To clip or not to clip...the frenulum, that is (breastfeeding related)

[mama2cntrykids]

My dd is 17 days old today and it appears that she's slightly tongue tied. It's really iffy though. I mean, she latches on and she has some trouble with getting the nipple situated in her mouth (she has a slightly hard time getting her tongue over her gums) and it can make me sore. OTOH, she's gaining weight and happy, but she "snacks" most of the day away. When my nipple falls out, she's rooting for it again.

 

The Dr. looked at her tongue today (we went in for a weight check, which she gained 5 oz. since last Monday). The Dr. said the tongue tie was iffy, but she could clip it and it wouldn't harm anything (is she correct??).

 

I opted to wait until our 7 week visit and Dr. said she could do it then if I'd like.

 

Will it really not be a big deal if it's done and it doesn't help anything OR it's not what was TRULY wrong? Any ideas? Thanks!

[beaners]

My youngest is slightly tongue-tied. My pediatrician said that as long as he was gaining weight well and could eat, that he wasn't worried about it. We have to pay attention as he starts talking to make sure he can make all his sounds. My pediatrician is on the very laid back side.

[newday]

I wouldn't hesitate to clip a tongue tie which I felt was impeding nursing in any way at all. If you look it up on youtube you will find some videos of a clip which show that it is one of the least invasive procedures (I mean, it isn't like a circumcision or anything)...

 

It is a procedure worth avoiding if it is being done routinely (as it used to be done) but on an as needed basis, I would do it.

 

Let us know how it goes...

 

:hug

[wapiti]

My considerations would be (1) weight gain, (2) your pain, and (3) future speech. My advice would be to consult a pediatric ENT. Too much clipping (i.e., clipping too far) is even more problematic than too little. I've had one kid clipped (full tongue tie) and two others who were borderline not clipped. My kids tend to be more toward the lisp-y side of speech. I consulted a ped ENT for all three of them, and she weighed the issues. (yes, I suffered...:glare:). So bottom line, I wouldn't hesitate to clip if necessary, but I'd go to the ped ENT for it.

[RainySunday]

My dd was tongue-tied and we had her clipped. We had it done because while she was nursing well and gaining well, I was in excruciating pain (felt like glass shards being applied while she would nurse). We had an LC who checked for latch/positioning/etc and that was when the tie was noticed. We had it done by an ENT when she was 10 days old. I hated it, but she was fine (a little screaming about being restrained, a tiny bit of blood, and was nursing as soon as it was over). I am so glad we had it done; nursing improved immediately, and now we won't have to watch for speech issues (at least not ones caused by that). If you wait too long, and it needs to be done later, it will have to be done under general anesthesia, which is something we definitely didn't want.

 

Good luck with deciding what is best for your family. I know it isn't an easy decision.

[AuntieM]

When dd#1 was born, I could not get her to latch on to nurse for anything. Well, she would latch, suck about 3 times, and give up. I asked the neonatologist if she might be tongue tied. She looked at me like I was crazy, then said, "Her frenulum is fine." I was never successful in bf-ing that child.

 

Fast forward 5 years. DD visits a new dentist, her first pediatric dentist. He says, and by the way, if you decided to have her frenulum clipped we can do it, it's very quick and easy. Turns out it was too short. His concern was that it would inhibit her ability to self clean her back molars (something we do all the time, often unconsciously). He said it was optional, though, since she had no speech issues of note. We've never had it clipped, but she does practice great dental hygiene.

 

In you shoes, I would probably consider just getting it done now, because when dd was five I was really mad at myself for not being more diligent about following up on it when she was an infant.

[Oops, duplicate account :/]

We did. Things were okay with breastfeeding, but amazing after! He was older too (8-9months?) and for the next few days after kept moving his tounge all around and appeared to really be loving the new freedom. I don't think he was that bad, but don't remember if I asked. I know the ped said normally he wont do it unless the mom is 'begging' but since he knew it was my fourth nursling and knew the diff thst he would. :confused::glare:

[Sputterduck]

I wish it had been so easy to get my son's done. As hard as nursing was, he was completely unable to transition to solids whatsoever. Once we left Kaiser, who would do nothing, and then saw a bunch of specialists, it was finally done at 15 months old.

 

My son's was "very severe" though.

 

It was wonderful when it was done. It took him a month to learn to eat, but he could drink from a glass for the first time only 2 days after.

[Soror]

I would do it in a minute and I am non-interventionist- no circ- no vax- hb mama!

