I've been reading a lot of posts lately on social media asking for advice and stories on children having their tongue tie's clipped. I thought it would be good to share our experience with Mason. I also asked one of my fellow momma friends Brenda from @small.town.mama.b to share her experience with us below. Just please keep in mind that these were our personal experiences, and that everyone's situation is different. To please seek medical advice if you are unsure of something.
We found out the 2nd day we were in the hospital after Mason was born that he had a tongue tie. I was in a lot of pain breast feeding and my nipples were getting cut and raw because of it. Mason was not gaining weight as well and they figure that had something to do with the tongue tie. I saw a lactation consultant the day that I left the hospital but unfortunately she was not able to spend time with us as she had another appointment. I scheduled an appointment with her for a few days after we were discharged as I was really hoping we could get Mason's feeding on track so I could breastfeed him (if you want to know more about our breastfeeding journey click here). When I saw the lactation consultant she assessed Mason's tongue tie and felt that it was quite severe and recommended that we see someone to have it clipped. Of course my anxiety spiked as no mom wants to hear that their newborn baby has to have a medical procedure done so early in life no matter how big or small the procedure may be. The lactation consultant was confident that after we got the tongue tie fixed that Mason's breastfeeding would be more successful. Within 2 hours of me going home I received a phone call from the dentist office that she was referring me to and we were scheduled to take Mason at 6:00 am the following morning for the procedure.
One thing that I learned was that there are dentists as well as physicians who complete the procedure. After speaking with the lactation consultant I felt it was best to chose the dentist. The reason that we chose the dentist was because they are experts in oral health and we heard nothing but great reviews about the dentist we were going too. We went to Appleby Dental in Burlington and the dentists name is Dr. Sherri Hill. I also learned that Dr. Hill performs this procedure everyday of the week around 11 times a day if not more! So she had a lot of experience which made me feel better about taking Mason there. I also liked how quickly they were able to get us into the clinic as I was really hopeful that after having the procedure done it would help with our breastfeeding journey.
I felt like this was probably the longest morning I have had as Mason's mom. I was anxious about the procedure as it just sounds awful! I tried not to google anything before hand because I didn't want to make my anxiety any worse. We had to hold off on his morning feed before we left because they wanted him to have an empty stomach so he was ready to feed immediately following the procedure. Come on, we all know how a hungry newborn acts so that was not fun! Thankfully though from start to finish, I have to say the dentist office and staff was absolutely amazing. The office was beautiful, the staff were all so lovely and comforting and made sure that Chris, Mason and I were comfortable. Prior to the procedure happening we were taken into a room, same room you would go to for a cleaning or procedure at a dentists office. We spoke with one of the dentists assistants who would be present during the procedure. She answered all of our questions and made sure that we knew exactly what was going to happen. Then the dentist came into the room and she completed an assessment and gave us her opinion prior to completing the procedure. She agreed with the lactation consultant that Mason's tongue tie was severe enough to warrant the procedure. Mason had to lay on a table with what looked like a change pad on top of it. We swaddled him tightly into one of his blankets which was nice and comforting for him. This is where they did the procedure. I was in the room but chose to sit off to the side as I did not feel that I would be able to watch and hold myself together. And mom's that is okay! If you don't feel that you are able to hold yourself together, it is best that you sit down and take care of you and let your husband or spouse be that person. There is no shame in having to step aside. Your child can sense your anxiety and that therefore increases their anxiety so it is best to let the more calm person be at the bedside. So Chris stood at the top of the bed with one hand on Mason for comfort and momma was very close by. As soon as the procedure was complete - which honestly I am not joking takes 2 minutes Mason was unstrapped and in my arms. There was very minimal bleeding. I expected there to be pools of blood but there was no visible blood by the time he got into my arms. We were immediately taken into a private room with a comfortable chair for me to sit and feed him. Whether you are bottle feeding or breastfeeding they will have you immediately feed your child afterwards. I was able to sit and feed Mason for as long as I needed and then they came back into the room to reassess his tongue. They taught us some exercises that we needed to do with Mason and then we were sent on our way.
