Tongue tie division advice

[Dottyditdot]

I’m in the trenches thinking I’ve made the worst decision of my life having my 6 week old daughters tt corrected. She has had a rather shallow latch since birth however I wasn’t experiencing any pain my only issue was that she feeds non stop and cannot be put down she never seems settled or full and for a breast fed baby she struggles a lot with wind etc so I got a private tt consultation which has now been corrected but her latch is now so weak and she has not stopped crying all evening she’s drifted off for 20 minutes being the longest stretch. I know she’s basically back at square one learning how to latch but any advice on how to help her figure out a deeper latch or success stories would be appreciated. I’m also really struggling to do the exercises with her before attempting to feed because she’s just inconsolable now worrying if this will have a negative impact on the outcome of the procedure 😮‍💨

Oh god, from my experience with my two, if you can’t get the exercises done, I’d not worry too much. This exact thing happened with my DS after he had had his tt snipped. Try not to panic, persevere and reach out for some in person help via your midwife or a bf cafe, LLL or similar.

Bf can be so stressful in the early days - know that it’s not easy, and most people need support and time. So keep asking if you can.

Their latch will settle after they get used to the new feeling and your baby will be okay, you haven’t done any permanent harm. If you’re still feeling worried tomorrow, give your midwife/HV a call. Hope you have some good support Op, best of luck. X

Honestly I think these private tongue tie practitioners are the next biggest scandal. They are snip happy.

I’m so sorry you experienced this. Can you access a local International Board Certified Lactation Consultant practitioner where you are, through the NHS?

It's unlikely you made the wrong decision; sounds like early days. I'm sure things will improve. I found the rugby ball position really helped (I think that's what it was called). Patience and persevere. My first only managed 5 months BF and feeding felt impossible. Didn't know about tongue tie then, but pretty sure that's why. Second was diagnosed with tongue tie 6 weeks in, 9 weeks old had it separated and things got so much better very fast (even though I felt so guilty and unsure if I'd done the right thing, having been told it was only a minor tie and may or may not cause difficulties later on), and my third was diagnosed on day 2, cut before we left hospital, and both my second and third continued breastfeeding for 2.5 years.

Just to add, all of mine had reflux too; my first had silent reflux, and again, I didn't even know it was a thing at that time, but it can affect feeding (or maybe the TT contributes?)

DS had his snipped privately, it was NHS recommended but there was an 8 week wait, and he was struggling to bf and was born early with jaundice, the midwife suggested if I was really keen to bf and we could afford it, private was a suitable option for ds (different hospital and nothing to do with the midwife so not a scam) , it was done the day after we left hospital.

I used nipple shields for a bit which is controversial but I'd had to express and bottle feed the first week or so as ds wasn't getting enough to fight off the jaundice (even with the light therapy), I'd also developed Raynaud's in my nipples which was excruciating. I managed to wean him off the shields as he got bigger Anderson stronger. We BF for a little over a year.

I would suggest it’s worth getting it properly looked at. I had my DS’ tongue tie snipped by an NHS consultant. Unfortunately it healed badly and became fleshy with scar tissue. The consultant was lovely and she redid it under a general anaesthetic. Fed brilliantly from then on.

These things don’t always heal cleanly. I’m not sure if the risks are clearly explained.

I’m definitely going to try and get to the breast feeding support groups near me although couldn’t have picked a better time of year with most things now being closed until 6th so I will endeavour to persevere with position changes to find a better latch for her.

she eventually slept at midnight though it was probably more passing out of exhaustion from solid crying sessions, today will be the day I keep trying the exercises and latch positions 💪🏼

I have my partner who’s been a great help with the things he can do - if only his chest could tap in and do some milk making that would be great 😂

Thank you, I will be trying new positions for feeding today especially the rugby ball hold, she’s always been cradle fed bc her latch was shallow it seemed the only position she could take the small portion of breast and not get overwhelmed by the rest of it so at least now I can have her in a position that will allow her to open her mouth fully. It’s so hard my 2nd was ebf and she was a dream I guess I naively thought it would be similar. 😅

When was it divided?
The 36 hours after DS1's tie was cut were the absolute worst. He wouldn't/couldn't feed, he was screaming, I was sobbing.
Then something (but I don't know what, sorry) changed, and he was ebf until weaning.

It was done yesterday at around 6pm and I did spend a good portion of the never ending night crying with her because up until last night the breastfeeding albeit not perfect was the soothing magic she needed but not last night she was manic and stressed at the nipple and I felt useless 😮‍💨

Keep going, @Dottyditdot
Today might be rough going, but hopefully by Christmas day you will have your calmer baby back. Mine started piling on the weight from that point.