My son was born 16 days early after I was induced due to pre-eclampsia. The labor and delivery was pretty easy…And then it came time to feed my son. We did okay breastfeeding at first but began to have some issues as the hours went by. I cannot tell you the number of Lactation Consultants that came into my hospital room. We even got an extra nights stay in the hospital so we could get more one-on-one help.
Two weeks in and I was in a world of pain! I honestly believed that if spy agencies used breastfeeding as a method of torture there would be no secrets left to tell!
I kept calling Lactation Consultants until I found one that was able to see me right away – something needed to be done because there was no way bleeding, cracked nipples were normal! Mary came by our house the next morning ready to help. Our latch looked good so she checked out his mouth. She immediately diagnosed him as having a bubble, or high, palate. My son would not let her get a good look under his tongue but I had been told in the hospital he did not have a tongue tie so we didn’t think that was the issue.
Because he was a late pre-term he lacked buccal fat in his cheeks – so, along with the bubble palate, we thought we had found the issue. I began using a nipple shield and was told that in a few weeks, when the fat started growing in his cheeks, nursing would get better. From that point on our lives were dependent on that silly little piece of silicon. I couldn’t go anywhere without it – in fact, I got nervous if I didn’t have one immediately within arms reach.
Lucas was also eating pretty constantly – if he went more than 20 or 30 minutes without eating he’d start screaming. He was also eating for about an hour at a time. He was constantly falling asleep at the breast and I would have to pat his little bum to get him to keep eating. My life revolved around breastfeeding. I didn’t mind it, but I had friends with babies only a few weeks older and that was NOT their breastfeeding relationships. I tried to remind myself every baby was different, but something just didn’t seem right. I had cut out EVERY type of gassy food I could think of, stopped eating dairy, tried gas drops and gripe water – nothing seemed to work but latching my son back on.
I finally called the pediatrician out of frustration and they scheduled an appointment. They asked about my supply, thinking I may not be making enough milk, but I was pumping 4-6 oz AFTER feeding him in the morning so that was ruled out; my son didn’t spit up so they ruled out reflux, the breast did calm him so they said it wasn’t true colic. After 20 minutes I was told I had a fussy baby and I was feeding him too much (He had gained 1.2lbs in about 2 and a half weeks – but remember he was eating constantly). I was told to only feed him for 15-20 minutes per side and then wait at least 2 hours before feedings. The pediatrician said that the first few days would be rough but that my baby would “adjust.”
Something about that advice just didn’t seem right to me but I thought, “Hey, this lady went to school for this and I didn’t so I guess we’ll give it a whirl!” Those next few days were torture. I’m pretty sure there is video of my husband and I with the baby in the kitchen with the microwave fan on, the water running, us “shhh-shing” and squatting with our 8 week old. Those videos will certainly be used against us at some point in the future! After two days I knew this wasn’t really working and started to feed him more frequently again but not constantly. We began giving him bottles at night and he’d chug 5 or 6 oz if we let him. He made such funny noises when he’d take the bottle (another red flag we totally missed by the way!).
After a few weeks of this I began to notice that he wasn’t gaining weight as well as he had been. He was still gaining okay, but not nearly as well as in the past. I had also began to have the most horrible pain in my breasts, which I eventually realized was blocked or plugged milk ducts. Literally every two or three days I’d be in the hot shower, massaging my breast and pumping like crazy. I even began taking Lecithin (which does help with plugged ducts in case you were wondering!).
Finally, after posting all of this on a Mommy Group board that I belong to one of the women suggested a posterior tongue tie. My mom, who is amazing and was doing her own research, came up with that same theory.
Once we came up with this theory I started doing a ton of a research on the subject. Here is what I learned:
First, posterior tongue ties can be extremely difficult to diagnose. Because breastfeeding became less popular than bottle feeding many years ago a lot of pediatricians are not skilled at discovering anything other than the obvious “snake” tongue or “1 and 2” tongue ties. **Oh, I should mention there are 4 “levels” of tongue ties. The first two are very obvious and easy to see, the 3rd and 4th are considered posterior and make diagnosis difficult.