I will warn you though I personally thought the exercises seemed more torturous than the procedure itself. However, they are so imperative in assuring that your child does not redevelop the tongue tie. After completing the exercises a few times I think Mason just kind of got used to it and was easy to console. I honestly think it was more uncomfortable for me doing it, than it was on him.
Overall, I have to say that I worked the procedure up to be a lot worse than what it was. I can tell you to not worry and to not think the worst but I know that is not going to help. We are moms and parents and we never want to see our kids have to go through any type of procedure that could cause them pain or discomfort. I will say though that the procedure is quick and common. That in the end, hopefully it will help your child feel better and help your breastfeeding or feeding journey. I continued to see the lactation consultant after the procedure and we did see a significant improvement in Mason's latch and feeding. Unfortunately the problem came down to me not producing enough milk for Mason and that is what ended our breastfeeding journey. However, the procedure was still worthwhile and beneficial for Mason. We do not regret making the decision to move forward with it.
I would love to hear your stories with this procedure. Was your first born child and then children afterwards tongue tied? Did you find the procedure less traumatizing than you thought? If we share our stories we can help one another better know what to expect and maybe put our minds at ease a little bit.
Now if you are looking for the complete opposite of our situation, please read Brenda's experience below. I think it is important to show that there are so many different ways that people can experience this procedure. But what it comes down to is if you are not comfortable or feel that you are not getting the information that you need, do not be afraid to seek additional help, ask a mama friend or stick to your beliefs! You know your child best. Also I want to give a big thank you to Brenda for sharing her story so that mama's can see they are not alone in their experiences.
The dreaded “Tongue Tie”
Malcolm was 2 weeks old when our midwife detected he had a tongue tie. It was our first appointment after giving birth at the midwives' office, before this every time we saw her at the house Malcolm had been as calm as a cucumber and usually sleeping through his checkup. But this appointment he cried and cried, that’s when I heard the dreaded “He has a tongue tie.” My first reaction was are you sure? They checked him in the hospital and said he didn’t have a tongue tie or a lip tie. “Yep there is a tongue tie”. The midwife went on to explain that not everyone is trained to diagnose or detect a tongue tie, so it sometimes goes undetected. She caught it right away, she was not the midwife that checked him at the hospital.
My next question: what do we do now? We were referred to a clinic in Cambridge, as the lactation
consultant in our area that normally diagnosis them was on maternity leave. They sent the referral and that afternoon I got a phone call for an appointment to get his tongue tie “assessed.” We ended up going the next afternoon to Cambridge to a pediatrician and breastfeeding clinic. I wrangled my mom to come with me because as a mom I was scared shitless that someone was going to cut my babies tongue! I didn’t know really what a tongue tie was or what the process for correcting it was, all I have heard is that they get cut. What? My babies tongue gets cut, snipped, sliced?? I asked on the phone what all the appointment entailed, I was told Malcolm would be assessed by the
pediatrician for tongue and lip ties, and if he did have them, they would correct them. The lactation
consultant would talk to us and go over any feeding/latching issues and advice from there.
We went to the appointment, first off, the clinic was in a grocery store...yep a grocery store. We walked into the clinic they took my information and a few minutes later myself and another mom were being taken to our rooms. At this point I'm sweating. Not knowing what is going to happen. Next thing you know someone comes in the room, she introduced herself as the lactation consultant as she placed a sterile razor blade and gauze on the exam table. She handed me a pile of papers and proceeded out of the room when I stopped her and asked if they were going to assess Malcolm, as I am staring at the packaged razor blade sitting on the table. She said, “yes the doctor will come in and assess, talk to you and go from there.”
