5 weeks old and tongue-tied

[@llli*swilson09]

We just found out that our 5 week old is tongue-tied. Which has explained why she doesn't latch on very good, why she's fussy after what seems like a full feeding and why she'll fall asleep shortly after latching. I've also been pumping, since she seems to take to a bottle and nipple better than at the breast. However, I don't get a lot out when I pump, and end up having to give my little one formula, lately it seems like she's been getting more formula than breast milk.

Any advice on what I can do? Any one else having this problem with a tongue-tied baby? I feel like it would be easier to give her formula, but then I feel like I'd be failing her because I'm denying her breast milk.

[@llli*rakoonz]

Be careful with supplementing with formula if you want to continue breastfeeding, as it can really kill your supply. Since breasts produce milk on a supply=demand basis, and formula intake by baby reduces demand for breastmilk. If you want to get her back to entirely breastmilk, we'd love to help troubleshoot, etc.

Are you getting the tongue-tie clipped? I don't have any personal experience with this, but hopefully another mama will be along soon with hers, I know there are several on here.

In the meantime, here are a couple things that might help:
-"nipple sandwich" to cram more breast into baby's mouth while she's nursing.
-breast compressions. While you pump to get better output, or while she's nursing to maybe help keep her awake
-hand-expression after pumping is supposed to help increase pump output.
-an IBCLC might be very helpful in assisting you with hands-on latch troubleshooting. She might also be able to point you in the direction of someone who specialises in TT.

Hang in there, mama!

ETA: this might help, too http://kellymom.com/health/baby-heal...elp-tonguetie/

[@llli*swilson09]

I think we are going to get it clipped when she's older. The doctor didn't mention anything as far as what to do about it, she just said she was tongue tied. Might I ask what breast compressions are? I'm a first time and am new to breastfeeding ( hence the drive to try and push through this).

And thank you for replying!! I have the support of my husband, but its hard some nights to stay positive about the breasfeeding. Plus, I don't know anyone who has successfully breastfed.

[@llli*rakoonz]

This talks some about breast compressions: http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8:bre ast-compression&catid=5&Itemid=17

It's hard to persevere with breastfeeding when you are facing these kinds of hurdles and don't know anyone who has, so congrats on sticking it out so far. You can do it! It does get easier and less time-consuming as your baby gets older. Do you have a local LLL group near you? That way you could connect with other breastfeeding moms, and perhaps get some IRL support from other ladies who have been in your shoes, too. Plus it's a good way to get out of the house and feel safe nursing in "public".

[@llli*maddieb]

If your baby is having difficulty nursing due to tongue tie, the time to clip is now. The most serious health effect of tongue tie is it can mean a baby will not be able to be breastfeed.

If your baby has tongue tie and that is preventing her from being able to nurse, you are not failing your baby by 'denying' her breastmilk. Rather, your baby cannot nurse well due to what is in all likelihood a fixable problem. Your baby not being able to nurse well makes it so you have to pump, which of course is much harder than nursing and even harder than feeding formula. If you were able to nurse your baby at the breast, that is much easier than bottle feeding, in fact many mothers find it a joy.

This is changing but unfortunately many medical professionals are still not aware that tt is a barrier to breastfeeding and thus a very serious medical issue for the newborn that is easily fixed. Perhaps your doctor does not realize you want to breastfeed?

I suggest you get a hold of a copy of the latest The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. (8th edition 2010) You will find in there the best explanation of the issues about tt that are available for the layperson. Your doctor could contact the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine for more info for the medical professional.

[@llli*ali.bear]

My DD is 11 weeks old - we just had her second frenotomy done last week. At 3 days old we had her visible frenulum snipped, I'd left the hospital 24 hours after giving birth with blistered and bleeding nipples because of DD's latch. Her suckling improved to the point where I was no longer in pain, but she still wasn't effective. We had her re-evaluated by a breastfeeding specialist, who found a posterior tongue tie as well, which we had corrected. Now she suckles much more strongly and we just have to work on getting her off the bottles and supplements! It has been a very long hard road riddled with tongue ties, jaundice, retained placenta, infections - but we're finally getting there, so it is doable! Hang in there, you're doing great so far!

Do be aware if you choose not to clip now, that some tongue ties will cause issues with solid foods as well, as well as potential speech problems. We were unsure if DD's posterior tongue tie was causing breastfeeding issues, however did not want to 'wait and see' if it would cause more significant problems in the future with solids or speech. It is a personal decision, but I do believe you will find it near impossible to exclusively breastfeed and get your little one off the formula if she has restricted tongue movement and difficulty eating effectively because of the tongue tie. Also with my DD we found the more bottles she got, the lazier she became at the breast, compounding her sucking issues.

Good luck!

[@llli*swingkid]

We just recently had a baby 2/22 this year. We attended a breast feeding support group where the coordinator suspected "tongue tie", but "correctly" deferred to get a doctor to confirm it. It turned out that it wasn't a tongue tie issue. Unfortunately, it was a milk supply issue. We ended up supplementing breast milk with formula. We're doing the best we can with what we got... I don't think mom's should choose to feel bad if they just can't keep up with the milk supply... Of course it would be nice to go breast 100%, but rather get a well fed baby rather than stress out mom and baby, but starving the little one. You'll see signs of dehydration in the stool by seeing some dry brown crystals in the stool. If you see that, that is a good indication of dehydration. Your doctor should be ordering you to supplement the supply immediately. The other warning signs we saw was fussiness. We originally thought colic, but in reality, we believe it was just his way of saying, I'm still hungry, the supply is just not enough.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Clip NOW. If you wait, your chances of getting baby to breastfeed are really quite small.

Pump....how often are you pumping and with what kind of pump?

[@llli*mommal]

We attended a breast feeding support group where the coordinator suspected "tongue tie", but "correctly" deferred to get a doctor to confirm it. It turned out that it wasn't a tongue tie issue. Unfortunately, it was a milk supply issue.

Except in rare cases, milk supply issues don't happen spontaneously. There's a reason why supply is low. Poor milk transfer, as can happen with a poor latch or a tongue-tied baby, is a common cause. Scheduled feedings, thyroid problems, retained placenta fragments, or the negative impact of hormonal contraception can also be to blame.

I'm not saying this to make you feel bad- it sounds like you did need to supplement and it's good that you did when you did! However, don't let a doctor's diagnosis of low supply be the place you stop looking for explanations!

[@llli*kln2]

My baby had a minor posterior tongue tie. The doctor didn't think it was bad enough to cause issues with eating and speech, but I went ahead and got it corrected anyway because of the breastfeeding issues we were having. She was 6 weeks old at the time and the ENT used a laser, she did not appear to be in any pain. I think I was more upset about it than she was, haha. The only time she cried was when they had their fingers in her mouth. A lot of moms notice a big improvement right away, but I didn't notice a change in her latch at the time. However, things have been getting better over the past few weeks (she's 9 weeks now). I'm not sure if things got better because of correcting the tongue tie or because I was treated for thrush I didn't know I had then or a combination of both. Either way things are better and I recommend getting it clipped now. In the end it's up to you, but this is something that the sooner you find and correct, the better. I was hesitant at first because I didn't want her to have an extra long tongue, haha. She doesn't though, everything turned out fine. If you do decide to get it corrected check out this web site: http://www.lowmilksupply.org/frenotomy.shtml I found it when I was searching for an ENT, it lists doctors/dentists that "mothers and lactation professionals" recommend.