My son is 14 weeks old and I just ran across this topic while searching for a nipple shield online. I had issues with him latching on but since my nipples were flat I just assumed that was why, the lactation consultants in the hospital never even looked at his tongue, they just gave me a nipple shield. Well I only breastfed for a week until he had to go to the hospital overnight for jaundice, now in reading about tongue-tied babies I'm wondering if that's why he had a poor latch, didn't get as much milk as he needed and caused me so much pain I had assumed my production was poor and I was a mess about the whole issue, never thinking there could be another issue that EVERYONE was overlooking.
Anyway, since then I have exclusively pumped to assure my son's intake was enough. He is a healthy little baby so I don't want to get his frenulum clipped just for the purposes of being able to breastfeed. However, if it will cause a speech impediment I would definitely want to get this fixed.
How I suspected he was tongue tied... he has notch at the tip of his tongue so I looked underneath and his frenulum seems close to the tip and more prominent than mine. I read some tips on what to do to determine if they are tongue tied, so I pushed it and it does seem tight. The severity? Well I also ran my finger along his gums, his tongue followed my finger without twisting so I guess that was a good sign. Everytime I pull the bottle out of his mouth, he's still sucking and his tongue is "taco shaped" so I guess that's good right??? He can also stick his tongue out of his mouth though I can't tell yet if it's in the "proper way" because now that I'm trying to inspect him he won't do it! When he cries his tongue is flat, not curled up or down... so I guess that's normal? Oh and I don't know how to check if his tongue will touch the roof of his mouth.
Any amateur diagnoses and/or advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Thanks for all of the advice.
I took my baby to the doctor and he said that my son's case was mild and he wasn't concerned. His primary concern would be with the baby's ability to eat, which is not a problem at all with my son who now weighs 6 lbs. & 3 oz. more than he did at birth. He was pleased with the tonque movement, which made me feel a little better... though I must admit I am not completely comforted and I will be proactive and pay careful attention to his development.
He also said that "a quick snip" of the frenulum is not without it's own risks. In all of my questions, I actually did not inquire about those risks because I had already been wondering how nerve damage wasn't a consideration... so I assumed that's part of what he's referring too.
My son is 9. He's "tongue-tied" but it doesn't interfere with his life. No speech issues. (My mom is too--more so, even, but no problems.)
The speech thing will depend on the severity of the tie.
I would suggest if you're going to have it snipped--sooner rather than later.
Good luck!
(My boss had her son's fixed--she wanted him to be able to "french kiss"! LOL)
My daughter had this. It was diagnosed when she was about a year old, but her Ped said we would watch it and see - same as you, unsure. Well, time goes by and she's 3 and the doctor says it needs to be fixed, so off to the Pediatric Surgeon we go.
The surgeon said if it had been done when she was a baby, it was such an easy procedure - just snip it. The surgeon said there aren't a lot of nerve endings there so it wouldn't require a lot of medication or anestesia. Just topical numbing.
But, she was 3 when we went in and scared, and the doctor couldn't get anywhere near her mouth b/c she was squirming so much. It had to get fixed so they had to sedate her a bit. No good.
I say, from experience, do it immediately. It will be easy and he'll back to normal before the day is over.
My daughter is younger tied. Her Dr wouldn't clip it unless it impaired her speech. It didn't. She's now 16 & it's never bothered her. I don't remember having problems nursing her because of it. Maybe I just got lucky.
If your baby is tongue tied, you should absolutely get it corrected. Tongue ties not only cause issues with nursing, but can cause speech issues, orthodontic issues, etc. Definitely get him assessed by an IBCLC. If you're in the LA area, Dr. Galen in Beverly Hills (an oral surgeon) does a fantastic job clipping ties. He's probably the very best in our area.
Here's a link to my blog about my daughter's tongue tie. Hers was unusual because it was a posterior submucosal tie which is difficult to diagnose. But I've got clinical pictures in there so you can see what a posterior tongue tie looks like.
http://knockedupknockedover.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/brea...
http://knockedupknockedover.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/brea...
Hope these articles help.