Second, tongue ties and lip ties are considered hereditary. My brother had a tongue tie that was clipped as a baby as well as a lip tie that was not corrected and my father’s brother still has a pretty significant lip tie.
Third, tongue ties, lip ties and bubble pallets are typically related – meaning if you have one, there is a good chance you have another.
And fourth, in order to breastfeed correctly, babies need full movement of their tongue – they need to create a seal around the nipple, preventing slippage, and proper drainage of the breast. A tongue tie prevents this – hence the pain, low weight gain and even plugged ducts you’ll see below.
The one thing I noticed, I got the best information on blogs from other mothers who had experienced something similar to me. Like I’ve said before, that was the inspiration for this blog – to share my experience and hopefully help other moms and babies create a better breastfeeding relationship!
So what are these tongue tie symptoms? I’ll highlight the ones we had in an effort to save you from reading too much!
- Sore, damaged, cracked nipples that do not go away after the first few weeks of breastfeeding
- Mis-shappen nipples after feeding (flat or pinched typically)
- Frequent feeding
- LONG nursing sessions – an hour or more at times!
- Slow or no weight gain or excessive weight gain (quick explanation – because baby is eating all the time and constantly getting the high calorie foremilk they can gain weight excessively but if feedings are “limited” like was suggested to us they will not gain weight or begin to lose because they aren’t getting enough food)
- Reflux
- Hiccups
- Fussy at breast
- Tense and unable to relax when feeding – think clenched fists, tension in head/neck, etc.
- Colic
- Baby only takes short naps and never sleeps peacefully
- Cannot maintain a seal on breast/bottle – a lot of leakage
- Infrequent swallowing
- Constant need to suck – at breast, on a bottle, paci, fingers, etc.
- Mastitis or recurrent blocked milk ducts
- Supply issues
- Nursing blister on baby’s upper lip
- Green stools
- Unable to maintain a latch at breast
- Noisy feedings – baby makes clicking or popping noises at breast and bottle, loud swallows, etc.
- Excessive gas
- Gagging
- Weak or lazy suck
- Baby falls asleep when feeding constantly
- Snoring when sleeping
- Scoop in the tongue
- Unorganized suck/swallow pattern – doesn’t suck/swallow but rather you get suck, suck, suck, swallow, breathe.
- Excessive drool (not related to teething)
Obviously we had a lot of things going on so I wanted to get into the pediatrician right away! I was pretty sure I had figured out our issue but I needed confirmation and a solution.
We had an appointment a few days later and the pediatrician said it did “look like a tongue tie” but that she “wasn’t an expert.” She did commend me for sticking with breastfeeding for 11 long weeks of pain. Here’s where the story gets ugly…I was told that she has never once referred anyone to an ENT for a revision of a tongue tie. In fact, she didn’t even know where to send me. She said that because I was obviously committed to breastfeeding and that I would not be okay with switching to bottles she would refer me. She also said that the ENT probably wouldn’t do anything though. She was pretty sure no one in our town would do a laser revision on a 4 Posterior Tongue Tie.
I was encouraged and frustrated at the same time! Thanks for telling me what’s wrong with my child but there is no solution? I was also told that because of his weight gain (or lack there of) I needed to start offering him a bottle of pumped milk after every feeding – so that meant I needed to start pumping after every feeding! Thankfully I still had my hospital grade rental pump!
As I was driving home from the doctor I made the decision to call Dr. Lawrence Kotlow’s office in Albany, NY. All of my research on posterior tongue tie revisions had led me to him and I knew that he would be able to help. Within minutes I was on the phone with a wonderful office assistant who told me that yes they would be happy to assess my child and preform the oral surgery if Dr. Kotlow believed that was best.
That night we booked our plane tickets and the 6 day wait began!
The plan ride was interesting, but I’ll save that experience for another day!
