/2012 22:52

A schoolfriend of mine bit right through her tongue ( we were playing hockey!) ,truly, it had a big hole right through the centre. It healed up astonishingly fast, was all better within a week and I would think a baby heals even faster. She had no problems from it at all.
As to your supply, try and pump, even though it is a pain,as it will stop your supply dipping but more importantly stop you getting a blocked duct. My dd went on a nursing strike for a couple of days at 7m, I pumped what I could and my supply did dip but was v. quickly up to speed as soon as she was feeding again. Your supply is well established and will very quickly resume, but pumping will help a lot. I hope he is better soon. Oh- and maybe think of giving him calpol as that might help him feed if it is all rather sore.

seasickgal · 17/04/2012 22:57

Your supply sounds well established and should be ok.I managed to restart feeding after a 5 day holiday once. Ds2 bit through tongue once, it healed in 4 - 5 days.

Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 18/04/2012 07:50

Thanks all, that's a huge relief x

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Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 19/04/2012 22:27

Update - he's still not bf since Mon morning and he's not even trying now, I think he may prefer the cup Sad any ideas?

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Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 19/04/2012 22:27

Oh and I finally dug out my medela pump and expressed tonight.

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BertieBotts · 19/04/2012 22:32

Do you have a La Leche League group near you, or any kind of support group with experienced helpers? I think you probably need RL help with this one.

I would express for around 20 mins a session, twice a night if possible. Even if you get nothing from it, it's all stimulation and anything you do get offer him in a cup so he has the healing properties of the BM. You can always do it while watching TV or something?

Replace usual feed times with skin to skin cuddles for now, he may go back to it when his tongue is feeling better.

BertieBotts · 19/04/2012 22:34

If you phone your local LLL helpline tomorrow, see if they have anyone who would be willing to meet you somewhere, in a children's centre perhaps? If not they may have good advice over the phone, I was once given some expressing advice which turned zero output into something.

hellymelly · 19/04/2012 22:40

When my dd had the nursing strike, (due to painful inflamed ears) I kept offering her the breast, had a lot of skin to skin time, and offered her a bf at less usual times, like in the bath. Eventually she latched on again in the docs .He may be scared it will hurt ,rather than still in pain. Is he showing any interest at all in feeding? Kellymom has some advice on nursing strikes that I remember reading. Usually they are due to teething issues as in my case, but it all seems to be down to "it hurts" so the advice would apply to you too. Good luck, I hope its all resolved soon.

ifeelloved · 19/04/2012 22:43

I may get flamed for this but if he prefers the cup then surely he's made his decision, you can't force him to bf.

ifeelloved · 19/04/2012 22:44

Btw, I'm not anti breast feeding at all

hellymelly · 19/04/2012 22:50

ifeel, I think its different if the baby is scared to feed because it might hurt. It isn't the same as a general loss of interest. My dd is four and still bf at night, so she really wasn't ready to stop when she had her strike (at 7m).

ifeelloved · 19/04/2012 23:24

Fair enough

Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 20/04/2012 07:47

Thanks all, will contact LLL or NCT helpline. Ifeelloved, it's a fair comment but my gut instinct is that he's not ready to give up yet. Plus he's allergic to cows milk so he's only having oat milk otherwise. The problem is I only returned to work last week and it's really manic so I hardly have time for a phone call during working hours, never mind a visit/ meet up. Am going to spend lots of time with him this weekend tho. He was blowing raspberries on my boob this morning so we're getting somewhere I suppose! Hmm

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BertieBotts · 20/04/2012 09:39

You can contact LLL at weekends - technically it's 24 hour, but they ask if it's not urgent to not call after 10pm as the phone lines are in people's homes.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 20/04/2012 14:01

and the NCT line is open from 8am till 10pm every day.

ifeelloved · 20/04/2012 14:58

Please don't think I was having a go. Not my intention at all

Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 21/04/2012 17:48

I don't at all ifeelloved Smile

Had two skin to skin sleeps with him today and had my boobs out most of the day and still not fed. I'm gonna take him to docs on Monday and if he says nothing physically wrong with him then I think I'm gonna have to give up. Feel really down about it, I have PND which I've been keeping on top of but feel really low now Sad

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hellymelly · 21/04/2012 23:29

How does he react if you try to latch him on? Have you tried when he is asleep? One of the suggestions usually for strikes is trying to get them to latch when asleep as then they will have momentarily forgotten about the pain, will latch on, and break the association.
I found that I felt very weepy and low when dd stopped and I'm sure it was hormonal, it felt like a shock to my body, the pumping did help a bit. As he is still quite small and can't have cows milk, I would keep on trying. Don't lose heart yet as it may still work out. I remember reading an account of a woman whose baby stopped for about 6 weeks and then re-started bf.

Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 22/04/2012 00:10

He just carries on sleeping, have just tried it. Am co-sleeping with him tonight. I have spoken to LLL and NCT helpline, decided to give it 2 weeks, express morning and night, and see where we are then.

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WhatSheSaid · 22/04/2012 00:22

This happened to me, when my dd2 was 11 months she bit her tongue really badly and wouldn't bf after that.

The good news was that the tongue does completely heal up and fairly quickly.

The bad news for us was that she wouldn't bf again at all. I didn't express or keep trying after a few days because I had thought I would probably stop bfing when she was about 1 anyway and she was only a month off that.

I was pretty devastated as I had never planned to stop that suddenly and as she is my last dc I knew I wouldn't ever be feeding a baby again Sad.

But she was eating plenty of food and drinking milk and although I was quite emotional about it, she was fine.

Good luck with re-establishing bf though, glad you got some advice from the helplines.

Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 22/04/2012 07:14

Thanks whatshesaid, not the news I really wanted to hear but it's good to know the tongue heals. I had wanted to get to 18 months as that is when my DD stopped.

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Original poster
Honeymoonmummy · 22/04/2012 07:15

And I'm the same in that he will be my last DC Sad

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