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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

4 wks old baby has tongue tie: snip or no snip?

15 replies

Alexa808 · 04/11/2008 13:15

My dd was born with tongue tie. Not severe I think but bad enough that she cannot stay latched on to my boob and continue to suck.

I can only BF with a nipple shield.

We're seeing a specialist tomorrow to see how bad it all is but wondered if any of you can offer advice or have personal experience with this matter.

Are there any disadvantages or bad results from having her have it snipped? Please help a worried first timer.

OP posts:
Spidermama · 04/11/2008 13:21

Another MNer, Oblomov, is going through this at the moment. She has done the snip thing but is having a bad time at the mo. I will dig out her thread because perhaps you two would be able to swap notes and understand each other.

Two secs.

Spidermama · 04/11/2008 13:22

Here.

Original poster
Alexa808 · 04/11/2008 13:22

Oh, thx Spidey. I know her (by name.)

OP posts:
poshtottie · 04/11/2008 13:25

My ds had tongue tie which wasn't snipped. In hindsight I wish we had had it done. BF was difficult and it took him a long time to feed. I also think it affected my supply and I did have very sore nipples. Sometimes his latch was perfect and other times not so good.

It is better to have it done early rarther than later. I haven't heared of anyone having any negative results of having it done.

Original poster
Alexa808 · 04/11/2008 13:38

Hi poshtottie: I just read you're a maternity nurse, so you must've seen loads of the little babes who have this.

I've really struggled to BF and am on the verge of giving up due to bugeye being unable to latch.

4 wks is still okay for a snip, yes?

OP posts:
Mungarra · 04/11/2008 15:06

My DD had her tongue-tie snipped at 9 days old. It was really quick and she fed straight away afterwards. It really improved the breastfeeding situation once the bruising etc healed.

Before the cut, she was getting some milk, but it was really painful for me as she was just sucking on the end of my nipple and she was losing weight. It completed solved the problem for us. She's nearly 11 months and I'm breastfeeding her, but I would have probably stopped if the tongue was still tied.

I would certainly recommend it.

Maveta · 04/11/2008 15:11

My ds had his snipped at 8 weeks iirc, god I can't believe I've forgotten already, was so important at the time!!

It made all the difference, his feeding improved straight away although it still took another couple of weeks for feeding to be completely comfortable as we both adjusted and my nipples healed.

We had a terrible time, he lost weight and took ages to feed, and it got worse the bigger he got. I had vasoconstriction in my nipples where they would suddenly blanch and be so painful even the lightest fabric touching me hurt. Also had cracks, thrush etc etc.

But it ALL improved when the tie was cut. Good luck

BigTeuchLittleTeuch · 04/11/2008 15:27

DS was tongue-tied and not snipped. It wasn't severe but it did affect feeding in that he came off often and I did get sore. But when he was on, we managed okay!

It seems a long time ago now but, iirc, we spent much of the early weeks latching and re-latching until it felt 'better'.

I found that we\didn't really get into the swing of bf until about 11-12 weeks, but in that time we had flashes of brilliance .

We then had the problem of teeth further down the line (thankfully not until almost 9mths!) as the tongue doesn't shield them from your nipple...

There seems to be no ill effects on his speech either, btw.

poshtottie · 04/11/2008 15:59

Hi Alexa, Yes I am sure it would be ok to get it snipped at 4 weeks.

Actually ds was the first baby I have come across with it so far.

Interesting about the teeth as ds did bite me quite a lot once his teeth came through. This affected bf quite a lot, so much we quit by 11 months. It affected my supply so much I had to supplement with formula.

Good luck.

myjeansaretootight · 04/11/2008 16:09

Hi Alexa, my DD has a moderate tongue tie we tried to get it sniped but had unsympathetic consultant who told us babies don't use their tongues for BF! Due to hols no other surgeons around but by 6 weeks things got better with the feeding and we left it.
No problems with speech as she doesn't stop talking like her mum.

sparkle12mar08 · 04/11/2008 16:09

Snip it without a doubt, there's no reason in the world I can think of why you should have to put up with jeopardising your breasfeeding relationship, despite what some professionals think. Many are dismissive of tongue tie issues but it can kill bf'g stone dead if you're not careful. My story is on this link

I don't know anyone who's had it done that regrets it even for a nano second

CuppaTeaJanice · 04/11/2008 16:12

My friend had it snipped when she was told her dd would never be able to lick an ice cream. The thought broke her heart.

MamaChris · 04/11/2008 21:14

ds had tongue tie snipped around 5 weeks. made a dramatic difference to feeding immediately, and took about 2-3 days to properly settle down. in that short space of time he went from feeding constantly (a few minutes latched on, a few minutes rest, and repeat) to spacing his feeds, and my nipple pain (which was awful) improved immediately too, but took a little longer to be completely pain free. ds was smiling immediately the snip was done, so don't think it caused any pain. just the best thing we did to make breast feeding possible.

Original poster
Alexa808 · 05/11/2008 09:58

myjeans: haha...nice one, good for you both

Thank you so much everyone, I've read all your posts and I'm glad you shared your experiences with me.

We've just returned from the doc and though only moderate tongue tie we had it snipped as we thought there's no big disadvantage as such. I have to say her crying pierced my heart and only DH managed to look on curiously...

Little bugeye is asleep now. Hope she recovers well...

OP posts:
Leenie · 05/11/2008 10:16

Hi Alexa808, my DS just had this procedure done yesterday (tues), i am so glad he has had it done, he is latching on so well today, i was amazed how many women were at the clinic with the same traumas that i was experiencing, i was also amazed that there is only one tongue tie clinic of its kind in London, a little side room a kins college hosp, all 13 of us mums sat there anxiously awaiting to see the surgeon, and all of us left a couple of hours later with smiles on our faces and extremely satisfied full bellied babies, i think that this problem with BF and tied tongue is not picked up and dealt with as effectively as it should and as a result many mums give up on breast feeding either due to the pain of feeding continually on traumatised nipples or because of continually unsatisfied little ones, it was only when out of sheer desperation i went top see a breast feeding consultant at my local BF cafe, that i was referred (on the same day) to KCH tongue tie clinic, this was after being told by GP and HV that they would not treat a tongue tie unless it was affecting speech in later yrs,Good lUCK AND I HOPE IT ALL GETS SORTED FOR YOU asap, then you can look forward to some happy BFeeding. x

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