I previously posted on MN about my DD who was a non-latching baby from birth. She is now 14 weeks old. After several weeks of expressing milk and giving it to her in a bottle, I was able to get her to feed from me using nipple shields, and we hoped that I would soon be able to wean her off them. I was given some really helpful advice about checking for tongue tie, and it was suggested that I should seek furthur opinions about this as every health professional I had seen so far had been adamant that she didn't have one. She is feeding 16 or more times a day, often for 20-40 mins at a time, and in the evening it is basiccally non stop for several hours. She never goes into a deep sleep, and during the day cat naps on me because as soon as I try to put her down she wakes up. At night we co-sleep. Developmentally she is doing beautifully, she is passing all her milestones early, and is generally a happy and bright little thing. Her weight gain is slowing minimally, but in general has been staying along the 9th centile since she was born, so no concerns there.
GP made a referral at her eight week check, and we saw the Paediatrician yesterday. She does have a posterior tongue tie, and has an appointment for a surgical appraisal and possible snip in two weeks. Paediatrician has said that a snip might not help, as she also has a small chin which may be restricting her gape which is why she can't get a good mouthful, but at least it gives us some answers, even if it doesn't resolve anything.
Because of her poor ability to feed, combined with the shields, she does not drain the breast effectively, and I have been prone to blocked ducts. One of these has now turned into an abcess, which they attempted to drain but only extracted a small amount. I have to go back again in two weeks.
At the moment it just feels like nothing is ever going to get better. Please reassure me it's possible to keep going, because at the moment it feels like everything is stacked against me.