Kaylee was having some difficulty nursing and so we sought the help of a lactation consultant, Barbara. She spent 2 1/2 hours with us educating me on nursing, showing me how to get a proper latch, weighing Kaylee before & after a feed, and she figured out that Kaylee was tongue-tied which was interfering with nursing. Kaylee was gaining a very healthy amount of weight, but not latching on correctly, so I was the one suffering.
She had Type 4 tongue-tie, in which her frenulum (the skin connecting the tongue to the bottom of the mouth) was too short, prohibiting her tongue from having full mobility. Type 4 is most rare because it is most difficult to diagnose, since the symptoms are just minor pain to the mother. Usually, mothers will stop nursing and move to a bottle, assuming that nursing just isn’t for them. It turned out that this amazing pediatric surgeon that specialized in correcting tongue-tie lived only an hour away from us! So, I made the appointment and in no time her frenulum was clipped and now Kaylee is doing great!
Some other long term issues with tongue-tie include sleep apnea, digestive problems, reflux, and speech impediments. I’m so glad that I went through this process! If anyone has any questions on tongue-tie, please read this article, it’s written by the doctor we used.
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