When we arrived at Dr. Kotlow’s office (which is incredibly kid friendly!) his staff was waiting for us. I’m going to be perfectly honest, I was a wreck! I was about to give my child to a man and have to sit and wait while my 12 week old had his tongue sliced with a laser. The office staff made me feel so much better! After a brief wait we were brought into an exam room and asked to watch a video regarding tongue and lip ties. As I sat and watched this video I KNEW Dr. Kotlow would confirm we did, in fact, have a posterior tongue tie and lip tie. Once the video was over Dr. Kotlow came in and did a brief examination of Lucas’s mouth. It only took a few seconds for him to let us know that Lucas had both a posterior tongue tie and a lip tie.
The next part was so hard for me as a first time mother. I kissed my little baby and gave him to the doctor to be taken for the revision procedure. I honestly can’t tell you how long it all took – I sat in a room crying thinking of the pain Lucas must be in. I kept reminding myself of the articles I read about Dr. Kotlow and how babies were returned to their parents happy and without tears.
Unfortunately that was not the case with my son. When he was eventually brought back to me he was STILL screaming. I knew I needed to get him to the breast immediately but was nervous for so many reasons: Would it hurt him? Would it hurt me? What if this didn’t fix anything?
I took my crying baby and put him to the breast and I could instantly tell a difference! It didn’t feel great, but it certainly felt 100% different and so much better! I started crying again, different tears this time – tears of relief and joy! Dr. Kotlow came in to check on us and as a sat there crying and thanking him for fixing my son that wonderful man started wiping away my tears (my hands were a little full at that moment!). He did mention that Lucas was probably going to need a fair amount of Cranio-Sacral Therapy/OT and that, because of his age, breastfeeding may actually get worse before it got better.
We staying in his office for a while longer. I spent some more time nursing Lucas, we got a list of instructions on how to exercise his incision and to care for them in the upcoming weeks and then Dr. Kotlow gave us his cell phone number and said that if we needed anything to text him. I have never heard of a doctor giving you their cell phone number to text if you had questions, but I knew in that moment everything I had read about him was 100% true – and then some!
Lucas did pretty well after we left the office. He slept most of the afternoon and pretty much the whole night. I could tell he had a fair amount of discomfort pain and he had a lot of swelling but the Tylenol we gave him really seemed to help.
I was over the moon excited when I woke up in that Albany, NY hotel room the next morning! Little did I know that our saga wasn’t over quite yet!
Lucas’s procedure was done on a Thursday afternoon. By Monday morning things were worse than before. My child was screaming at the breast. We were still using the nipple shield. My supply was tanking. Lucas was dropping weight faster. We went to our local hospital’s Breastfeeding Support Group. The LC told us Lucas had a “weak suck” and was going to have to learn that all over again – at 12 weeks old. To say I was a total mess would be a huge understatement. I just wanted to feed my child!
My LC, the amazing Mary from Milky Cheeks was at my house the next evening. We worked on Lucas’s latch (which she said still looked good), we did some sucking exercises using our fingers, and she promised me using the nipple shield wasn’t the end of the world. Most importantly, she encouraged me. I will be forever grateful for her kind words and encouragement that evening. She may not realize it, but what she said kept me going.
We had our first therapy appointment that morning as well. Lucas’s Frontal Fontanelle was mis-shappen. Partially the cause and effect of our feeding issues and partially (or at least the doctor thinks) because of his “unique” delivery. **Note to self: must blog about my birth story, which involves my son delivering himself with no one there to catch him AFTER a nurse tried to “push him back in”!** We were scheduled for three or four therapy visits weekly. This momma was stressed just thinking about it!
The next morning (so the Wednesday after our Thursday revision) Lucas got up extra early. I decided to try and nurse him in bed. I put on the nipple shield and he wouldn’t latch. I tried several times and then finally, out of frustration, took that silly piece of silicon off and tried to latch my son again. IT WORKED! My son was nursing, without a shield and I wasn’t in excruciating pain! I began to cry! I sat there, in my bed, at 4:30 in the morning with my husband still sleep and cried tears of joy!
As the day went on, each time I fed my son it got easier and easier. By the next morning I can honestly say that things were 100% better! I was still taking supplements to boost my supply but even that was coming back and then some! Therapy was hard; Lucas cried every time I gave him to the doctor but I could tell that it was working! By the next week he wasn’t crying at therapy and we had the breastfeeding relationship I had always hoped for!
