Experiences with posterior tongue tie?

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3 week old DS has been diagnosed with posterior tongue tie, which we are going to get divided. It explains a lot eg sore nipples, fussiness/crying at breast and wind/reflux issues due to inefficiency in feeding.

I'm just wondering what other people's experiences have been after getting posterior TT divided (or not). I have been told it could take a couple of weeks for him to learn how to use his tongue, and even then there are no guarantees. But if we don't get it done, then likely he will not be able to feed efficiently enough once my supply settles, potentially leading to him feeding constantly, or requiring top ups.

I so want to bf him, but currently it is often distressing for both of us and if this doesn't change, I need to think about whether it's really the best option.

Hey,

My DS is 5 weeks. We've struggled with feeding from day one and his has been on formula top ups right from the off. Breastfeeding is so painful that we can only manage it with nipple shields. He feeds constantly, never more than 1.5hrs between feeds during the day (usually about 30 mins though!), fortunately a little more during the night but he is frequently unsettled with wind, from both ends.

He was diagnosed with a posterior tongue tie about 10 days ago and we see the consultant on Monday to see what thy decide to do.

I too am hoping that this will improve things! We are both tired and it's hard work. I feel awful for introducing formula and I'm worried that my supply is being affected, so I'm persevering with having a baby clamped to me all day and night. He has been constipated too which hasn't helped.

Do you have an appointment for the division?

I'm sorry to hear you have been having problems too, it sounds like a similar situation. We are having the division done privately by a lactation consultant this week as the NHS has too long a waiting list. I managed to avoid using formula but we did have to feed him by syringe and cup using expressed breast milk during the first week as he wouldn't latch either. However I'm worried about my supply decreasing too if he doesn't feed efficiently over the next few weeks. I think I will feel guilty whatever I end up doing, so here's hoping the TT division works miracles!

The division worked for us (done at 9 weeks, still BF at almost 8 weeks). It was painful for a couple of weeks after it was done but still better than before, and after those 2 weeks all fell into place. Definitely worth trying. For me, I felt that if it hadn't worked, i was ready to move to formula feeding as I had reached the end of my expressing-tether (9 weeks & on the verge of cracking up, looking back on it.)

Still BFing at 8 months, not 8 weeks!

Both my children had posterior tongue ties. Both were extremely difficult to feed. The first was diagnosed at 6 weeks but I was already mix feeding and using nipple shields. She never really got it, found latching on frustrating and I gave up breast feeding at around 9 weeks.

The second was snipped at 3 days, refused to latch on for 12hrs after the snip so I expressed and syringe fed her. After 12 hours she latched on beautifully, nipple pain was gone in about 24 hours and feeding was entirely pain free within a week. She's 11 weeks old now and exclusively breast fed with no troubles at all.

it worked like magic for us. ds was snipped at 7days old. He latched on with gusto straight away, I was convinced he wasn't sucking because I couldn't feel any pain. Its now two weeks post division. My cracked bleeding nipples have healed. His latch has improved and become less clicky.

My dd has tongue which was snipped privately at 10 days. Feeding was very painful. It took about a week before the feeding was painfeee but the pain gradually reduced after the tie had been snipped. My supply was affected but i just fed and fed and fed to build it back to where it needed to be. Dd is 9 weeks now and after 4/5 weeks of no weight gain is now gaining steadily although small for her age because she was static/losing for so long. I only ever gave about 4 top ups because i thought my supply would be affected even more.

Im sure things will improve after your ds tie is snipped, just be prepared for him to "relearn" how to bf as he will not he used to having a tongue with more movement. Things will improve, i felt the same as you, good luck

DS3 had posterior TT. I took him to a bf clinic when he was a couple of weeks old as I couldn't work out why I couldn't latch him properly and my nipples were so so sore and it was becoming too painful even with shields. I had bf both his brothers so knew what I was doing and the HV had checked for TT after I asked her for help initially. One of the lactation consultants checked and diagnosed posterior TT. They don't do posterior division on the NHS at our local hospital so we could have waited 3-4 weeks for a referral to a different hospital or paid to go private. It was either £100 or £200, can't remember. Anyway I ended up using the same lactation consultant who had seen him at the clinic. Within 2 days she had snipped it on the kitchen table. It did grow back a little bit but after a week or so we had found a latch which worked for us and didn't hurt so I didn't bother getting it resnipped. He has only recently given up bf'ing (at 14 months) so for us it was 100% the right thing to do. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Not that I'm having any more babies!!

Had my son's posterior tt cut at 3 weeks just a few days ago and felt an immediate difference. He was fast asleep 10mins afterwards and overall seemed less distressed than when being topped and tailed! He is still getting used to having a free tongue and sometimes slips back into his old shallow latch but generally is more efficient and less windy, and feeds are pretty much pain free for me.