[Annabel Lee]

If I were you I'd get it clipped now. The earlier you have it done, save for extreme cases, the simpler the procedure. The military Dr.s in one state refused to clip my youngest's, claiming it would stretch in time. He could barely nurse. When we moved to the next state, the Dr.s there were apalled that no one had clipped it. DS was a year old, so the procedure wasn't be as simple as it could've been earlier - they had to use general anesthesia with a more complicated cut/stitch pattern.

 

I know it's not the same in every case, but it's worth finding out if it would make any difference for your child if you wait. With the BF problems you note, although minor, I'd get it done. What will it be like once teeth come in? Will it affect speech at all if left alone? Just my 2 cents.

[joannqn]

Two of my kids were tongue-tied, and one of them had it clipped. My first didn't have any breastfeeding issues and is still tongue-tied to this day. My last had some breastfeeding issues and was clipped at 2 1/2 weeks old. The funny thing is that she was less tightly tied than my oldest. The clipping was the easiest thing ever. We had to wake her up and make her cry a little to get to her tongue, but she fell back asleep right away. If I could have a do-over, I would clip my older daughter's tongue when she was just a newborn. If she needs it done now that she's older, it will be much more involved...anesthesia, pain, and a couple day recovery.

 

Older kids/adults sometimes need it clipped because it can interfere with braces. I've also read that some teens and adults opt to have it clipped because they want to be able to stick out their tongue or french kiss.

 

I'm firmly on the side of get it clipped early side of things now.

 

 

ETA: My youngest was gaining weight ok but she tended to slip down to just the tip of the nipple, causing me pain. I also never got engorged like you normally do after birth. Once her frenulum was clipped, she latched on right, there was no pain at all, and I became engorged from her properly stimulating my milk supply.

Edited June 21, 2011 by joannqn

[kchara]

I couldn't breastfeed my youngest. We found out too late that he is tongue tied. Right about when we found out, I dried up, despite my best efforts. He's 6 months now, we still haven't had it done. I suppose we'll wait until he starts to speak, and see if it needs done. I wish they had checked him when we were having issues with latch at the hospital, though, and done it then. It seems like that is something they should automatically check, doesn't it? It's such a small thing, but can make SUCH a difference in breastfeeding.

[mama2cntrykids]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like it can't hurt things. I will have the doc do it at 7 weeks.:grouphug:

[LynnG in Arizona]

I'd clip it now.

 

When DD#3 was born, someone mentioned that first day that she was probably a bit tongue tied. A few days later, we took her in for her initial pediatrician appointment. Thought we were lucky to get the pediatric neonatologist. We asked him about the tongue tie, and he dismissed it as slight and not worth worrying about.

 

DD did not gain weight like she was supposed to. I had successfully breastfed two other children, so couldn't figure out why. She seemed to nurse ok, but was *not* gaining weight like she should. We never revisited the tongue tie because we thought the "expert" had already made the final ruling on the subject.

 

But eventually, when she was actually getting close to a failure to thrive diagnosis around 2 months of age, we had a pediatric ENT look at her mouth. He diagnosed a definite tongue tie and recommended that we clip it. (No financial incentive, by the way - this was in the military system.)

 

We did clip it that day and it was a very easy procedure. DD barely cried or reacted in any negative way - maybe she fussed for under a minute. No complications whatsoever. She has learned to talk normally and has absolutely no speech impediment.

 

Sadly, however, her tongue tie lasted long enough that the lactation consultant and pediatrician think it negatively affected my breast milk supply (she wasn't sucking deeply enough, so my milk never really fully came in). We *had* to supplement her eventually because the poor thing was literally malnourished.

 

So if there is a true tongue tie . . . go to a pediatric ENT and get it clipped, sooner rather than later. Good luck! :grouphug:

[Tarreymere]

Two of my sons were tongue-tied and I did hesitate with getting my older son's frenulum clipped. It didn't take long for his nursing style to really damage my nipples and really jepoardize my ability to keep on nursing him. I didn't hesitate that next time, I insisted that frenulum be clipped before I took that baby home. If I were you I would get it done as soon as possible.

[lilbean05]

I am also a noninterventionalist person, and I am a huge supporter to getting it clipped, even if it isn't causing an issue with feeding now. My eldest was tongue tied and we decided to skip clipping. She nursed fine, ate fine, had a few lisps as she got older. However, she had a tough time eating an ice cream cone, or a popsicle, or anything that required major movements of her tongue. Additionally, my husband is tongue tied and after talking to him more about it, he also had similar "quality of life" issues as a result of his tongue tie. The two of them, at ages 4 and 29, went to the ENT and had the minor surgery done together and are as happy as clams. DH noticed that he was compensating and needing to move his tongue differently before the clipping in order to make certain sounds, and it hurt to do so, but now there is no pain or stretching feeling.

