Tongue Tied Infant

My husband's tongue was like that - granted he is 42 now but for whatever reason they did not fix it as an infant - they fixed it when he was older - like in his teens. And my lord he said it was really painful and a hard recovery. That is all I really know - Im just thinking what I would do in that situation and Id probably do it now rather than later especially if they say its easy. Sorry I don't have any other advice than that.

It can very likley be causing issues for feeding. Also later in life in could cause problems for her with speach. I would suggest getting it taken care of soon.

Mine was so tounge tied he had trouble screaming. Let alone latching on. We had it snipped at 7 days. We didn't get to watch it, but he went in asleep and came out five minutes later still asleep. He latched on like a champ, still nurses well at almost six months, and screams like a champ.

If she is having problems nursing and you really want to nurse I suggest getting it corrected. My 3 year old just had it done but he had no issues nursing (a huge surprise to everyone!) because his was very tight and he was getting food stuck on the top of his mouth, difficulty making certain sounds. It took all of 10 minutes to do. He went under but as infant they can do it right in the office without the need of anesthesia. He had no pain and about zero recovery time. He was fine and ready to eat as soon as we got home from the hospital now if I had known he was tongue tied as an infant I would have had the procedure done then but because he nursed like a champ no one noticed. Even the 3 speech pathologists he saw didn't check oh and it can also cause issues with teeth because they can't get food off of them, can cause them not to align correctly, etc.

My son, who is now 18 weeks, was tongue tied. The pediatrician discovered it the day after he was born and basically said the same thing to my husband and I. I knowthere is a possibilty it can later affect a child speech. And, I was having issues with latching. It seemed like my son had problems with doing so. So, we had him cut it and it was like night and day. Suddenly, my son was able to latch on easily and would stay on for a while. I know at this age there really is little pain. It took no more than 10 mins and we had our baby back. My opinion is to do it, especially while your daughter is young. There is a very good chance you will notice her latching is so much better once it's been corrected.

my daughter was tongue tied but not to bad.. she drank from a bottle... and they told me to wait until she was about 5 months old.. by then the skin broke on it's own... but again it wasn't bad.. it was half broken to begin with.. my friends son had to have his snipped early on because he was very tongue tied.. if you don't have it taken care of soon... she will have problems with speech, eating.... go for it.. it's quick.. and they say it's like a pizza burn to the top of your mouth.. only hurts for a short time... good luck

My son latched immediately after birth. All the nurses and consultants said it was a perfect latch. No one could tell me why I was bleeding and crying and in severe pain.
On my fourth day in the hospital (had a C-section) after many nurses and consultants tried to help me, the doc checking out my son mentioned that he had a slight tongue tie. When I asked if that can affect anything, she said nursing, possibly speech, possible eating. She said it may or may not resolve itself. I told her of my intense pain from nursing and she recommended I see a doctor in the practice to clip his tongue.
I called immediately to set up the appointment which wasn't until the Monday (three agonizing days later). The doctor did cut his tongue and he nursed immediately afterwards. He screamed in pain until nursing and bled a small amount (but way more than one drop). They didn't use anesthetic saying he "wouldn't feel it". My mama instincts don't agree with that and I would have requested some sort of pain killer if I'd known (and will do if any future kids have it).
Anyways, he nursed right there in the clinic, but then refused to nurse anymore after that. So, I pumped and tried a bottle. He would drink from a bottle, but it seemed to bother him. Of course I felt terrible thinking that I just caused a supposed excellent nurser his abilities. After a few days, I tried to get him to latch on again and he did! But only for about 5 minutes on one side. I was concerned and had a lactation consultant weigh him before and after nursing. She found that I just had extremely fast moving large quantities of milk and he only needed a few minutes per side. He was doing fine.
So, if you are in pain and everyone says your latch is good, check his tongue. Then, clip it with pain killers. Expect your baby may be in pain for awhile but don't give up hope, he or she will come around! My son nursed til he was 12 months when I cut him off. Good luck.

