Tongue tie fixed today but...

[NewMummyJelly]

Hi there
Baby had the tongue tie correction today. He fed straight after the procedure and then about 20 mins later. But since then he has been screaming on and off this afternoon and then consistently all evening, I’ve put the boob to him each time slowly and each time he’s pushed away and carried on crying
Is this normal? I’ve had to give him a bottle of expressed milk as he’s so frustrated and clearly hungry
I don’t know what to do tonight? Do I let my poor baby cry and cry in frustration until he tries to use his newly released tongue the boob? Please help me if you can, thank you xx

How old is he? Our 7 week old was grouchy for 2 days after getting his cut, I think it was soreness to be honest.
With us I just tried to stay calm during feeding him laid back style and give him extra time. He got much better after a few days.
Is he old enough for calpol? Might be worth giving some of that if he is

The practitioner should have explained that this can be normal and left you a leaflet maybe plus a follow up phone number if you have any worries. Did they do that?

We had tongue tie corrected for our first, and she fed using nipple shields afterwards, on recommendation of the tongue tie consultant. She was used to drinking expressed milk from bottles, so it really helped made the transition seamless. She weaned off the shields eventually and breastfed normally for many more months. Might be worth a try, they usually sell them in the baby section in big supermarkets.

Hi there @Piccalily19 thanks for getting back to me. He is one month. The night didn’t go as bad as I feared. I woke him from his sleeps at 2am and 5am and 7.30am to feed and he latched very well. This morning there’s been more resistance but the screams have stopped. Hopefully this is a positive sign. I hadn’t thought of Calpol, I’ll check if he’s old enough and if I think he’s in pain I’ll phone the GP. Thank you

@shouldistop thank you for letting me know it’s quite normal. Yes the leaflet explains that baby may cry more but I thought this crying would stop when the nipple and boob are presented. Instead I saw that baby was very stiff and even arched away from me, baby’s mouth was wide open but very unhappy with the nipple so I didn’t force it. Fortunately he’s been latching on since, I’ve been trying to let him direct it so it’s not a deep latch yet but I will add some of the techniques for a deep latch when he has got more comfortable with the new way of feeding. Thank you so much for getting back to me.

@rosemary35 hi there thanks for getting back to me too. Ah okay, that’s promising. I bought the Medela ones at the weekend for an absurdly expensive price (£9 for two tiny silicone moulds ) and I could tell baby was getting milk and I wasn’t in pain but I was then discouraged from using them as they may lead to low milk supply. Maybe because baby is still only 1 month and we need to more fully establish Bf?

Finally may I ask you all about pumping now. When would I pump? Should I be pumping before or after a feed? Leave it a while then pump? I’ve read that I could give baby a teaspoon of milk while he’s getting used to his new tongue, what do you think? I think it will go everywhere! I have bottles with slow flow teats and think these might be okay?

Thank you all so much for helping an unwashed, tired, struggling mama (who is also grateful and determined ) xx

I'm glad things are getting better. Have you been told to pump? Is there any issue with weight gain? I didn't pump at all when ds2 had his tongue tie fixed, just put him to the breast often and if he refused I didn't worry, tried again an hour later.

@shouldistop well he was weighed at two and a half weeks and hadn’t gained weight in seven days. I started to pump after that on one breast because it was cracked and too sore to put him on. Now I don’t know if I should continue pumping. I’d rather have a supply of my milk ready for him just in case than none xx

I would try pumping after feeds and offering that to him as a top up (or saving it if he seems satisfied) , even if only a small amount. This should help him gain the weight until he has had the chance to relearn how to use his tongue. It can take between 2 and 4 weeks for this to happen to the full potential, although he'll improve day by day.

P. S. You could offer him the top up via a cup or spoon. But if you do prefer to use the bottle and as long as ge is still happy to go to the breast, use your slow flow teats and paced feeding. Also, to get him to practise his sucking skills (which will also help his wound to heal), try to provide a tiny bit of resistance when he has the teat in his mouth, by very very gently tugging it away from him, just enough that he has to strongly suck to keep it in his mouth, if that makes sense. So rather than holding it in his mouth, hold the bottle lightly between a finger and thumb and just provide some ultra gentle tugging resistance.