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Tongue tie

Hi, I would like to hear from anyone with experience of Tongue tie. A bf consultant recommended that I have my 4 1/2 month old checked as he still feeds every 2 hours.



From what I've read this could be the case and I also found that there is little room under his Tongue, however the articles also say it can be painful to feed and that weight gain is poor, which I'm not experiencing.



Has anyone else had a similar situation?

Replies

  • My DS had a posterior (or known otherwise as a sub mucosal tongue tie) which was not diagnosed until 4weeks old. To be honest i think it would've gone completely undiagnosed if it wasn't for a brilliant lactation consultant. The reason for this is that a posterior tongue tie does not look like a usual one where the frenulum appears near the end of the tongue but instaed it is covered with membrane masking it's presence.

    It caused us serious BF problems-i was very sore, ended up with mastitis, DS was CONSTANTLY feeding and didn't regain his birthweight until topped up with formula at 6weeks.

    I'm a bit concerned that your BF consultant's only reason to suspect a tongue tie is frequent feeding. To be honest every 2hrs in a 4month old baby is not that frequent and should be considered completely normal. In the absence of other symptoms i would suggest that a tongue tie is not the issue, rather that your LO likes to feed frequently and this has become more of a habit-have you tried to gradually extend the time between feeds at all by distracting him etc?

    There's a private lactation consultant, her name is Ann Dobson-google her (who specialises in tongue ties and was the one who finally confirmed my DS's and snipped it at home!) and sghe has a good website with a list of tongue tie symptoms. Perhaps give that a read and see if any of it applies to you and your LO and she's also contactable by phone and very willing to talk you through any of it (don't worry, no charge for phone advice!).

    I really wouldn't jump to any conclusions based on your BF consulatnt's advice, it's sounds a little dubious to me.

    HTH

  • My son had a tongue tie and it caused a lot of problems with breastfeeding in terms of pain for me, bleeding, blistering etc. and frustration for him. Luckily for us I had A LOT of milk so he still put on weight really well as it basically just sprayed into his mouth!

    That said I know some babies get diagnosed with tongue tie and have no problems at all, so it is possible, but like MummaJuk says if frequent feeding is the only reason for concern I wouldn't be in too much of a rush to do anything about it, unless you have any other problems?
  • Hey hun! Not read the previous replies but I noticed on day 2 or 3 that Isabelle seemed to have tongue tie and the midwifes advised as she was feeding fine (breast fed) that it wouldn't be a problem. I breast fed until she was 17 weeks, at that point she was still feeding 2 hourly during the day. I had completely forgotten that she had tongue tie until a friend yesterday asked how it was and she no longer has it.



    I'm pretty sure that its really common for a baby of that age to feed so reguarly. A friends little girl is the same age as mine and she was still feeding 2 hourly until they stopped, also at about 17 weeks. TBH even though my LO is on formula now she still feeds every 3 hours, I think she just likes little and often.



    There's no harm in getting it looked at if you are concerned but if not then just forget about it. As long as he is happy, feeding well and gaining weight then I don't see what the BF consultants problem is... x
  • The bf consultant was concerned as his tongue has not come out of his mouth, latching is weak and the frequent feeding, and only said it as a possibility.



    The bf constant was concerned for my health as I am so exhausted.



    Think I might just get a doctor to take a look to be on the safe side as I know some types can cause other issuses later in life.



    Thanks for all the replies.
  • Mammajuk thanks for the info on Ann Dobson I googles her and found that a lot of the symptoms fit, so will be getting a doctor to check him over for me.
  • Hi,

    My daughter had a tongue tie, and was a BF baby. It didn't cause her any problems, and was only spotted when I took her (at well over 6 months) to see a GP and then a private paediatrician about it. I only noticed as when she attempted to stick her tongue out it looked like a plum, where the middle bit was joined and being held back!



    The paediatrician surprised me by saying that the majority of tongue ties should be left alone as they will correct themselves. He assured me that my daughter's tie was literally a very thin membrane of skin which 'he could break by simply sliding his little finger under her tongue'! I couldn't quite believe it would resolve on its own but took his advice and left alone.



    Recently I noticed that she can now stick her tongue out fully and just as promised, it did break on its own with no pain or adverse symptoms.



    Not sure if this helps you, but thought I would share anyway.
  • Hello. My son had a tongue tie which was evaluated at the hospital when he was 2 weeks old because the midwives noticed it as soon as he was born and referred us to see a specialist. I was breastfeeding but he was making me really, really sore. When we went to the see the specialist he thought it was bad enough to warrant snipping it there and then. I was terrified at the though but it was nowhere near as bad as I had imagined.I cried more than him I think! They just swaddled him up, waited for him to cry and then snipped it with surgical scissors. There was an initial cry, a bit if blood - nothing that a feed straight away didnt solve though! Glad we had it done so young though, and it really did make a difference to breastfeeding - no more agony for me! image
  • Thanks for all the info the doctor has referee me to a specialist as he thinks there is differently a Tongue tie. Just got to wait for the appointment now and go from there.
  • Glad to hear you're getting somewhere. I didn't mean to sound so 'snify' about your BF consultant, sorry, it's just frequent feeding alone is certainly not a reason to think of a tongue tie. But obviously there are other symptoms/signs and i'm glad Ann Dobson's website helped you.

    To reiterate what the other's have said if your LO does neeed their tie snipping please don't worry about it. It's such a small procedure, my LO's was done at home. He had no ill effects and after a quick cry i put him on the breast and that was it, it never bothered him again.

    Good luck with your appointment

  • My daughter had a tongue tie at the front, and didn't get it snipped til she was 3 weeks old - initially it didn't cause a problem and she was still managing to latch well and gain weight on exclusive bf, BUT by 3 weeks it was just starting to cause unseen problems because she just wasn't quite efficient enough due to it to get the milk she needed as she grew to sustain her weight gain iyswim. No harm in them checking it out, if it does get snipped it's painless and very very simple when they're wee, it's if they're older and it causes speech problems or feeding problems they can end up having a proper operation to get rid of it. I also had a tongue tie at birth and it caused me no problems in later life however I could not breastfeed and at the time it wasn't really sorted out very well and my mum gave up not knowing what the problem was. xxxx
  • I'm pleased to hear you got your referal.



    My ds had a 50% tongue tie corrected at 15 weeks even though he followed his centile perfectly (stubborn mummy kept on attending bf to perfect the latch and also clock watched a bit as he had a habit of falling off early). I personally thought it helped as he was less windy and wasnt on/off feeding as much - although it was hard to tell as we were dealing with some other issues. It took a while after the snip (a quick cut and he fed beautifully straight after) for him to get used to the freedom and movement so dont expect it to be a quick fix at this age, but I believe it was the right thing to do in order for his speech and ability to eat solids given the degree and type of tongue tie he had.



    Good luck x
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