Tongue Tie Snip- Reassurance Needed

[discopisco]

We had our 23 day old baby's tongue tie snipped earlier today. Although the procedure was quick, it was horrendous to go through and I couldn't help think how much pain my baby was in. The baby cried and I cried harder. Even though the dr checked baby out and gave him the all clear in terms of a good snip and the bleeding stopping, I've noticed baby has been very sleepy since the procedure and isn't feeding anywhere near enough as he was before the snip. Is this normal? Will he improve tomorrow? I'm naturally an anxious person but have found my anxiety levels have gone through the roof since becoming a mum. I'm desperate for the baby to cry so I can scoop him up and feed him. I've tried agitating him gently to wake him up for a feed but he's just not interested. I'm massively regretting having the procedure done and wish I'd persevered with his tongue tied- it was only a mild tie and I only went ahead with the snip because I suspected it was causing baby pain due to him swallowing extra wind during feeds and being sick afterwards. Need a massive handhold please and stories of successful tongue tie snips :'(

Ps. Another fear I have is that baby is going to lose massive amounts of weight. He's a premmie and it has taken constant feeding around the clock to get him to a decent weight. Did anyone else experience this?

How long has your baby been asleep and how long since last feed? A tried and tested way to rouse is to feed outside bundled up or to bath the baby. One day willnot make your baby lose "massive amounts of weight" but you certainly don't want to miss feeds or risk dehydration so keep trying.

Thank for replying so quickly. He last fed when I changed his nappy 2 hours ago but I had to let him get to the stage where he was annoyed and angry instead of hungry. He fed for about 15 minutes, fell asleep on me and hasn't stirred since.

Sure he'll be fine. My GD had the same thing done when she was about a month old - she was breast-fed, if that makes any difference? Dunno. She was perfectly fine after a couple of days. She's 4 next week and never ever stops talking. She's average weight and height, was full-term and 8lbs.

Ah ok well that's good. Much more positive than I thought from your post so don't panic yet! 2 hours isn't too long really! If this were me then I'd wake to feed if it goes over 4 hours but not before. Keep an eye on anything unusual (temp etc) but try to see it as behind you now. My dd had a tongue tie and it was a problem until she was 4! Our hospital didn't do anything with them. I know it's all so worrying but honestly just keep going. Keep a feed diaryso you can see the bare facts about the Feeds and sleep perhaps. Good luck to you both.

My DD had hers done when she was about 6 weeks old and she's an extremely healthy 8 year old.now:)

He may be more sleepy as he possibly fed more efficiently after the procedure, as that's the whole reason for having a tongue tie cut. Babies are very sensitive to a mothers emotions, you were very upset, baby would have been more upset than if you'd remained calm. It's early days for establishing any type of feeding pattern, and breast feeding is a bit of a stab in the dark as you don't actually know how much milk baby has drank. Try to relax and go with the flow.

Could he just be feeding more effectively, so getting enough milk, or more than he was before in the 15 minutes? Also, he could be sleeping better because he is more comfortable if he is no longer suffering with wind.

I felt exactly like that after our lo had her tt release at about 6 weeks. The guilt was awful and I was eaten up with regret. She seemed quite uncomfortable for about 36 hours. She was unsettled and slept a lot. On the other hand, I was in bits.

But after 2 days she was like a different baby. I don't know if you're breastfeeding, but my lo went from being completely unable to feed at the breast (she was bottle fed a mix of formula and expressed milk) to 100% breastfed by day 5.

I'm still astounded at how successful it was. But reading your post brings me back to those awful few days when I thought I'd put my baby through something traumatic for no reason. You're not alone.

Hi there. My now 11 month old has his snipped at 13 days old. He had a fairly severe posterior and anterior tie and also has an upper lip tie. 2 hours since last feed sounds totally fine. He's probably a bit knackered with the emotion but honestly the snip will be worth it - feeding around the clock prior to the snip indicates that despite the tie being mild, milk transfer was probably not efficient. Don't leave more than 3/4 hours between feeds at first as baby needs to get used to feeding with their tongue released.

Also, do not shirk on the after care. The "massage" of the wound site is not pleasant and baby will cry/protest. But if you don't carry on with it you risk the tie reattaching and the procedure will be a waste.

Best of luck - this will soon be a distant memory.

Thank you all for your replies- I should've mentioned baby is EBF. He had the procedure at 3pm and his last proper feed was 10:45pm (roughly about 7 minutes at the breast). Before that, he'd semi-open his eyes from drowsiness, give me a sad stare and look away :( I've been on 'babywatch' ever since 3pm and am in bits. Have just woken up to him stirring and am feeding him. We're 10 mins in but he's fallen asleep at the breast. Hoping tomorrow's a better day.

It will get better. The evening of my DDs tongue tie snip she didn’t want to latch at all. Settled within a few hours and much better since.
Give baby a change to help wake for feed.
You’ve done the right thing, it’ll just take time to get used to their new tongue.
for you, you’re doing great

As an adult with lifelong issues due to a 'mild' tongue tie my mother didn't get treated, NHS won't treat now and I can't afford to get done privately, you did the right thing.

My son didn't want to latch at all post snip and preferred to just scream blue murder for a day and a half. Drowsiness was not part of the deal!
It is really distressing as a mum, but to be honest your baby sounds like they're doing really well and finally have a nice full tummy.

A 10 minute breastfeed can be completely fine. Keep an eye on wet nappies and poos to judge if he's getting enough milk rather than the length of the feed.

My DD had hers snipped at the same age. She didn't start feeding effectively straight away, it seemed to take a few days for her to learn how to use her tongue. She had a couple of sessions with a cranial osteopath, which seemed to help although I have no evidence. The second week after the snip, she suddenly gained 10oz in weight when she had only been gaining 3oz in the previous week's.

Also - if it helps you have a Google of 'breast compressions' it's fairly basic but can get a bit more milk into a sleepy baby. I doubt it's necessary, but I hear your anxiety! It may be something to try before you get reassurance another way.

Both mine had tongues divided. DS1 was older, and went from feeding all day every day and barely gaining weight, to barely feeding for 24hrs(which got us in a panic) to feeding on a much more sensible time scale actually sleeping for somewhere aproaching normal amounts, and gaining weight.
Keep an eye on him. Our first 24 hours were horrific post divide, but after that we went from strength to strength.
DS2 had a milder tie, which was caught earlier because we knew what to ask.... he gained weight much faster post divide, but we didn't have the breast refusal stage, or the horrifically long feeds before divide.

Did you feed post divide? So he's fed at 3pm, 8pm (message at 21.59 says fed 2 hrs ago), 10.45 and 3? That sounds ok to me.
Hope you all got some sleep, and feeding hoes well today.