 

It would have been better to do it when my DD was younger, but she was a champ and I wouldn't go back on our decision.

[happypamama]

I would probably go ahead and get it done. I would also suggest looking for a board certified lactation consultant (check out ilca.org to find one near you).

[Mrs Mungo]

I wouldn't hesitate to clip a tongue tie which I felt was impeding nursing in any way at all. If you look it up on youtube you will find some videos of a clip which show that it is one of the least invasive procedures (I mean, it isn't like a circumcision or anything)...

 

It is a procedure worth avoiding if it is being done routinely (as it used to be done) but on an as needed basis, I would do it.

 

Let us know how it goes...

 

:hug

 

:iagree:

[Melinda]

My oldest child was tongue-tied, but it did not really affect nursing. It also didn't stretch over time, like the insurance company insisted it would do. What it did do was make it difficult for him to pronounce certain sounds when he got older. His went all the way to the end of his tongue. He ended up getting it clipped when he was 4 or 5. It literally took a minute or two for it to get numb and 2-3 seconds to get clipped. The Dr. had him hold gauze in his mouth for a little while until it stopped bleeding, but it was not for very long. He also said it was not very painful...just stung for a second. It was no big deal and I wish I would have had it done as soon as I realized he had an issue.

[TracyR]

Umm, as a mother of having two tongue tied children ( by the way its hereditary my husband was tongue tie)

 

Get it clipped! It will save you tons and tons of money later on down the road for private speech therapy.

 

My 11yr old was tongue tied. I was told they didn't clip it anymore and it just would streteched out. Yes, it stretched out but she has speech problems and has been in speech therapy since the age of 3.

But I couldn't even nurse her. Granted her frenulum stretched but while we were waiting for her tongue to stretch it was held down for so long that she didn't have the ability to move her tongue up to make certain sounds. So she had a very difficult time with s, th, r's . She's gotten better with the s's and th's. That took years of therapy but I don't really ever think she'll get the R sound. It also took a long time to understood what she said to us too.

 

My 4yr old was tongue tied as well. I didn't know this . But nursing her was complete pure torture. She had a terrible grip. Just would clamp down on my boob and make me so sore that I cringed at the thought of the next feeding. My daughter was also born with multiple health issues and was having issues gaining weight. So her pediatrician looked at her tongue and found it was tongue tied, and decided it needed clip ( same ped who told us they didn't do it when I had my 2nd child). Anyways she had it done, and I was so glad that we did because her frenulum was tied down so tight that it would have never of stretched.

Unless you get an ENT to look at it, they'll be able to tell you whether it will stretch or not, not a pediatrician. It was the easiest and simpliest surgery my daughter ever had.

 

My advice, Get it done and the sooner you do the better off your child will be. It will save you from coming on here saying that your insurance won't approve for speech therapy. LOL

 

I don't feel bad or ever second guess having it done for my 4th daughter. Happy to say she has no speech problems at all whatsoever. My 11yr old I think will be in speech therapy for the rest of her life.

[Barb_]

Get it done now. The earlier you do it, the easier it is.

 

Barb

[Rosie_0801]

I wouldn't hesitate to clip a tongue tie which I felt was impeding nursing in any way at all.

 

Yeah, breastfeeding won't continue happily if it hurts! I had to have ds clipped, and was surprised that he cried less about that than he did about having his nappy changed. He couldn't have been more than a week old, because someone at the midwife clinic did it. Not a midwife, but someone who hung out with them :)

 

Rosie

[endurancerider]

You might want to look into getting it lasered, not clipped. ;)

 

The recovery is much shorter, and less painful. My son had his lasered (our dentist actually had the laser to do this).

[TracieT]

My kids were adopted, so they were bottle fed. So no feeding problems, but then I didn't figure out my youngest was tongue tied until he was 18 months. A dentist clipped his and it was no big deal at all. He layed in my lap with his head on the dentist's lap, he clipped it, it bled for a second and it was over. Then we went for ice cream and he never realized anything ever happened. I'm SO glad we did it. My sister's dh didn't have it done until he was a teenager (when he had his wisdom teeth removed) and by that point his muscles hadn't developed, so it didn't really help much.

[Whereneverever]

My youngest had a tight tongue tie that made nursing really painful. We got it clipped and it was easy- and nursing was immediately OK!

[Amy in NH]

I'd have it done. Not only can it mess up your nursing experience, but it can mess up your child's speech later. It is much easier to have it done as an infant than a 3 or 5 year old!

