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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

TT - What journey do we have ahead? Success possible?

40 replies

Purplelooby · 19/03/2014 21:42

DS was unable to BF due to posterior TT and upper lip tie (long, painful story)

DD was born 5 days ago and has the same. I've been referred for a TT snip and I'm currently expressing - she is being mix fed from a bottle until the snip.

A bit of detail: she can latch (more than DS managed! But then she's bigger) but incorrectly. She only has a small mouth and doesn't open it fully and doesn't put her tongue over her lower gum, rather sandpapers my nipple with it while she clamps on it. From the outside the latch looks lovely but even after the first feed my nipples were blistered and blanched. The pain is unbearable. I spent some time with a lovely LC who gave me exercises to train her (she can get her tongue to her lip) but basically felt that the level of nipple damage was much too high for successful BF. I did BF her for 24 hours after which time the end of my nipples were fully scabbed over. A couple of times a day I try to latch her I've twice had a good latch on the left (not right) and it feels so lovely, but these come with 'bad' latches and reattaching, which puts me out me of action while I heal.

So here's the question: have you been here? What is the chance that I can successfully BF after the snip? And given that she'll have been bottle feeding for about 4 weeks, will her latch just get worse? What journey will we have once the TT is cut?

I ask because I have an 18 month old DS and if I stopped expressing he would get his mummy back, but I'm willing to continue if there is a decent chance I can BF successfully. So please be honest for my DS' sake...

And yes I've tried Lansinoh sigh

OP posts:
Totesamazeballs · 02/04/2014 10:49

No referral here. Hospital said no tongue tie and I might just be super sensitive...I think not, judging by the shape of my nipple when it comes out of her mouth! Sand papering is an accurate description. I can't bear it anymore so can't wait to get on the bottle. Last night she wanted to spend every second on the boob. It's too painful and it's making me resent it all and feel sick!

minipie · 02/04/2014 11:00

totes are you able to afford private at all? if so where are you we could maybe recommend someone?

purple so sorry to hear you have thrush - you have been through the mill Sad how is your supply holding up?

Original poster
Purplelooby · 02/04/2014 12:29

Amazingly I still have milk! I don't know how to tell how much but when she's finished feeding (by which I mean her latch has slipped to the extent where she's just biting or nibbling) I can still squeeze milk.

I know I should get on the breast pump but my 19 month old DS is so difficult at the moment. I can barely get through the day as it, there's no way I could find time to pump. He's at the childminder today so I could pump, but I wouldn't then be able to until next Monday iyswim.

I called my peer support service today and I think someone's going to try to come tomorrow. I think I just need someone to look at how bad her latch has gone and tell me whether I can sort it out once we cut. I think the bottle has caused most of these problems but maybe it's fixable? It's just annoying that I can't get her on more often because of the pain. I'm sure the thrush isn't helping this either!

Anyone know anything about this??

OP posts:
Totesamazeballs · 02/04/2014 21:19

Hi,
I have a 22 month old so also can't pump in the day. I went privately with My first and no result. They snipped a posterior tongue tie and I had three blissful seconds of painless feeding and that was it. Saw someone today and the conclusion is that I am super sensitive in that area and so either stick out excruciating feeds which result in me not being even able to wear a bra 24/7 as it hurts so much or bottle feeding. I am going to do two breast feeds a day for a month or two, express in the evening and formula the rest of the time. It's not ideal but it's the only way forward I can see that at least offers some breast milk without reducing me to a wreck.

Totesamazeballs · 02/04/2014 21:20

Is it definitely thrush? I thought mine was first time round but sadly not. Poor you though!

Laquila · 02/04/2014 21:32

Oh bless you OP. How frustrating and sad - please don't feel selfish for not wanting to ebf! My boy had TT and we had it done at Stepping Hill in Stockport when he was about 8 wks - the appt came through much sooner than they'd estimated. There was no immediate difference but things gradually improved and feeding is now light years away from where it was back then - just a completely different experience. I do think though that besides the TT, he just needed to get bigger and better at latching on. Interestingly now at 7 mths his latch looks terrible but doesn't hurt me and he seems to feed efficiently. Good luck and chin up x

Original poster
Purplelooby · 02/04/2014 21:43

Thanks laquila, it's good to know that it's possible... They tried Stockport for me too but the waiting time was a bit longer - I'm in at Oldham now. 2 weeks to go which is why it's so annoying that her latch is getting worse from the bottle (I assume).

totesamazeballs I feel gutted for you. They must be wrong if your nipple comes out a funny shape. Will you be able to express that little without getting engorged??

