After all of the troubles I had nursing my first son in the beginning, I had looked forward to a very easy go of it with baby number 2.  I knew how to get a baby latched, all of the different positions, what breastfeeding pillow worked best for me, and so on.  On the second day of nursing my nipples started to blister.  I was in terrible pain by the afternoon!  I tweeted about my problems and a few people responded: “Is your baby tongue tied?”

I had heard of this before but had not thought to check.  According to tonguetie.net it is:

Tongue Tie – also known as ‘Ankyloglossia’ or ‘anchored tongue’ – is a common but often overlooked condition.

It is seen at birth and causes a wide range of difficulties that affect the sufferer in different ways. Diagnosis and assessment are essential before taking any remedial action. In the past, there was little besides observation or anecdotal evidence to guide us towards a decision about whether to intervene. Now, both diagnosis and assessment of a tongue tie can be made by informed and qualified professionals.

Sure enough, I looked at the underside of my son’s tongue and saw that the “frenum” (thingy that anchors your tongue) extended to the very tip.  He could not extend his tongue past his bottom lip.

So now what?

I know tongue tied babies could have the frenum “clipped.”  I was 100% sure he was tongue tied, so I called my pediatrician.  We were in a pickle since my pediatrician didn’t even know we had another baby!  We had planned on waiting over a week to call.  Our midwife advised us that most peds are not homebirth friendly and if we called earlier, would demand us to bring him in sooner.

The phone conversation was awkward.

“So…….. we had a baby a couple of days ago and need to have him seen.  We think he is tongue tied and would like to see about having it clipped.”

“What is his name?  Where was he born? etc..”

“Everett R. Home.”

*chirp chirp*

They were able to see us in 30 minutes so we rushed to get ready.  This was Everett’s first time out of the house.

Once there, the reaction of the receptionist and nurse regarding the lack of paperwork that the office had on our baby was a little funny.  They weighed him and all of that fun stuff.  Then the doctor showed up and immediately said “We don’t clip tongues.”

Really?!

He did get a phone call into an Ear Nose and Throat doctor that he felt sure clipped tongues.  She was able to see us in a couple of hours.  Our baby was given a clean bill of health from the pediatrician, who said he was beautiful and the picture of health, and we left for the next doctor.

The ENT saw our son after a very long wait.  I had to nurse my son in public for the first time in the waiting room here.  Considering my nipples were raw, this was very difficult.  I had to use the football hold in a waiting room chair.

As soon as she saw my son she confirmed he was definitely tongue tied.  He was a 3 out of 4 regarding the severity.  Great.  No wonder my nipples were screaming in pain.

She let us know that she could clip him that day in the office.  We asked a few questions.  My main concern was the pain and how it would affect his nursing afterwards.  She assured me that the clipping would hurt very little, and only for a moment.  I was going to wait outside and my husband held him for the procedure.  They did apply a topical numbing agent.  It took seconds, I heard a cry, and I was called back in.  I immediately dropped my nursing tank and latched him on, bloody mouth and all.

He calmed down instantly and nursed.  Literally, the moment he latched I could tell he was nursing better.  While it still hurt because my nipples were blistered and raw, it only hurt while he latched.

Once he was finished we packed him in the car seat and drove home.  I felt such relief about our decision to clip his tongue.  I was also grateful we caught it early.  Prior to the clipping, nursing was so painful I winced and tensed up for the entire session, especially on my left side.  Had I not called that day my nipples would have gotten even worse.  In situations like this, the sooner you can clip the tongue, the better.

Eating from "righty"

Today I can happily say I am 95% pain free! My right side has healed completely and I can latch him in any position now, even while wearing him and walking around!  My left side was worse so it still has a little healing to do.  I still get less pain when I use the football hold or cradle.  Side lying in bed is harder and can still cause a wince, but at night I am too lazy to sit up and nurse so I have just dealt with it.  I believe by tomorrow I am going to be 100% ok.  I did favor my left side by pumping on occasion to give my nipple a break, and I used a nipple shield a few times when it was very painful.

