Colbie Update : Tongue and Lip Tie

Before Colbie I had never heard of a tongue tie so this is all new to us. A short backstory, after having lots of breastfeeding issues in the hospital we saw a lactation consultant before we left who shared with us hat she believed Colbie had a tongue tie (meaning the tongue was "tied" to the bottom of her mouth with some extra tissue making it extremely difficult for her to feed). It was diagnosed as a posterior tongue tie - in short meaning that it was more severe and harder to clip.

We sought out a doctor who said he performed over 500 tongue tie clips a year and after we asked (repetitively) if he felt he could clip it completely in one shot he promised us up and down that he was qualified. He clipped it within a few short seconds, left and we went on. 

Here we are two weeks later with a slue of issues and now we finally have a grasp of what is going on. 

- He did not clip her entire tongue tie - it will now have to be corrected via laser procedure.

- She also has a severe lip tie that needs to be lasered as well.

- The roof of her mount (palate) is extremely high due to her suckling issues, and we now will have to receive Cranio Sacral Therapy to fix it.

- She is no longer gaining weight

- Her stomach is distended (extremely large) because it is filled with gas - a common sign in tongue/lip tied babies

- When measured she is only eating less than an ounce per feeding, when she should be eating 4 or more ounces.

- Because of that my milk supply is hurting

- I now have to pump after each feeding, then feed her with a special tube while she tries to continue nursing

All of these issues combined have created quite the sense of defeat, especially after having breastfed Carter flawlessly for 15 months. However I think is is SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT that I share my struggles with you.

Why?

Because I had no idea what a tongue/lip tie was and had we not seen a lactation consultant in the hospital I wouldn't have done anything to fix it. Chances are that it would've entirely ruined our breastfeeding relationship that is so special to me. Many tongue/lip tied babies are weaned early because doctors don't check for tongue/lip tie and will incorrectly diagnose babies with Colic, or will tell the mothers that their milk is the problem. 

Please, if you are having feeding issues look into tongue and lip ties and you can salvage the breastfeeding relationship. All appointments are set and we will update as we see success! Colbie lady, it's just one small bump in the road.

- T