My son was tongue-tied also, but I was still able to nurse him for 18 months. We saw an ENT Doctor and had an appointment scheduled to have it snipped at 6 months, but then it accidentally got fixed at home (my poor husband was putting a spoon of food in his mouth and baby got really excited and the spoon shoved right into the cord and split it...voila! No more tongue tie, no medical bills, and a very very sad and guilty papa :(

BUT do not let anyone tell you it doesn't hurt a baby--they feel pain, they just can't say whether something hurts or not. If you decide to get it done, make sure the doctor puts an anesthetic on it first. And for the nursing--if she's gaining weight and producing enough wet/dirty diapers then she is nursing just fine. But if not, try using a nipple guard with her for a while and alternate sessions with and without it--this really helped my son be able to latch on (it was very difficult for the first month with the tongue-tie, but eventually we got past it). As they get older the tie can affect her speech and kissing (when she's 40, obviously! haha), so it could be better to have it done while she's an infant. The ENT we were referred to didn't reccommend doing it until my son was 6 months old, and i honestly don't remember why although it was a legitimate reason. Best of luck!

I didn't read any of the other responses, but my daughter was tongue tied at birth also. Hers wasn't bad and I didn't even know about it until she was 3 months old, but I went ahead and got it snipped. It really is not a big thing. I brought her in, they numbed it and just cut it with some sort of scissors. She cried for a few minutes and that was that. There was no pain or discomfort afterwards. I would definitely recommend getting it done, especially if you think it is affecting her nursing. Usually the nursing gets better after a few days. it can also possibly affect their speech later on (but I think that's mostly for those who have severe tongue tie). In a nutshell, it's going to be better for you both if you get it done. Good luck, it's really not that bad! : )

YES, it will DEFINITELY effect her ability to nurse. I had problems with my son until we figured out he was tongue-tied (it was not noticed at birth). He was able to latch on so much better minutes after his tongue was clipped. We had it clipped when he was about 10 days old.

You can go to an ENT and they use a local anesthetic put on with a cotton swab. They have a special tool that clips the extra skin, there is a few drops of blood, and it is done. My husband and I were a wreck, but my son actually SLEPT through it! We were literally in the office for FIVE minutes. My son gave out one cry when the clip happened, then went back to sleep -- literally. After the clip is done, the baby has full use of the tongue immediately -- it is actually quite amazing.

If you don't have it done young, you can have it done later but it is far more complicated, more pain, more chance for complication, the child may have to relearn how to speak certain things, etc. It can likely effect speech development, which is why we decided to have it done before speech even developed. We use drugs/surgery only as a last option when other more holistic methods have already been tried.

I know it sounds scary, but I would do it again if in the same position again. If you have any questions about our experience, I'm happy to share. Feel lucky that your doctor noticed at birth so you have the choice to decide what you'd like to do.

My son Ethan was tongue tied. He had no trouble nursing, but our pediatrician recommended having it snipped. We went to a specialist when he was three weeks old. The doctor was extremely kind and said that this procedure is very difficult for the mom and very easy for the baby. He was absolutely right! The procedure was very fast. My husband held Ethan still & one snip and it was over. My son did not even cry. I, however, was a mess and cried the entire time the doctor was in the room. I blame all those post-partum hormones!!!

I highly recommend having the procedure done & done quickly, particularly if it is affecting your daughter's ability to latch on.

Hope this helps. Congratulations on your new little one!
T. Y
SAHM of 4 (10yrs, 8yrs, 2yrs and 10 months)

it can be tough, yes. that is why there are so many specialists and consultants around in this area. I was intrigued when at a specialist, they accurately weigh the baby before and after to determine how much milk is actually being consumed.

has Your baby gotten it clipped yet? I'm 13 and tongue-tied. unfortunately nobody realized it earlier. If you haven't gotten it done I can say your kid will be a drooler and have trouble taking pictures with his/her tongue out....I tried to do the whole rocker tongue out thing and it definitely didn't work. So if your just thinking health reasons and you don't think its that big of a risk also think for your kid's social reasons.....french kissing? a definite nono. so make sure you think about that....and for the chick who was talking about her 42 yearold husband....did it hurt that bad for him? Now I'm scared!

My daughter was tongue tied which prevented her from latching properly. We had her frenulam (sp?) snipped while we were in the hospital. I couldn't believe how quickly the procedure was done (less then 5 min), and my daughter didn't even cry and nursed as soon as she was back in my arms. From what the doctor explained its much easier to snip the frenulam while their infants and the doctor said that she has a lot of teens going into her office to get it done because they are embarrased because they are unable to stick their tongues out, and have difficulty licking ice cream cones etc. Best of luck! J.