To those who have never heard of this condition, it sounds barbaric to clip a piece of the tongue.  I understand.  It seems harsh.  However, I have seen with my own eyes how quickly the pain disappears.  To me, nothing is more important that salvaging the nursing relationship.  I worked for over a month with Lactation Consultants to perfect my first son’s latch.  This time, a small medical procedure was needed.  Even though he was getting enough milk, over time it could have affected my supply.  And of course, me being in extreme pain would have made continuing breastfeeding very hard.

If you suspect your baby is tongue tied, due to a painful and shallow latch, or of course, if you notice their tongue is anchored underneath, it is very wise to at least have them looked at.  I promise, it sounds terrible, but clipping their tongue will be worth it.  Other than breastfeeding problems, tongue tied babies can have trouble eating solids and can even develop speech problems.

image courtesy of Stanford Medical.

My delivery was at a very Breastfeeding friendly hospital.  The halls were decorated with maternal photos of mothers nursing, and credos affirming that Mother’s Milk is best, in various prose.  My son was delivered at 3:00 am, and wasn’t allowed to nurse right away.  He had to be examined due to some grunting.  I was worried for him, but upset that I missed my 15 minute window.  When I was finally allowed to nurse him, I had some trouble with his latch right away.  The nurses tried helping me, and he did eat, but it was painful.  Once I told them this, they insisted on un latching him and re latching him, over and over.  We worked with this all night long.  First thing in the morning the Lactation Consultant came to see me.  She was worried about my son’s blood sugars, since I had had Gestational Diabetes.  He needed my colostrum to regulate himself.  They didn’t even consider supplementing him, and never offered.

The Lactation Consultant manually expressed my colostrum.  If Breast milk is considered liquid gold, colostrum is liquid diamonds!  She was able to hand express 2 ounces!  I remember to this day how excited and amazed she was at my supply.  Considering it was only a few hours after birth, I had plenty of the colostrum to go around.  She finger fed my son the hard won liquid diamonds.  It did help his blood sugar levels.

What I remember most about my hospital stay was that is was a blur of hands on boobs.  I didn’t sleep.  Because it took so many tries to latch my son, and he would eat for an hour or two, by the time we finished it was almost time to start the next session.  Since I knew it took an hour or more to get him actively sucking and swallowing, I called a nurse in to help each time.  The nurses were so helpful, and would put my nipple in my son’s mouth to help.  One nurse was a little rough, and would shove it.  She was the overnight nurse, and I didn’t care for her much.

The second night I used a pump.  The next morning the LC came and helped me finger feed my son.  She was very adament not using a bottle.  If I couldn’t nurse him from the breast, she wanted me to pump and finger feed him until he would latch.  Frankly, at this point, I was so sore that I wanted a way out.  I wanted him to get breastmilk, but I wasn’t sure I could handle the pain I was in for a yet to be determined amount of time.  A pediatrician came in to check on my son, and told me the story of how his wife wasn’t able to latch their son.  She tried for a long time, then pumped.  He assured me there was nothing wrong with pumping and bottle feeding.  I didn’t own a pump, and told my husband I wanted to buy one, just in case.

I saw the LC again, on my last day.  Because my nipples were so sore that even the lightest touch would make me silently scream and shed a tear, she suggested I use a nipple shield.  It would help me teach him to latch, and would let my nipples heal.  She warned me it could decrease my supply, but I was willing to try.  We fed him twice at the hospital using the shield.  He took to it after some convincing.  The shield was much larger than a nipple.  He spit it out at first.  After our very successful last feeding, I was confident we could breast feed at home.  I did buy a pump from the hospital, just in case.  There would be no formula in our home.

The Lactation Consultant called every three days!  ”How is it going?  How much is he eating?  How many sucks to swallows?  How many wet diapers?  etc…”  She encouraged me to attempt not using the shield as soon as possible.  I would try here and there, but my son would spit it out unless there was a shield.  I made an appointment to see the LC to help us wean him.  I despised the shield, it was cumbersome, and messy.  Milk would spill out from it.  There was no supply problem for me!

