Clicking, where to get advice?

[SarahJinx]

Hi, DD is 8 days old. BF was a nightmare for a start, incredibly painful, constant feeding and latch problems.

midwife helped loads with latch so its getting less painful, she also checked for tongue tie. However, DD clicks when feeding, is obviously losing her suction and then sort of eventually slips backward down the nipple. Shes pretty content although is feeding a lot these past couple of days.

I just don't know where to go to get advice, except here! I have HV and MW again next week so can check with them but meantime thought i'd see if anyone can point us in the right direction here?

Clicks? Like a suction sound with her tongue?
Hmm don't think mine did that.
Sounds like she is being lazy!
I would put a finger into the side of her mouth and remove her then get her to re-latch.

i would see if you can see an ibclc or similar who has experience with tongue ties because it sounds a lot like that's what it might be

did the midwife feel under her tongue or just have a look?

Yeah i just cant find one, hence hoping mw or hv can advise. MW said shes lazy too! And to break and restart, which i am going. I just wondered if there was anything else, and why she might be doing it. Other than being a lazy miss...!

what area are you in? if you don't mind saying

Both my babies clicked as a way of coping with my very forceful letdown. Not sure if you're struggling with that too but thought it was worth mentioning.

Sorry spotty cross post, yeah she only looked. I spoke to one today who said it could be a posterior tongue tie, which you cant do anything about? I don't know what an ibclc is...?

West Norfolk spotty. How would I know if i had a forceful let down? Sorry, sound like a proper ignoramus!

sorry ibclc is an international board certified lactation consultant.

they really need to feel under baby's tongue because the tie can be "buried" in the tissue. posterior tongue ties can be treated, my baby just had his done! feeding was more comfortable almost immediately
he also didn't look as though his was too bad... he could stick his tongue out over his lower gum etc, but he couldn't raise it up to the roof of his mouth, so he had it snipped

3 out of my 4 boys have had TT, so I know far more than I ever thought possible on the subject lol

is going private an option for you?

is there anywhere on here thjat's close to you?

some allow self-referrals, others you will need midwife or health visitor or GP to refer to

DD clicked when feeding and had a posterior tongue tie. Whoever told you they can't do anything about it us talking rubbish! You may not get the NHS to snip it, but a private TT specialist will - we had DD's done at 6 weeks. I ended up stopping breastfeeding at 8 weeks for other reasons, but there has been a massive difference in her tongue mobility since we had it done - she's constantly sticking it out!

I'm in Cambridgeshire so not that far from you, we used this lady. She may not travel out as far as you, but she's worth a call/email as she'd be able to recommend someone in your area, or you can go to her weekly clinic in Cambrudge.

Great advice from the midwife then!? Yeah possibly to private, i would need a referral though? I would just like someone to say 'yep, its x, and here are the options...' DD can poke her tongue out too.

Right, am off to google the lactation specialists in my area. Thank you.

My DD had her TT cut but it didn't help enough to continue bf however the clicking remains, even on the bottle. I figure she is just not good at using her tongue, combined with a high arch palette.

You don't need a referral to go private, the lady we used (link in my previous post) will do it and send a letter to your GP informing them of what she has done.

That consultant is from my home town and I am within her radius, i'll give her a call tomorrow, thank you!

Glad to help, she's really good so talk to her about any breastfeeding concerns you might have not just the tongue tie.

I will, it's pretty early days and like I said I think I'm over the worst of the pain. I just want to ensure I'm doing my best for her. I'm pretty pissed off by the midwife saying that today and am definitely going to take it up with them on Monday, just not good enough.

BF is hard enough without supposed professionals giving out crap advice.

The problem is that midwives are not properly trained to identify tongue tie these days, I had 2 tell me that DD didn't have a tongue tie at all and after seeing Sarah and getting a write up from her even my GP said it was too minor to cause a problem and refused to refer her on for it to be snipped on the NHS.

Both of my boys clicked and fell off the nipple, both had tongue ties.

I was referred by my midwife/HV to a breastfeeding clinic at the hospital. Failing that could you give the NCT, LLL or BFN helplines a call? Are there any local breastfeeding cafe groups - I think my HV told me about our local one.

My DS started clicking after he had his tongue tie cut! I think it is generally considered to be a sign of tongue tie though - baby is struggling to hold latch. It was uncomfortable but his weight gain was fine and he just seemed to grow out of it. I sort of shifted position a bit in the meantime.

Feeding lots is totally normal. They do cut back eventually and things generally get lots better and easier with time. The beginning was a total nightmare for me but DS is now 6 months and has been EBF all the way. Good luck!