[Sputterduck]

You might want to look into getting it lasered, not clipped. ;)

 

The recovery is much shorter, and less painful. My son had his lasered (our dentist actually had the laser to do this).

 

If you do it as a newborn, there isn't any recovery time. Two drops of blood, if that, and that's it. It's so thin, there is very very little blood to it. It thickens with age.

[LynnG in Arizona]

You might want to look into getting it lasered, not clipped. ;)

 

The recovery is much shorter, and less painful. My son had his lasered (our dentist actually had the laser to do this).

 

 

I'm glad this worked for your son, but honestly - my daughter fussed (mildly) for under a minute. Truly no big deal. It seems like most of the people who have posted had children with a similar experience.

 

I guess what I'm saying is . . . I don't see the advantage to the laser procedure, since one couldn't get much shorter or less painful than what I saw my daughter go through.

[CountryGirlShake]

FWIW, my 2 cents without reading everyones posts completely....

 

My Dr told us the first visit after birth that my DS was 'toung tied' and recomended 'clipping' at an early age. We had a consultation with an ear/nose/throat dr and did the procedure that day in the office (3 weeks old). It was suggested to do it young, so there would be less adjustment period for eating, talking etc. If done at an older age, the child would need to be sedated. Both dr's said if we left it there would be speech impairment. I now notice ppl with their toungs tied, you can tell they talk differently. I do not regret making the decision, it was the best decision I feel we could have made. Since he was young, the procedure was done in office no sedation (dr said to sedate the toung would be risking swallowing it) I nursed immediately after with very little adjustment period.

 

:)

[In The Great White North]

I would get it done now.

 

Dd was tongue-tied, but could nurse so they let it be. They (dr and nurses) were surprised she could nurse, and then surprised again that she had no trouble speaking because it was connected from the tip of her tongue right up to her teeth.

 

She had it clipped at 13, because she couldn't "tongue" properly when playing the trumpet. They used a laser and a local anesthetic (think dental shots.) The advantage to the laser shows up when the child is older. It bleeds less and heals faster. She still had to have stitches, it took a few weeks before it quit hurting when she moved it and she didn't like the feel of the stitches under her tongue.

 

It still isn't as flexible as a normal tongue but it's a lot better. It took a few weeks to get used to increased mobility and build new muscles in her tongue. Since she didn't really have any speech problems before, that didn't change.

 

It definitely would have been easier and less painful as an infant.

[silliness7]

My ds had his clipped at 15 mos when his speech wasn't developing at all. He didn't have any trouble nursing at all. The procedure was quick and didn't bleed much at all. But at his last dentist visit (we switched to a new dentist) she said he might have to have it clipped. She was surprised when I said we already had. She said it was pulling on his gums and could cause recession. Now I'm wondering if these things grow back or if the ENT didn't clip it much at all. My ds's speech seemed to progress just fine after he was clipped and we were glad to have done it. I just can't believe he needs it clipped again. :confused:

[In The Great White North]

Now I'm wondering if these things grow back or if the ENT didn't clip it much at all.

 

Dd's is still more tongue-tie than normal but the dr said he couldn't cut it further because of where the veins were.

[ktgrok]

I would NOT wait 7 weeks. I would do it now. Even though she is gaining now she is probably not stimulating your milk supply as much as she could be By 7 weeks that could really have a detrimental effect. Plus she will have already developed bad nursing habits, making it harder to change. As someone that IS tongue tied, who never had it clipped, please do it. My mother thought nursing was going fine, but it got worse and worse and she had to stop. I ended up with a lisp as well and was in speech therapy for quite a while.

[mom2myboys]

My ds had his clipped at 15 mos when his speech wasn't developing at all. He didn't have any trouble nursing at all. The procedure was quick and didn't bleed much at all. But at his last dentist visit (we switched to a new dentist) she said he might have to have it clipped. She was surprised when I said we already had. She said it was pulling on his gums and could cause recession. Now I'm wondering if these things grow back or if the ENT didn't clip it much at all. My ds's speech seemed to progress just fine after he was clipped and we were glad to have done it. I just can't believe he needs it clipped again. :confused:

 

Sometimes the frenulum can heal back together and need to be clipped again. My DS had his clipped twice and the doctor did say that sometimes it happens. It depends on where the tie is and how tight it is whether it actually affects breastfeeding or not. The ties that are further back under the tongue (posterior) are more detrimental to BFing but do not usually affect speech as much.

[livingnlearning]

My daughter had it done at 10 years old and it was a MESS! If I had known she had to deal with it I would have had it done sooner but nobody ever mentioned it!