Tongue tie can absolutely affect nursing. I had my fourth child last year and, after nursing 3 successfully, could not figure out why my youngest was having such a hard time. After seeing 3 different pediatricians, I finally found a fantastic LC who diagnosed her. I brought her to a great dr who actually cauterized it. The proceedure literally took about 3 seconds and she nursed right after with a better latch (and comfort for me). Within 24 hours she was nursing like a champ and at 15 months is still going.

Tongue tie can also pose speech issues later as it prevents the tongue from making some of the necessary movements for correct speech.

I would highly recommend addressing the tongue tie now. It's really a very simple proceedure that pays dividends in many ways.

When i was a nanny of a little boy he had this. They sniped it and he was able to nurse. She was in so much pain when nursing him b4 it was snipped. The best thing she ever did. good luck.

Yes, being tongue tied does make it much more difficult for children to stay latched while nursing. If you don't want to have it cut, ask your ped if you can do a weight check on her. Weight her at the doctor's office, then nurse her, then weight her again to see how much see is getting. Maybe that will help you determine if she is getting enough and if she needs the procedure. Some people are for it and some are not.

First off, congratulations! What an exciting time for you.

My son was tongue-tied as well. It did not affect his ability to eat so we did not realize right away, but it greatly impacted his speech later on. After serious soul-searching and debating and a year of speech therapy three times a week we ended up having it clipped when he was 4 1/2. At that age they actually have to put them under so they are completely knocked out in order to do it. The clipping was no big deal, but the putting him to sleep was the torture for us. He did awesome and was in no pain when he woke up (all in all was asleep for 15 minutes) and could eat within an hour. His speech is so much better although he has had to learn how to use his tongue correctly which is not an easy thing to teach! He has many learned habits (like using his hands to keep food in his mouth) that have been hard to train him not to do and we still struggle with 2 years later. I didn't realize until after we got it clipped just how many things it had been affecting!

The reason I share this is to suggest you really think about why you don't want to do this. The frenulum (the skin flap they will cut) thickens with age. Right now it is thin and easy to correct with a little numbing ointment and a little snip. If you wait you may still end up having to do it when you realize she has speech issues or other issues and it will be a much more intense procedure as we had to do with my son. My niece and nephew both had it done at birth and it was no big deal.

Do some reading online -- search "tongue-tied" or "attached frenulum" and see what you find. I was amazed at some of the stories I found of adults who ended up getting it corrected as adults, etc. Depending on how bad it is it can affect many aspects of her life.

Good luck!

Congratulations on the birth of you daughter! My neice had the same issue when she was born. Her parents agonized over the decision to snip that little string that hold the tongue down. They did go ahead and do it and it was not a big deal to the baby. And she went on the nurse much better.

Best of luck and enjoy your new baby!

Yes, get being "tongue tied" makes it nearly impossible to latch on, as she can not stick her tongue out to be under your nipple. If you want to breastfeed, which is the best, have the dr snip the tiny little flap of skin holding her tongue down. No big deal. Good luck.

Your pediatrician is right. You should have it corrected and have it done as early as possible. It does affect their ability to nurse and if not corrected will eventually affect their ability to speak correctly. My best friend had a baby that was tongue tied and she had the hardest time latching on, until it was corrected. Apparently she found out that her husband had also been born with his tongue tied, so its fairly common, but you really should have it fixed as early as possible.

My daughter was tongue-tied at birth as well. We took her to the dr. to have them snip the cord and it was a cinch. Seriously, it was no big deal whatsoever. The dr. just puts these large blunt scissors in there and cuts the cord. It caused one tiny drop of blood and my daughter didn't even flinch!

I was tongue tied as a child also. My cord was cut at age 5 and I remember it as not being pleasant. I think it makes the most sense to do it as a child. My cord-snipping actually didn't work and my cord grew back, though no one ever recommended a re-snip. I will say that I have been self conscious about it for my whole life! I think that it also gets in the way of removing things from your teeth, for my tongue is too short to do it!

Good luck! I know it is a hard decision, but trust me, it was no big deal!