Our first visit back was when my son was 3 weeks.  The LC was extremely helpful with positioning him to latch.  She showed me how to squeeze my nipple in order to have it fit inside the tiny newborn mouth.  My son had a recessed chin, and the bottom would rub me raw.  We would drag his chin down in order to get more areola in his mouth, and prevent a bad latch.  He ate from both sides successfully.  I was really feeling good about our latching without the shied.  I stayed there for hours, and did another feeding.  I even took a nap in the chair while my son slept in his car seat.  It was wonderful.

Things at home didn’t go as well.  I couldn’t get him on alone.  My husband tried helping me.  The LC warned me, the baby would eat when hungry.  If he wouldn’t take my breast without the shield, refuse it.  He would eat, eventually.  I caved…

She continued to call every 3 days.  She told me that he would get it, but I had to be strong.  I continued to offer the breast every feeding, and he refused.  I would latch him with the shield then remove it, and offer.  He still refused.

At 5 weeks I made another appointment.  We had a better time of it getting him latched.  The way she explained how to latch him made perfect sense to me.  We practiced, and she watched me latch him without her help.  On the way home from this appointment I stopped to shop at Babies ‘r Us.  He needed to eat, so I went to the Mother’s Room.  I got him latched on my own, no shield.  I had the shield wrapped in a paper towel in my diaper bag.  It remained there for a long time.  My nipples got sore again, because not every latch was perfect.  But he learned, and got better.  I continued to get calls from the LC, until I told them I was positive things were 100%.  I was sad to tell them that in a way, because I had someone to talk to and now I wouldn’t have them there.  Shortly after that I got mastitis, and did call for advice.  On that call my LC let me know when my son got teeth, I could call back for help if I needed it.

I can’t believe how helpful the LC’s were.  All of them, especially mine, were genuinely concerned about our nursing relationship.  They cared that I succeeded, and truly believed that breast was best.  They were walking the walk and talking the talk!

At my final appointment, the LC asked me how long I planned to nurse.  I joked that I would go until the first tooth popped, then I was DONE.  No teeth on my nipple please, thanks.  She encouraged me to give it a try.  Not all babies bite, she said.  Yeah… right.  But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to beat the teeth.  I worked too hard to give it up.  That tooth came around 7 months.  We powered through, a few nibbles here and there.  8 teeth later, and he is still nursing like a champ!

What was your LC experience, if you had one?  Good, bad?  Let Best for Babes know!  And tell me too!  I’d love to hear!

Lactation Consultants are your best friend. If it weren’t for Michelle, my LC, who manually expressed colostrum for my baby when he wouldn’t latch, and who called every few days when we were home to offer words of encouragement and advice, I don’t know that we would have made it past the first 2 days. She was able to get my son to latch when I couldn’t, and assured me through my tears and silent screams that I could and would get past this. She let me know that babies need to learn to breastfeed and so do moms. That I was giving my son the best gift I could, and if I worked at it, it would become so. We visited her 2 times after being released in order to wean my son from the nipple shield, and because of her I have made it to one year! I am so grateful to have had what others have called a “breastfeeding nazi” because that is what I needed.

What I didn’t need was a pediatrician who came into my room and explained that not everyone can breastfeed. He told me his wife couldn’t, and pumped for 6 months instead. I almost had my out, and a way to escape the pain, but I still wanted to try.

Nipple shields are the best and worst inventions on the planet. When used correctly, they can save your breastfeeding relationship. I was given one my very last day in the hospital. We used it twice before I was discharged, and he was able to latch successfully and with minimal pain. I was still having pain from the blisters underneath, which were rubbed by his very tight and hard latch. It took 5 weeks to lose the shield completely. This battle was almost as hard as the first 3 days in the hospital. I had to commit to losing it, even though he latched perfectly with it. Essentially, he had to learn how to breastfeed twice. My supply never dropped, like some other moms experienced. I had an abundance of milk. Using a shield is the messiest thing. I remember sitting on my couch at 1 am, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and so on, and unlatching my sleeping baby from the breast, and having to slowly pull the shield off. Milk would leak all over!

