tongue tied- to clip or not?

amother

Mon, Mar 31 2014, 11:23 pm

My two and half month old infant has her tongue tied but not seriously. She is gaining weight but can't stay latched on without help or sick a pacifier for a long time. She has reflux which may or may not be connected. Do you have any experience with clipping the tongue?

RachelEve14

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 12:02 am

I clipped my daughter's and it was the best decision ever. I didn't do my two sons that followed (for different reasons), and I think it was a mistake. The doctors told me it wasn't serious and I didn't push it. My 6 year old is not very clear in speech now, and I wonder if it's because of his tongue. Good luck whatever you decide.

shoeboxgirly

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 3:04 am

I was told by my gp that my daughter didn't need it as she could breastfeed. We have never been able to get her to use a bottle and I think the tongue tie was a primary cause. However, I was very worried about the long term effects and at the start I felt like I was being ignored. After being passed from clinic to hospital to a different clinic to a different hospital we finally got it done at 18 weeks. She also had reflux which didn't help anything but the tongue tie wasn't the cause as it carried on until we started weaning. BH my daughter wasn't ever that bothered by it even though the nurse who did the procedure did say it was one of the worst she'd seen that month. I'm sure having free tongue movement has been much better for her especially with learning how to eat solids (she's a fab eater).

Feel free to PM me with any questions if you want.

buzz

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 3:08 am

Got it done in hospital few days after he was born. The earlier it is done the bettter.
The dr told me that statistically it has not been proven that it affects speech later on, but at this age the baby hardly feels the pain as the blood vessels haven't finished developing there.

I think now at 5 years of age, he still has a slight lisp which you can hardly pick up, because it wasn't clipped enough, but I don't think I will bother with chasing it up again.

naomi2

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 6:02 am

I had my ds's tongue clipped. very easy and there are basically only benefis to it

doctorima

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 7:14 am

Did it, smartest decision ever! It makes nursing so much easier. It's a very quick and simple procedure, as long as you go to someone who knows what they're doing (I went to do it in the city).

Lady Bug

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 7:21 am

Pediatrician said clipping wasn't necessary, but my baby was not latching properly. I had it clipped at two weeks and the difference was amazing. It took two more weeks to build up my milk supply since baby wasn't nursing properly in the first two weeks. My best decision ever!

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 7:24 am

In your case, I would do it. At about 3 months, your supply might take a drop as hormones don't help it as much as supply and demand, and with a difficult latcher, you may not make enough.
It will help in speech, in being able to lick an ice cream cone, in many different areas.

tryinghard

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 7:29 am

Both of my kids needed it (couldnt latch properly), and they had it done right in the hospital. They barely even cried, if at all ((kinda hazy memory being that I was 1day pp), and it made the difference between being able to nurse or not.

What's the downside?

mandr

Tue, Apr 01 2014, 7:44 am

My son couldn't latch at birth but by the time we got home from the hospital he was able to suck, although it was far from efficient. Anyway, we trudged along with the breastfeeding despite cracked and sore nipples, terrible latching issues, plugged ducts and one infection. I didn't even seek help because everyone said nursing is SUPPOSED to hurt in the beginning. So I gave it till two and a half months when I called an LC who said my son is tongue tied etc. I asked my pediatrician for a second opinion and he said it doesn't look too bad but I can make an appointment with an ENT to really check it out. At 3 months my supply regulated and all the pain basically went away - maybe his latch got better, but who knows. I wasn't in any rush to make an appointment with the ENT so I took the first available convenient one in the location near me (their main office is not convenient to get there). Which came out when my baby was 5 months old. The pediatric ENT took a look and said it should be clipped, even though it's not such a bad tie. She said she can't say how it'll implicate things in the future so it's best to do it and to do it now when baby is still young and it's not a big deal.

The whole thing was SO quick I was amazed. She gave him a shot of novocaine which took a second. Then she snipped it (took about 15 seconds) and then she held a gauze on it to stem the bleeding. When she removed the gauze it was barely red. Then she had me breastfeed him which aids in healing. He latched much stronger. That night was the first time I ever saw his tongue stick out! Never had to give tylenol or anything because he was perfectly fine. The next few days I got sore nipples because this suction increased by leaps and bounds! Feel free to PM me if you want any more info - we just had it done 8 days ago so it's pretty new!