A few weeks later I was weighing Lucas for his 4 month chalkboard photo and started crying (again! I’m still blaming the hormones!!). In one month’s time my son gained 2.5lbs! I was beyond excited. I also got hit by the Mommy Guilt Mac Truck when I realized my son had been so hungry in those first few months. I still live with that guilt and some days it gets the best of me. But then I remember everything I did, and am still doing, for my son and I give myself a pat on the back for trusting my instincts all those months ago.
Lucas is still seeing the therapist once a month, just to make sure the exercises we’re doing are still needed and working! I also still freakout at the slightest hint of pain when he latches or the first sign of a plugged milk duct but, as of August 15th, I am proud to say that my son has been exclusively breastfed for 6 months with no signs of stopping! We are so blessed to have had people in our lives that were able to help us correct what could have been an even bigger issue.
And that’s the real problem – lack of education regarding tongue and lip ties in the medical community and the “solution” of just giving your child a bottle. I am of the school of thought that “breast is best” but I never have and never would say that there is anything wrong with bottles and formula! Every family has to do what is right in their situation. My anger (yes anger!) comes in when all of these roadblocks exist in helping a family create a feeding situation that they want. If a family wants to breastfeed and they are having these issues they shouldn’t have to fly from North Carolina to New York to get they help they need and want. They also shouldn’t have to wait until their child is 12 weeks old, not gaining weight and being threatened with a Failure to Thrive diagnosis to get answers! I know that Lucas was a special case with a very difficult to diagnosis (and correct) tie. And I respect that a lot of doctors will not preform that revision on a small child but my thinking is if they had more education and experience, they would. My goal in this post was to shed some light on a topic that a lot of mothers aren’t even aware could be an issue and to let them know that help does exist and success stories are out there.
EDIT: This page is seeing a bit more traffic recently and since it’s about 2 years old, I figured I should update. My son nursed until he was 25 months (yes months) old! In the end it was just a quick little session in the morning but he self-weaned, which was my goal. It was an incredible experience and I’m so glad I fought for him and the breastfeeding relationship I desired!
So now that I’ve shared our tongue tie story I’d love to hear yours! Post in the comments below. Hopefully we can create a community of women that can support each other as medical professionals re-educate themselves on this issue.
MommaAlwaysKnows 
I am so glad I found your blog. We had my sons tongue time revised on Saturday, he is seven weeks old today. It has been brutal. He has been screaming at the breast and only taking about an ounce from the bottle in place of a feeding. We are definitely in the “worse before it gets better” stage. Thank you for writing about your story.
I’m so glad our story helped you! That was my whole goal when starting this blog! Hopefully you have reached the “better” stage! We went on to nurse until Lucas was 25 months. Let me know how it’s going.
Thank you so much for sharing your story! I have the almost identical story except my LO was revised at 2 weeks and it re-healed so was then revised at 12 weeks. I am feeling your struggles and just had a day with no nipple shield so keeping my fingers crossed! Your story is giving me some hope when I am starting to feel like I was losing it.
I also went to Dr. Kotlow, by the way…
We love him!
That is amazing to hear! Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad our story was able to help you. Hopefully things will improve soon. We ended up making it to 25 months but if you’d have asked me at 12 weeks I NEVER would have that was possible!
Although every child is different, how long would you say it took for Lucas to become efficient at breastfeeding after that glorious day taking away the shield?
Probably another week or so. We also paired it with visits to a chiropractor and that helped a lot as well. How long has it been since your revision?
He was revised originally 10 weeks ago but it healed and was reopened 10 days ago.
Did you see a craniosacral therapist? My 4 month old is 2 weeks out from laser revision for her lip and posterior tongue ties, and I’ve been told this could help our continued latch issues. The latch was perfect immediately post-procedure, but has declined over the last few days…
We did visit a pediatric chiropractor for craniosacral therapy. It made a big difference as well!
