Tongue Tie divided but still not latching properly

[SoniSoni]

Hi all, my newborn had his TT divided at day 2 (which was super lucky!) and now at day 13 I don't think hes latching on properly...he still does not withdraw milk effectively from my breasts. I'm having real issues getting him to latch without screaming in frustration (he may also have a preference for a bottle in which ive been feeding him my expressed milk and supplementing with some formula). It's been so upsetting and stressful because I can see my milk squirting out when I squeeze my breasts so I know its there so it must be that baby is not effectively drinking despite having his TT fixed. When (rarely) he does manage a latch, I can see him swallowing, sometimes gulping even. I am patient and let him feed for 30-40 mins....but after he is done he is still crying in hunger...so I will give him milk in a bottle bit by bit bit ends up being a full feed!

Any advice from mums that have had something similar? ive had an IBCLC see him and she said his latch was ok...then I went to a drop in infant feeding session at the hospital and the lady there said its still early days and baby may still be learning how to use his newly "free" tongue so thats why hes not latching properly. Both professionals mentioned an osteopath who may help with some jaw exercises? as anyone had success with a TT baby and osteopath? or do I just be patient and let baby slowly learn how to latch? I really want to breastfeed but am worried that as the days go by baby is getting used to a bottle more and more!

sorry for the super long thread...I am just struggling mentally with breastfeeding!!

My DC had what felt like latch issues. TT revised in first couple of weeks. Didn't improve as much as I'd hoped. We went to the specialist paediatric dentist who does TTs in Finchley and had his lip tie revised. It improved, but didn't completely fix the problem. Then we saw a cranial osteopath who often works with the dentist's TT patients and after a couple of sessions with her, the latch very noticeably improved and stayed fine. We'd been recommended to see her before/after the TT revision but hadn't due to cost.

I don’t have any advice, but I will be watching this thread as I’m having the same issue, seen lots of breastfeeding specialists and just been told to keep trying and he will get better at latching and removing milk, but he’s 9 weeks old and I’m still pumping and bottle feeding because he just cannot seem to get breast milk effectively.

He gulps down a lot of air when bottle feeding due to his poor latch, so has a lot of tummy pain after every feed. I’ve tried three different teats, size 0 tests, every breastfeeding position, nipple shields, feeding when sleepy, feeding when not too hungry etc, nothing helps improve his latch.

Oh sending you hugs. Im only 13 days in and pulling my hair out and you've been doing this for 9 weeks!!! I just tried nipple shields this evening and that was a disaster...i got more tears than I do when I try to get him to latch without a shield! Just wondering whether I should just give up already with BF and pumping and just FF! Because I dread every time my baby wakes up from his sleep - just not enjoying this newborn stage and it shouldnt be like this!

Ah I'm glad to read there was some improvement. But whilst you were getting all the specialists to see your little one I'm assuming you were bottle feeding in between to ensure baby was feeding? did your baby not then have a bottle preference? I feel so guilty every time I give my little one a bottle but then I equally feel awful when I force him on the boob!

No, it wasn't bad enough to prevent me bf'ing. It just hurt. But I did have good well-established supply as I was tandem nursing my toddler too, which might have helped.

Apologies for the long reply, but I really sympathise with you and hope this helps!

Both of my babies were tongue-tied. My first baby’s TT was diagnosed quite late and unfortunately we never managed to recover exclusive breastfeeding (but we did manage combi feeding for 11 months). However we did salvage things with my second baby and I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding for almost eight months now. Her TT was cut on day 2 (like you - super lucky!) and she was able to latch, but it wasn’t perfect. It took a lot of effort each time she latched on to get it right - the best advice I was given was to never accept a bad latch. If it’s not perfect, take baby off and keep trying until the latch is right. Only then will baby have the best chance of withdrawing the milk.

After about three weeks, breastfeeding seemed to get worse - she was frustrated when feeding and I was getting sore again. I took her to the feeding specialist at the hospital and it turned out that her TT had reattached when it healed, so it needed to be re-cut. Once that was done, breastfeeding really improved. I would highly recommend getting baby assessed to see if the TT needs to be cut a second time.

We also saw a cranial osteopath as my baby had a high palate, recessed chin, and a lot of stiffness in her jaw (we think due to a very fast delivery). We had four or five sessions and that seemed to really help the stiffness in her jaw and her ability to latch. Some cranial osteopaths are also infant feeding specialists and come with so much knowledge about breastfeeding!

I also found that baby fed better in certain positions - the rugby hold was especially good for helping her latch whereas she really struggled with side-lying. I would suggest trying all sorts of positions and finding what works best for you and baby.

Also, you could try hand expressing a bit of milk before feeding baby so he doesn’t have to suck for so long before the milk lets down - saves some frustration!

At the start with both of my babies I did everything I could to build my supply. That meant letting baby be on the breast as often and for as long as they want in those early weeks. I also pumped in between breastfeeding sessions to keep my supply up whilst the baby wasn’t effectively withdrawing all the milk. It’s all a bit of a faff, but if you can push through those first couple of months it will be worth it. It all settled down for me around 12 weeks I think.

Having said all that, do whatever it takes to keep baby happy and to keep you sane! A fed baby is a happy baby so if that means bottles, then go for it. The newborn stage is hard enough as it is, so make sure you look after yourself as well!