Tongue Tie procedure

Baby M was born with a tongue tie, following after his dad.  The tongue tie made breast feeding really difficult as Baby M couldn't latch on properly.  After persevering for 2 days and Baby M getting distressed and my nipples getting sore we decided to bottle feed.  There are those out there who maybe think I should have persevered for longer but I couldn't cope seeing Baby M so upset.  When he had that first bottle he guzzled it all down he was so hungry.

For those who don't know a tongue tie is where the skin which attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth reaches too far down the tongue making it difficult to move it around.

Even though I had stopped breast feeding we were still referred to the hospital to have his tongue tie removed.  Whilst Baby M was feeding well he was still losing a lot of his bottle through squirting out of his mouth and he was getting bad wind due to his gulping.

As Mr M had his tongue tie procedure done when he was 6 years old he had stayed in hospital for 2 days, I think he was quite anxious about Baby M going through the procedure.  We were told it would be quick and that no anesthetic would be used (which we were surprised about) and that we needed to take a bottle to feed Baby M straight after.

When we went into the room the nurse asked that Mr M lie down baby with his head at Mr M's knees.  Mr M was asked to hold his hands whilst the nurse held his head.  The surgeon then used a long pair of scissors (which kind of looked like hospital clamps) to cut the bit of skin attaching Baby M's tongue to the bottom of his mouth.  Baby M squealed a little but that was it.  There was a little bit of blood but the nurse stated to give him his bottle then she would come and look as his tongue.  We gave him his bottle, which he took really well, you could tell the difference as there was no milk squirting from his mouth and his sucking felt stronger.

It is now 3 days after he had the procedure and we both agree that his feeding has improved.  He seems less windy and is not gulping on his bottle.  The sucking has improved and he isn't losing much milk through the side of his mouth.  Baby M has also noticed a difference as he has been sticking his tongue out quite a lot since the procedure

We are so happy that it has gone well and Baby M is feeding well.  Another bonus of the procedure means that his speech won't be effected when he starts to talk