I’ve been doing research to try and find a story that gave me some hope and this is the best one I’ve found! My LO got his PTT and LT revision done 10 days ago and he stopped nursing about 5 days ago- I was devastated to say the least. I feel much worse off now than we were before. We’re working with a LC but I’m still so concerned he’s starting to prefer a bottle over my breast. What was the “therapy ” you had done and would you recommend it? Everyday is so hard right now I’m open to try anything!
Oh I’m so glad to hear our story gave you some hope! We did craniosacral therapy with a chiropractor and I would certainly recommend it. It made a HUGE difference for us. Stay strong Momma! You can do this – it’s awesome that you’re fighting to continue your breastfeeding relationship. For what it’s worth we nursed until the month after my son’s 2nd birthday! Our fight was tough but so worth it!
This is very similar to what’s happening to me. This is my second baby with posterior tongue tie and lip tie, which was clipped at 2 weeks old. My first child, my daughter’s, was clipped at 8 months due to the lack of support until I finally found a dentist to properly diagnose her. She nursed like a champ right after, but she was also on solids.
Back to my current situation, my son is now 7 weeks, so it’s been 5 weeks since his release, but I am also experiencing difficulties and pain. My question is how can the craniosacral therapy improve things/were they any physical signs that indicate baby needs it? I’m trying to find more information as we are currently not covered by insurance for it. My son also has a high arched palate. Thanks!
I can totally relate to the lack of knowledge and support!!! It’s beyond frustrating.
Hi Victoria!
I’m sorry you’re still having an issue. The doctor that did our revision actually suggested the CST. While I’m not a medical professional I was told that sometimes things aren’t lined up quite right and that can make latching correctly difficult for little ones. With a few adjustments to make sure everything was aligned properly we were pack in business. If that’s something you do choose to do, I hope you notice improvement!
I wish I had found this site earlier! Our daughter also has a posterior tie, but wasn’t diagnosed until 10 weeks and the ENT said wait to do anything until she’s talking etc. Like some have said, I think her strong weight gain lead so many to miss her issue, and consequently cost us a closer nursing relationship– I nurse in the am when supply is strong and occasionally later in the day, but now pump and serve. She’s now almost 8 months and seems to struggle with some solids–particularly gassy. I’d love to hear from Victoria, and any others who had the procedure later, or who elected not to.
I have my 7 day old daughter sleeping on me right now and I’m thinking about my nipple pain and wondering when she’s going to wake up and I’ll have to feed her again. We’ve been told she has a posterior tongue tie and a lip tie and we’re waiting for referral to a specialist. It terrifies me to think about having anything done to her but reading a success story makes me feel better and maybe I’m lucky she was caught so early.
Glad our story helped a little. We are a success story for sure! Our second son is due in January and my first order of business is to check his mouth! I’ve already started researching specialists in our area since a trip to NY from NC with a new born and toddler just doesn’t seem doable!
My son Tierney is 5 weeks old. He has a tongue tie, upper lip tie, and a high palate. All 4 of my children were tongue tied. Tierney is gaining weight fairly well…he was 7#9oz at birth and at 5 weeks is 9#1 oz. I use a nipple shield or I pump to feed him as he has a really shallow latch and it hurts. I do nurse him “normally” if I have to…if I forget my shield and we’re out somewhere. He is generally a fussy baby. He is fine while he is nursing or being held, but he won’t be put down and he won’t sleep on his own. It’s very restricting, and typically it wouldn’t bother me, but I have 3 other children and I can’t get anything done unless my husband is home to hold him for me. I am getting him in to an ENT January 25th. My 3 year old had his tongue clipped, and it helped a bit. I was able to nurse him for 8-9 months (he liked to bite, and after he bit my nipple all the way through I had to quit). My pediatrician just told me I had a “needy” baby. My LC says she believes the fussiness is 100% due to his tongue and lip ties. Honestly, I wouldn’t really care about getting it clipped since his weight is fine, but last night I lost my nipple shield and now I’m stuck pumping. It made me realize I can’t always rely on that stupid thing. But reading some of these comment about how getting the babies tongue clipped made things worse 😕 it makes me nervous. I don’t want to ever have to give him formula.
The nipple shield is a lifesaver but it can be so cumbersome! Honestly, for us it was only “worse” for a few days. We went on to nurse until he was 25 months old!! Make sure you talk to LC after the revision if you’re still having issues. Best of luck on the 25th!