My 3 year old daughter was tongue tied and I didn't realize this until she wasn't gaining weight at her 2 month check up and I noticed she was leaking while nursing and drinking her bottle. The doctor still didn't check her tongue but a lactation nurse did and she sent me to ENT and they snipped it in the office with no problem. Her upper lip frenulum was also tied which we didn't realize until she started getting her 2 front teeth. When she started eating, food would get stuck there. So at 20 months she had surgery to have this clipped and her gum stitched since the frenulum was so thick. She did very well with both procedures. I highly suggest getting this checked out since the procedures at your baby's age now is very simple. A tell tale sign of tongue tied is they have a heart shaped tongue (the frenulum if tight will pull the tip of the tongue in to make a heart shape). My 1 year old was also tongue tied but I had them check this as soon as she was born and it was snipped at the bedside at only 2 days old. Tongue tied is a genetic trait. My husband was tongue tied but it didn't affect his feeding. However, he had it snipped when he was 8 years old because he was taking trombone lessons and wasn't able to properly position his tongue! He's a musician and although he doesn't play the trombone any longer he is glad he had the procedure done!
Try cranial therapy first. I know babies that have been greatly helped with this alternative.
Okay, you said you don't want to clip his frenulum just for the sake of breastfeeding but you must not be aware that a tongue tie affects everything including how a baby is able to move his mouth to learn to talk, to eat, and to even bottle feed.
My baby is 11 months old and although she is NOT tongue tied, she did have a tight frenulum. A certified lactation consultant, one who has the letters (IBCLC) after her name should have been able to adequately tell you that something is wrong. My lactation consultant worked with me and she did check for a tongue tie on my baby. She did not see anything obvious. When I went back to her for another follow up with her and it was obvious that my baby was still not taking an adequate amount of milk from me, she put me in touch with a speech therapist. I consulted with a speech therapist who was able to tell me that my baby's tongue was indeed tight but not in need of clipping. She further told me that with age, my baby's tongue would stretch and she even showed me some exercises to help strengthen her back and neck which would help my baby's tongue "stretch." What she had me do is put my baby in a chair (bouncy chair, infant car seat) and hold her hands in front of her and "pull" her forward. Most babies heads lag behind, meaning that as you are pulling them forward, their head is not aligned with their body. It lags behind..hopefully you understand what I'm saying. Anyway, I did this as a game a couple times a day until my baby's head / neck got strong enough to stay aligned with her body as I pulled her forward. You can also do this from lying down as well. Pull the baby up, hold his hands in front of him.
You really need to take this issue to your pediatrician and have your baby's mouth fully inspected. Amateur advice is not going to correct it, if it is in need of correction and the speech therapist told me that a clipping is so easy to do. Really, if you are not willing to do it for the sake of breastfeeding, then you need to consider how a tongue tie will affect his ability to move his mouth to learn to make sounds, which will affect his speech (think: delayed speech), and how he will be able to move his mouth to eat. IF your ped says it looks fine, suggest he/she refer you to a speech therapist anyway just to that you can get that reassurance a mother needs to know that her baby is really fine.
It's so very easy to fix, and a quick procedure. Had a friend that just had her newborn son's done (also couldn't latch and wasn't getting enough).
Now, no problems.
I say take him to his doc and speak to him/her about it. My son was tongue ties and we didnt find out until he was about 20 mo. He couldnt latch on and I had a hard time finding any bottle nipples that would work for him. When I took him to his first dental appt. the entist asked me if he was able to breast feed. I explained situation to him thats when he told us my son was tongue tied. He did have speech issues. Had we known this when he was younger they could have clipped it in the peds office. we had to take him to hospital and have him knocked out with drugs and taken into surgery. Everything was fine until he woke up and tried to talk. his tongue was still so numb he bit it BAD and there was lots of blood. The surgery itself did not freak him out, but the blood did. Not trying to scare you, but as a mom it was so hard to see my baby so scared. Anyways that's my two cents. Good luck
1st, stay calm, mama...he may or may not have a problem, some babies are actually, 'lazy' when it comes to breastfeeding, I know that sounds harsh but it's just a term.
Make an appt. with the Ped to have him checked. If there is a problem it's an easy fix.
We all worry about our babies, you are doing the right thing by checking just don't get too upset & get him to your Ped..
Congrats on your new little man!
Get a professional diagnosis and then get it fixed. You have NO idea just HOW MUCH it can affect all the processes that make it so he can move the inside of his mouth properly for him to even get TO the point that he can talk. It might save you tons of money later on with speech therapy.
Good luck!
Dawn
Your doctor would be the very best person to help you with these questions. You definately want to repair it IF there is a problem, but don't make a problem where there is none.
(I know, you are just a concerned Mom and that's definately OK!!!)
M