I waited roughly 10 minutes, I heard someone going in and out of the other exam rooms and babies
crying. Then the Lactation consultant came back in and took Malcolm from me, she laid him down on the exam table and before I could blink they were handing him back to me with a big piece of gauze in his mouth and the lactation consultant shoved him on my boob, grabbed my arms and told me that a cross cradle position was how I had to hold him to feed. She placed a pillow under him, with my left hand grasping his head, and my right hand grasping my boob...it was the most awkward uncomfortable position for feeding ever, as he latched I saw a few drops of blood, then he started sucking and ate for a good 20 minutes. I had sweat dripping from my forehead, what had just happened?? They released his tongue tie just like that, they didn’t assess him, they didn’t go over the procedure with me, I don’t even know the doctors name or what he looked like. There I sat for 20 minutes while he was eating and burping and another 25 minutes just sitting waiting for someone to come back in and go over aftercare or anything with me. Nope didn’t happen. I opened the exam room door, and looked for the lactation consultant, then I see her head pop out from around an office door across the hall from our exam room. I asked if we were done. I also had some questions about the sharp shooting pains I was getting in my breasts. She told me Malcolm had a posterior tongue tie and has a slight lip tie but it was nothing they were concerned about so they weren't going to release the lip tie at this time and that she would get me some more papers on engorgement.
I stood in the hallway with my 2 week old in my arms as she talked to me from across the hall! WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE? I waited another 10 minutes for the papers and then was told I could go on my way. WTF just happened? They didn’t give me any aftercare they didn’t tell me what to expect only that my boobs were engorged and to read the papers they gave me, and a prescription for nipple cream. I walked to the waiting room where my mom had said “that took
forever, all I saw was what I assume the doctor going in and out of the rooms”. As I looked at her, I
noticed another new mom out the corner of my eye waiting to go into what seemed like a baby tongue tie factory! Just in and out, in and out they went releasing tongue and lip ties.
The mom had asked me how it was, and if he bled etc. I don’t know if I looked completely overwhelmed but I knew I couldn’t tell her what had just happened she was clearly so nervous as well. I said the procedure went fine and there was minimal bleeding which there was hardly any. I left traumatized by the experience, I don’t even know what just had happened, I was still processing it all.
Fast forward a few days, here I am trying to feed Malcolm the “right” way they showed me at the clinic. I read the papers they gave me which didn’t tell you much. My boobs are killing me, they are engorged Malcolm is screaming and fighting every feed. He isn’t happy, I'm stressed out trying to get him to eat, this went on for about a week to the point where I was pumping every 2-3hrs in the middle of the night bottle feeding him breastmilk because he wouldn’t take my boob. What happened to the good feeding we were doing before? That had all gone down the drain, he is crying I am crying. At that point I almost gave up breastfeeding, all that I kept thinking was how am I going to feed my baby like this? I went to the grocery store, and I remember going down the formula aisle, I was at my wits end, I didn’t know what else to do he was 2 weeks old. I don’t want to give him formula but we can't go on like this in a constant battle of trying to latch properly. I looked at the liquid formula and saw $42.99 for 12 bottles,that would last a day? Maybe a day and a half? I went home feeling defeated, I didn’t buy formula, I decided to give myself a few more days of trying to get this breastfeeding thing down, and that’s what I did. I was not ready to give up.
That evening I was venting to my girlfriend who is a rock star at all things baby about my frustration since Malcolm tongue tie release, she told me “ feed him how he is comfortable and how you are comfortable” one other thing she told me that no one else did is that after a tongue tie babies go through a regression. They must learn how to reuse their tongue again, and how to use the muscles needed to properly latch and feed. After she had told me this I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, I googled tongue tie regression, and there it was, everything we had been struggling with, I found a great article that explained the whole process, and how there sometimes can be a regression in the feeding.Knowing that the regression only lasted a short time I kept breastfeeding, I went back to feeding him in the cradle position and a week after his tongue tie release a miracle happened, he was latching perfectly, and he was eating like a champ again! Now at 2 months old he is gaining at least 1oz a day, close if not over 11lbs and exclusively breastfeeding. I think that if I did not have such an amazing support system such as my midwife and knowledgeable friends and other moms, that I wouldn’t not have made it through this experience. Sometimes in healthcare people are just caught up on the numbers, and I totally felt this way about the clinic we went to, how many babies can we bill for a in day? There was no support, no guidance, just a quick release of the tongue and you're on your way, which isn’t right. After the fact I looked the clinic up online and read reviews, and pretty much everyone had the same experience there as I did.
So don’t be afraid to Ask questions, ask your mom friends, ask your mom, ask your aunts, Ask your doctor or midwives, we are all a wealth of information from our own experiences and if we can help just one other mom out there by providing our experience then it's totally worth it!
Xoxo
Small Town Mama
Comments