I am a Google junkie and I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog. My little boy just had his lip and tongue tie revision 3 days ago. Within minutes of the procedure he nursed and it was what breastfeeding should feel like. My first child breastfeed like a champ with no issues at all so I know what breastfeeding is supposed to feel like. I have read that feedings may get worse before they get better. He still has a hard time with his latch and it still feels like he is not bringing his tongue forward enough to nurse effectively. When I attempt the sucking exercises he tries pushing my finger out of his mouth or he bunches up his tongue. He also still nurses for about 5 minutes and falls asleep at the breast. But after reading your story it has given me hope that in the days to come our nursing relationship will get better.
I’m so sorry you’re having some issues. My first certainly took a bit of time after his revision to “figure it out.” I’m currently nursing my 9 week old (who also had a revision but at 6 days old) and it was a totally different experience. Give it a few more days and see how things are. If you’re working with an IBCLC they can be a huge resource during this time as well.
I met with one of the only lactation consultants in my area and she said I need to work on flanging out my baby’s top lip and getting him to open wider. She was very sweet but she didnt tell me anything I didn’t already know. I have watched YouTube videos on sucking exercises and have been working with him through out the day. We go twice a week to a Chiropractor who has been doing CST on him for several weeks now. Im starting to get somewhat discouraged. I return to work in 3 weeks and im just worried he will not have it all figured out by then. Hopefully he will have his big epiphany moment soon!!! Thank you for your encouragement.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. Mine has some similarities… I suffered through with my son, who had both lip and posterior lip tie, managed to nurse him until 2 but not without several issues including pain and recurring blocked ducts.
I just gave birth to my second and have the procedures booked for this week as she has the same and nursing has been excruciating. She will be a week old and I’m terrified of the procedure. Can you tell me how it was different with your second? Any input would be gratefully appreciated…. Currently anticipating the next feed at 4 am…
Thank you! Julia
Julia,
I am so sorry I’m just responding – life got crazy and I forgot I needed to still reply to this. Did you have the procedure? If so, I hope it went well. Just to share I had Andrew’s done at 6 days and my nipples never cracked/bleed like they did with Lucas. I also used a nipple shield for two days (and really b/c of my oversupply). Andrew has gained weight like a champ (but again, I have an oversupply so he was gaining over a pound a week at one point – which is NOT the norm). Andrew also handled the procedure much better than Lucas, probably because of his age, but I think it also has to do with his disposition a little as well.
Let me know how it went if you got it done already!
Thank you for sharing. We are going through the exact same thing with our little one minis the weight gain. I feed on demand and very often. Sometimes it seems like every hour. She has every symptom above highlighted including Colic and reflux which she was given meds for. We went to an ENT but she said it’s not that bad and not to worry about. The same with my peds doctor. Did all your LO symptoms go away after the procedure was corrected?
Oh no! I’m sorry you’re having a hard time getting help! Yes, with both boys things totally resolved. It was much faster with my youngest because he was revised at 6 days old! I’ve posted on some breastfeeding groups that making the decision to have my boys revised is my proudest decision as a mom! Best of luck and let me know how it goes!
Thank you so much for sharing. Our issues and story is almost the exact same as yours. The only difference is we were able to find out within 2 weeks of our little girl being born. She’s my third and we had never experienced these types of issues. We have even had to supplement her feeding w pumped bm and a tube in order to keep her gaining weight as she was going for a FTT diagnosis. She basically starved the first week and half of her life and yes that mom guilt is real!
I finally feel like there is someone else out there that is going through what I have been over anyone else I have spoken to about their experience and I got a “huh what stretches? And BF was fine immediately afterwards and no issues since.!
We are approaching day 6 post surgery and still haven’t had a successful breastfeed due to
Weak sucks :(. Hoping after more body work and suck training things will look up for us
Your story is almost exactly like us. We’re 3 weeks in and 7 days post-op.
Hope our baby girl starts gaining that weight back!
