how exactly does tongue tie affect breastfeeding?

[SenoraPostrophe]

Just wondering. DS is 3 weeks and clearly tongue-tied (I can see the thingumy bit of skin at the tip of his tongue). He is feeding and putting on weight, but only seems to be able to feed for 10 mins at a time, resulting in whole afternoons spent feeding, letting him sleep for 10 mins, feeding again etc. He does go longer at night so not a major problem, but could the tongue-tie be causing it?

Also, just to satisfy my neurosis, is there a good online weight chart anywhere? Mine is too small to see what 3 weeks weight should be (looks like he's dropped a couple of centiles though. Not enough to worry about)

What I know about tongue tie is that it can be highly variable in terms of whether it affects feeding. And feeding short periods... well that doesn't mean much! DD didn't have tongue tie and she rarely fed for more than 5 mintues, either. Consider it a benefit when you have an older one to look after too.

Still looking for the charts meant specifically for breastfed babies; that said, the differences are exagerated. I can't do links today?? Try www.thesmartbaby.com/_borders/boyweight.jpgfor all baby boys, and I think www.brightfutures.org/growthcharts/ images/chart1.gif may be for breastfed boys.

Ooh! Found them, US centre for Disease control, breastfeeding-specific weight gain info. But may not be detailed in early weeks.
My redbook (do you want me to scan it in and email you?) says 4.3kg for 50th percentile boy at 3 weeks old, but 9th percentile would only be 3.55kg.

Thanks Zebra - I thought he was 50th centile at birth, but it seems he wasn't. So doing very nicely after all. I'll stop worrying then.

I was told that tt didn't affect bf. And that the reason why he couldn't latch on was because I wasn't doing it correctly. They were wrong and ds1 suffered because of their ignorance. After two weeks of hell and ds1 losing weight and I had a nasty case of mastitis I gave up and gave him the bottle. He couldn't latch onto that either and had to take the entire teat into his mouth.
I'll try to find a link for you.

hth

this page. is useful too.

My baby had a frenulotomy (or whatever it is called)

Thanks for the links.

On one of those sites (and another one I found) it says that general fussiness can be a symptom of tongue-tie and that it can cause the baby to lose his latch during a feed (so first part goes well, thn it becomes hard work). This would explain ds's feeding exactly: He feeds for about 10 mins at a time, going 2-3 hours between feeds in the mornings and the first part of the night. But in the afternoons and for at least an hour at about 5am he gets really fussy - feeding for 5-10 mins, then sleeping a little, then wanting more 10 mins later.

The thing is, I am in Spain and dispair at the idea of getting a breastfeeding counsellor to have a look. Don't suppose anyone has any suggestions?

My ds also has tongue-tie and he can get fussy on the breast. He makes a clicking noise sometimes and often comes off and has to be put back on again. My advice would be to try and keep your ds awake during feeding (difficult I know, but it will get easier as he gets older), blow on his face gently, or take him off yourself when you see he is getting drowsy and try to stimulate him before putting him back on. Also, at the next feed put him back on the breast you last fed from so that he is getting his hind milk. It could be that the fore milk is filling him enough to satisfy him short term, but he's not getting the hind milk to last him longer.

Mind you, that might not be down to tt, a lot of babies that young probably do the same. If he's latching on ok to begin with, then I wouldn't worry. Also their tongues do grow and ds's doesn't seem to be as bad as it was when he was born. He's also feeding better, so do perserve!

Thanks Rhubarb. By coincidence I did that earlier (actually I'd forgotten which breast was which.) and he's now 1 and a half hours into a proper lunchtime nap!

I'll give it a few days and then maybe call the breastfeeding counsellor I've just found in Malaga (100 miles away.)