Should I get tongue tie shipped?

[Floopyandtired]

DS is 3 weeks old and BF. He feeds really well, no pain and he is gaining weight well. Plenty of nappies. However about 50% of feeds are a real challenge, he pulls on and off and screams a lot. The other times are absolutely fine. He does suffer with painful wind as well despite lots of burping and bicycle legs.

We were told after birth he had a tongue tie, but unless it was causing serious issues (I.e. failure to thrive) the NHS in my area will no longer snip them. So we have a private appt tomorrow to get it assessed and snipped but I’m getting cold feed. Im questioning if it’s really worth it. Has anyone experienced similar feeding difficulties and found having it snipped to be worthwhile?

Thank you x

Yes, it changed DDs feeding journey. It was quick and simple and she could move her tongue so freely straight after. I would have been concerned about speech problems too if we hadn't had it done. I am an advocate for it!

God yes. Although DSs was causing latch problems. It sounds a bit like it might be causing mild problems for yours too. It's awful taking your baby to gave anything done and cold feet are absolutely understandable, but it's over and he'll be feeding feeding in literally seconds. We never looked back - it was a massive help. Good luck!

I would - child who didn't have it done had some speech issues although was bottle fed so feeding was less of an issue.

Completely agree with everyone else. I’m so glad we did it.

I've had one done, and 2 not done. I'd def have got the others done too if I'd been able. Once was picked up really late, and we'd muddled through by then, and the other was during covid lockdown 1, so fast chance of seeing anyone at all, let alone a tongue tie specialist!

It is a TINY procedure. Mine barely blinked when it was done. Made a big difference as he stopped gulping air.

Good luck!

My dd had one snipped and it certainly helped with feeding. It can also cause speech difficulties in later life if left. I'm surprised the NHS no longer fund it. An adult friend of mine who had an undiagnosed tongue tie had years of speech therapy which must have cost more than snipping it.

DD had hers done at 3 weeks. She cried for 10 seconds, I fed her and she stopped. It took her a week or so to "relearn" how to use her tongue to feed more efficiently.

Excuse typos...

My DS didn’t latch at all until he had it snipped.

Thank you very much everyone. The rational side of my brain knows it’s a very minor procedure and will be over in seconds, but it’s hard to think like that with your own kids! It’s a lot of money to spend if it makes no difference but I want to try everything to make bf a success.

Hi OP, I would recommend definitely getting it snipped. We noticed DD's at birth and like you, was told it didn't need cutting unless it causes an issue in future. DD was bf, always fed well (so I thought) and was gaining weight until around 2 and a half months when she began getting active i.e moving arms and legs more and at a regular weighing session they noticed she'd lost weight and referred her to have it cut but we ended up going private as the wait was quicker.

I had an app where I kept track of her feeds etc and mentioned that she bf around 14 times a day and they were so shocked, I'm a FTM so I just thought that was normal with breastfeeding she also had bright green poo (sorry TMI) because she was only getting the foremilk, her tongue tie didn't allow her to suckle properly to get the hindmilk (which is the fatty good stuff). When the tongue tie specialist read through our red book she said all the signs were there that DD's tongue tie was an issue but unfortunately the health visitors missed it.

Supposedly your child is more likely to have tongue tie if their father does.

Also, the snip itself was over in seconds, DD breastfed straight after and all was forgotten very quickly!

Yes, yes, yes

My son had a lisp and problems with his teeth as he got older.

Had the tongue tie cut with a laser at age 12 and it was really traumatic.

His speech impediment has now gone and his teeth have straightened a lot but they're still crooked.

No one picked up on it when he was a baby, I found BF really hard and didn't know why.

Better now than later!!

Definitely do. Ds wasn't diagnosed for a few weeks. I'd already given up bf by then. Even the bottle was a nightmare as it drooled everywhere. It then took months to get done. He needed an anaesthetic. He was fine and eating shortly afterwards. I'm glad he got it done as I daresay it would have affected his speech too.

Yes it really is over in seconds.

My friend had to have her son's done when he was nearer a year old as he couldn't cope with spoons.

Absolutely yes, it can also affect how the mouth grows (more narrow with a tt) and make overcrowded teeth more likely

Both my babies had it done. It didn’t work on the first one but he had a tricky birth and was slightly premature and we had to rely more on FF in the early days to get his weight up. It did however work on our second baby 🙂

It is a very small and quick procedure. My midwife told me that back in the day midwifes would keep a long fingernail to slice newborn tongue tie!
Had DS's done last week and it really has improved his latch. If your DC is pulling, thrashing, and had wind it indicates that air is getting in when he sucks so his latch needs improving.

Get it done. Ours had it when very young. Simple and relatively quick.

Only clicked on the thread because I was very confused about the title

I think you’ve got your answer though OP and it’s a yes

Yes yes yes! Definitely worth it. Could of written your post myself at that age. Went back and forth between “it’s fine we’re managing” and “get it snipped now” for weeks until week 7 when I had enough muddling through and got it done. He cried for about 30 seconds then was fine. Should of got it done sooner as apparently the younger it’s done the less pain it normally causes.
Worth it for the weaning and speech effect risks too!

An adult friend of mine who had an undiagnosed tongue tie had years of speech therapy which must have cost more than snipping it.

This. Mine was diagnosed & snipped when I was 11 after years of speech problems & then I had to have lessons to learn how to talk properly. I hate to think how tough it would have been if I’d had to deal with it as an adult.

Yes get it done. The younger the better. Then you won't have to worry about feeding or future speech.
I think this should be free on the nhs and done ASAP for all babies.

Sorry for jumping on! But my DD also has mild tongue tie - didn't notice this myself but was told by a midwife on 10 day check up.

Was told that I would only need to snip it if it was causing problems however due to the fact that DD had maintained her birth weight and then some, there was no need for it.

DD is now approaching 6 months old and I am wondering now having read this thread whether it is something I should look into getting snipped again.

How do you go about it? Do you visit the GP and get referred if you want to have it done on the NHS. If done privately, how much does it generally cost??

DD is currently on 90th centile so she's obviously learned how to feed effectively with the tongue tie but now concerned about speech impediments & teeth overcrowding - didn't even know this was a thing!

@Tee20x HV said she could refer me but wait could be 3-4 weeks for nhs because of COVID backlog
Private cost us £180. This was april time this year so recent, probably varies quite a bit by area
If you google tongue tie practitioners a website with everyone registered comes up. Most have links to their websites so I’d start from there.
Might be slightly different for you as your daughters a tiny bit older, not sure what age it stops being a quick snip!

Thanks to everyone who commented. We went through with the tongue tie division and had a lovely feed afterwards. Honestly it was nothing to worry about, DS barely even flinched. The most painful part was paying the bill at the end!