Thank you
Thanks for your info. My son is 4.5 mo and just had the laser procedure to correct his severe tongue/lip tie. My supply has definitely taken a toll all these months– did you have to pump excessively to get back up, or was the correct latch enough? I’m feeling really discouraged; not sure if we can continue our BF journey 😦
Thank you so much for this post! My son is 7 weeks old and we have a consoltation on Monday. I talked to a LC in a moms group on Facebook and after seeing her on Wednesday she referred us to the guy we’re seeing on Monday. From my research my son has a 1 lip tie and probably a lip tie as well.
I’m so glad I read your post and know that if it doesn’t get better within a couple of days it will eventually if we keep doing the exercises. I should probably also look into craniosacral therapy also.
Good luck on Monday! If you’re still having issues afterward, continue to reach out for help!
I know this was a couple of years ago, but just wondering what supplements you used for milk supply? My LC and pediatrician think my supply is low because of baby’s low weight gain, but I had a mommy-hunch that baby’s “slight” tongue and lip ties were to blame by 15 weeks. We had the ties revised yesterday, so I want to wait a couple of days before starting any milk supply supplements to see if his weight gain goes up on its own or if my milk is also an issue.
Hi Katy!
I’m so sorry you’re having issues with weight gain. Those ties can certainly be to blame. For me I tried fenugreek once or twice but honestly, knowing what I know now I would only do that after a consult with a physician. For some moms supplements can actually lower supply! For now I’d try nursing as much as possible and even adding in some pumping sessions (as awful as that is!). Milk production is a supply and demand kind of thing so up that demand and hopefully you’ll see an increase in supply. Personally my hormones make a TON of milk – I’m a crazy overproducer in general so it really didn’t take much for me. I’ll be thinking of you and hope you see his weight fly up (my little dude gained 2.5lbs the month after his revision!).
I had a similar scenario that we are still going through. Reading your blog gives me hope. My son was four months old when he was finally diagnosed with a posterior tongue tie. I exclusively breastfed the first three months, but after a 24 hour hospital stay and a ftt diagnosis it was determined that my milk supply had dropped and I was no longer making enough milk for my son. We had his frenectomy done a few days after being in the hospital and so far I am not seeing an improvement. We haven’t started the suck training yet, but I’m feeling overwhelmed. I nurse him for about 15 minutes then he gets a 2oz bottle of formula or pumped milk and I then pump for 15 minutes in hopes of my supply going up. Thank you for sharing your story. It makes me feel less alone and I hope in the future this becomes a more well known diagnosis.
Oh Jackelyn! I’m so sorry you are dealing with all of that! I’m so glad you found hope in our story! Sometimes I think those long fought battles make the end result sweeter! Keep pumping for sure and if you haven’t reached out to a local IBCLC or your area La Leche League, you really should! Power pumping is sometimes a good way to boost supply since it really is a supply/demand thing after the initial hormone response!
Not sure if you are still checking for comments… I was told my two week old has a high bubble palate. The LC hadn’t experienced one before and didn’t seem to notice a tie, but basically said to prepare for awhile with the shield. Everything you said seemed to ring true; constantly eating yet still pumping milk afterwards. Makes me wonder if I should reach out to another LC who may have more experience with bubble palates?! Perhaps our pediatrician. All I know is that he’s most happy after a bottle and I feel ready to give up! He’s my third and I nursed the first two so successfully so it’s disappointing.
I’m so glad I found your blog. My little one is just about 7 weeks old and we have been working with a lacatation consultant who suspects she has a posterior tie. We will be getting her evaluated ASAP. It’s so upsetting to think that my little girl has been in discomfort (hunger, frustration, gas, etc) but it was also a relief to feel like we finally know why she is never really “happy” and awake for very long. After many people questioning my parenting (does she really need to eat again? Are you sure you aren’t overfeeding her? You shouldn’t hold her so much (when she would be fussy immediately after nursing)), I have been feeling so defeated and alone. And others including the pediatrician chalking everything up to newborn behavior and how we will settle into a routine soon. I am hopeful we will get some answers for her soon and have the kind of breastfeeding relationship you were able to establish with your son. Thank you for sharing your story.