OP posts:
Laquila · 03/04/2014 11:30

Totes I'm so sorry you're having such trouble. How old is your baby? Do your nipples blanch/go white after a feed? If so it could be vasospasm/Raynaud's Syndrome - it can be very very painful.

A wise lady told me recently that parenting is not about endurance - if you're in such pain that you're miserable, exhausted and getting frustrated at your baby (I know I certainly was before things started improving), then please don't feel guilty for ff!

Laquila · 03/04/2014 11:33

Purple when I initially phoned Stockport I was quoted a 6-8 week wait but once I'd sent in my self-referral form and chased it, they gave me an appt the week after! If you can get a self-referral form for there it might be worth phoning them yourself? I can send you the contact details of the lady that deals with it if you want (although I have a feeling she only works a couple of days a week).

Original poster
Purplelooby · 03/04/2014 14:58

That's interesting about Stockport... I've got 2 weeks left to wait for Oldham though so not sure whether it's worth it now. I've not heard from this peer supporter who was going to come yesterday or today :( I've not put her on me today because she's spent most of the day asleep. I think my bf days might be over tbh. My heart's going out of it...

OP posts:
Totesamazeballs · 04/04/2014 21:52

Hi!
So, started an evening express and doing one feed per boob per day. I can just about cope with pain and also time as I have a 22 month old to consider. Don't think its vasospasm, just seems to be me. It's frustrating when the milk is there but ultimately happiness and communicating that to a newborn is more important, as you point out Laquila. Don't feel guilty whatever you choose Purple.

stepmooster · 04/04/2014 22:05

Hi ladies, have any of you tried nipple shields? I used them with my dc1 even just for a couple of feeds a day. Had big latch issue which only got better as dc1 got bigger.

Thought the sandpaper feeling would not exist with dc2 but unfortunately I had it again. Latch perfect but just very sensitive. It got better slowly!

Totesamazeballs · 05/04/2014 08:15

Hi,
I tried shields with DC 1 to no effect. Could try again though. Good to know I am not the only sensitive one!

Jupes · 07/04/2014 04:48

Purplelooby I hope you are doing ok. You have done amazingly well to get so far. Just wanted to encourage you with the bottle thing. My ds is now 8 months old the first 6 weeks for us were sooo difficult and he is my only baby! We expressed, nipple shielded and cried our way through those weeks. We bottle fed expressed milk and he used to happily hop between boob and bottle. At the time we didn't realise it was all due to tongue tie and we just thought he was a hungry baby. We had no idea he was actually starving! I used to feed for an hour at a time which us why he managed to put on some weight. But there is no way I could have done all that if I had another little person to care for.

But basically as soon as tongue tie was cut at 6 weeks his feeding dramatically improved immediately and he never touched a bottle again and still won't now!!

Fortunately my health visitor picked up how worn out and low I was with it and got me an appointment with our nhs tongue tie midwife within a week. When she saw him she couldn't understand how we had breastfed for 6 weeks as he had a full blown grade 1 tie. Can your health visitor not get you an emergency appointment given the pnd history? Surely they should be doing everything to help prevent that?!

Tbh I was never that bothered about the breastfeeding bond and even now I'm still sceptical about it being anything better than bottle and I just feel like a milk machine! Your baby will have that bond whatever way you feed.

Keep up the good work whatever way you are coping in a difficult situation!!

Jupes · 07/04/2014 04:56

Meant to add that after the disastrous first 6 weeks my milk supply ended up being amazing. Think that all the time he spent at the boob trying to get milk, even though he couldn't actually get it, helped maintain my supply and even set me up with a great supply for later months. Unfortunately his tongue tie has regrown 3 times and I spent a lot of time expressing between 4-7 months (and I can sympathise with how exhausting it is). At that point I was expressing 5oz in 10 minutes!

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