Lip Tied & Tongue Tied – Breastfeeding Difficulties

Did you know that this past Thursday was the start of World Breastfeeding Week? Would you like to know how we celebrated? The Babe and I celebrated with a trip to a dentist who specializes in the laser correction of lip & tongue ties in infants.

Like many Moms, I have a love/hate relationship with breastfeeding. My oldest son was a complete nightmare that ended in about 3 weeks with complete and total devastation for me. My sweet daughter had a major throat disorder complicated by significant food allergies that made breastfeeding a full time job. Fortunately with support and education, we successfully breastfed until 14 months when I finally gave up because I selfishly and desperately wanted to eat something smeared with butter and over easy eggs.

Naturally, when this little guy came along, I anticipated that we would need some support but I believed my previous experience would make breastfeeding this one a breeze. Our first few days in the hospital were painful and I knew something wasn’t quite right. As soon as we were discharged I made an appointment with the lactation expert that had helped me with Lu.

One of the first things that she noticed was that Ez had a very tight latch. His tongue and lip were not moving correctly on the breast which was causing him to chomp down on my nipple leaving it flattened and blanched. Another thing that she noticed was a subtle clicking noise which indicated that he was not maintaining good suction while on the breast.

Since he was only 6 days old, she wasn’t sure that it was related to a physical deformity in the mouth but after a couple of more visits it was quite obvious that Ez had a significant lip and tongue tie that was inhibiting him from gaining a proper latch. Our lactation expert referred us to a specialist who would use a laser to sever both the upper lip and tongue frenulum removing the restriction and hopefully improving his technique.

The reason that it is so important to correct the lip and/or tongue tie is because eventually it can lead to a host of other problems including:

• Low milk production
• Nipple damage
• Low weight gain
• Constant gassiness and belly aches
• Risk of increase plugged ducts and mastitis

Some of the clues to let you know that your baby might have a lip or tongue tie are:

• Nipple looks flat and creased after feeding
• Nipple pain
• Sucking in air and sliding off during feeding
• Baby is easily tired.
• Breast are not fully drained
• Clicking noises while feeding

After careful consideration and research, I decided to go ahead and have both the lip and tongue tie corrected. I was really nervous about having any type of “surgery” on little Ez  but since I want to breastfeed for as long as possible, I knew it had to be done.

We arrived at the office and the dentist evaluated his condition. He pointed out the movements in the tongue and lips that were concerning and agreed with the lactation expert that it would benefit us to sever both the lip and tongue tie. After the brief consultation, the brought out a little Halo sleep sack and swaddle Ez tightly. They allowed me to hold him on the chair and put a cute tiny pair of glasses over his eyes. Then the dentist used a pen sized laser to cut and cauterize the offending areas. The whole procedure lasted less than a minute and I was quickly taken to a separate room where I could immediately start breastfeeding. I was definitely more traumatized than the baby. Once we were done, the doctor gave us some exercises to continue stretching the lip and tongue areas over the next three weeks to keep the frenulum from growing back.

It has been 4 days since the procedure and I have already seen a moderate change. All the online research says it can take 2-3 weeks for the baby to fully “relearn” how to latch. We will be seeing the lactation expert tomorrow and I am hoping she is going to be able to give us a positive assessment and some techniques to help us continue to improve.

All in all, I am glad that we received appropriate interventions from a qualified expert and am looking forward to Ez and I continuing our breastfeeding relationship for as long as possible.