the challenges of tongue tie breastfeeding
My second baby, Isla, was born big (over 9lb), beautiful and healthy. All that initial anxiety that I’d experienced as a first time mum around how to get started with breastfeeding wasn’t an issue this time round. It’s hard work juggling a new born and a toddler, but there are definite advantages to being an ‘old hand’ – you’ve read all the baby manuals cover to cover the first time round, so that’s one less job to do! Those very first few days of breast feeding with Isla seemed to go well. I remembered the little tricks for getting her latched on and comfortable and she seemed to take to breastfeeding well.
As Isla became less sleepy and more hungry towards the end of her first week I started to feel that feeding wasn’t going so well. She was really keen to feed, would feed quickly and then scream afterwards. Where was that blissful milk-drunk stupor that a fed baby has? As she was starting to take more milk I noticed that her suck motion wasn’t a usual suckle, but more of a ‘chomp’, moving her bottom jaw up and down rather than drawing back with her tongue and jaw. I also noticed that when Isla cried the tip of her tongue drew into a heart shaped cleft. It began to dawn on me that Isla had a tongue tie which was affecting her ability to feed effectively. I’d seen a couple of other mums and their babies really struggle with breast feeding due to a tongue tie so I knew I had to get something done about it quickly if I wanted to continue breastfeeding Isla. Initial investigations told me that the local hospital offered a fortnightly tongue tie clinic but that spaces got very booked up, so I could be waiting for up to a month. I felt this would be too long to wait. So by a process of Chinese whispers and bongo drums I found out about a midwife led centre (find one similar here) 45 minutes away from home that would take a referral from my GP and see Isla within the week.
At the centre they took a detailed case history for Isla and examined her, which confirmed that she did have a tongue tie (the medical term is ankyloglossia) affecting her feeding. The nurse snipped Isla’s frenulum under her tongue – no pain killers were needed as babies don’t have nerve endings here. There was a tiny spot of blood and I then fed Isla straight away to help calm her after her ‘operation’ (or frenulotomy). I could immediately see a difference in Isla’s sucking motion as she now had more tongue movement. From then on Isla’s breastfeeding went from strength to strength thanks to the swift intervention we received.
Tips that helped me with breast feeding
– Breast feeding will take ages in the early days and you’ll be stuck to one spot for a long time, so get organised before you start. Get yourself a drink (that you’ll be able to reach!) – I used to get really thirsty whilst breast feeding. I also had a little box of essentials that I’d keep next to me: my phone; a snack; the TV remote and a book.
– When I was feeding Isla I made sure that Rowan had plenty to keep him happy and entertained – a cup of milk so that the children were sharing milk time, a box of special toys that just came out when the baby was feeding, and a pile of books so that he could have a story and a cuddle while Isla fed.
– With baby brain in full swing it was really hard to remember when the baby last fed and how many times a day the baby had fed. In the early weeks I kept a little note book of feeding times. It really helped me to work out the baby’s personal routine and also helped when I could look back over the previous weeks and see that we’d made progress with things like the number of night feeds.
– To save yourself having to grapple with your boobs to work out which side you last fed from (not the best look in the local cafe!) have a little reminder for yourself, like a bracelet that you wear on whichever side you last fed.
– I couldn’t have survived without a really good nipple cream (I used Lansinoh – well worth the extra pennies!).
– Invest in some key breast feeding friendly clothes. I found that a breast feeding camisole (like Amoralia’s second skin camisole *) under a lower top that could be easily pulled up or down worked really well and saved having to flash that post-pregnancy belly!
Practice breast feeding I front of a mirror before you venture out so that you can work out what’s on show and what isn’t. I wanted to feel comfortable feeding wherever we were, so maintaining my modesty felt important to me.
So, with baby number 3 on the way, what next? …
I remember overhearing a mum explaining breastfeeding to her child and the little girl’s reaction was, “urrgh, that’s so gross!”. I’m really looking forward to teaching my oldest children about breastfeeding so that they grow up with an understanding and respect for it. I feel very lucky indeed to have one more go at breast feeding with my third newborn. The anxious days of baby number one are behind me and baby number two has taught me to keep my eyes open and go with my gut instinct. Who knows what baby number three will bring!
Katie is mum to Rowan, 3 and Isla, 22 months
* Note from Jules: we didn’t put this one in ourselves, promise!
This is part 2 of Katie’s journey – read part 1 here