The first time Fletcher nursed without a shield successfully was on the way home from my last session with Michelle. She was so encouraging, she made me believe in myself. We did it in the office, with her help. I stopped at Babies ‘R Us and shopped, then used the Mother’s Room. I denied myself the shield, which was tucked into a napkin and in a pocket. I put him on and it clicked. He got on, I was in no pain, and he ate for 15-20 minutes. After that we used the shield 2 times in the next couple of days, and then it was gone. Many times in the middle of the night I wanted it, badly, but I held strong. You have to pull the plug on it.

The revelation: Because our nursing relationship was extremely rocky, I used the ol’ cradle position. I used a Boppy, then bought a My Brest Friend. What a savior that was! It helped my back immensely, and got used a lot for a few more weeks until I decided to just go with a pillow for convenience sake. One day, I was extremely tired. I wanted a nap so badly, but the baby always slept in my arms. I was very anti co-sleeping at that point. I believed the hype that I would kill my baby, and since he only napped on me, the whole “sleep when baby sleeps” thing was out. I decided to try side lying nursing again. I had tried a few times, and failed. Our latch just wasn’t good enough yet. I put his neck on my arm and cuddle him close, then got him securely latched. It worked! I was so proud of myself, and then I fell asleep. It was amazing. I didn’t nap during the day for the first few months of my son’s life, and of course I was up all night breastfeeding him and slowly easing him into his cradle. It was an hour long process at least. Every 3-4 hours. I started using this method in secret during the day; I was afraid my husband would kill me if he knew I was co-sleeping. Eventually, I brought him to bed with me at night. Hubby was wary and insisted I put him back, but I said no. Soon, we were a part time co-sleeping family. In fact, we still are.

Trial by fire: Nursing in public was not something I started out doing. I hid in the nursery when guests were over, and went to a private room when possible when we were on the go. If there was no room, I used a cover. This continued until we took a road trip to NC, a 12 hour turned 15 hour drive. I had to nurse at McDonalds, in a rest stop, in the car, anywhere and everywhere. I stopped using my cover after it became a pain, and never looked back. By the time that trip was over I had learned a few tricks on how to be discreet. Covers are a pain!

At 5 months I decided that I finally had breastfeeding down. Yes, it took 5 months for me to decide this. I could do it anywhere, anytime, anyhow. My son was also great at it, and could find my boob in the dark. He could latch himself if it was available. Unfortunately, this meant I never pumped anymore. I used to occasionally pump milk and have my husband take a feeding so I could sleep. The usual reason was actually to let my breasts get a break since we had soreness in the beginning also. I needed a breather. Once things were 100% pain free, and I no longer resented nursing, it was easier to nurse than pump. This also ruined any chance of me getting out of the home. He forgot how to use a bottle, and if given one, would chew it. I only recently discovered that at 11 months, he will take a bottle of whole milk. I like to stick with sippy cups, but he is not a pro at those. We gave him one bottle recently and he drank a few ounces.

Teeth: Before I was pregnant, I never thought I would breastfeed. The idea seemed kinda gross to me! While pregnant, I figured I would do it. The further along I got the more I wanted to. I dreamed about rocking my baby and nursing him. I also loved that I would be saving lots of money on formula and bottles, and that it was the food he was meant to have. When he was born, I knew I would nurse him until he got teeth. My LC assured me teeth could be overcome, but I was doubtful. However, after realizing how hard we worked to be successful, I decided we would overcome teeth. I set my goal to 1 year, and anything after was icing on the cake. I also have a secret limit of 2, but we shall see. He got 2 bottom teeth first, so his tongue covered them. Soon after came 2 top teeth. He was very good at not biting on purpose, but it happened. I would quickly unlatch him and say a firm “no.” I wouldn’t put him back on for a time. He got two more teeth, and then started forcefully latching. I got small bruises on my right areola from the middle two teeth rubbing, and the force at which he latched. This lasted a few days. Currently, he is still latching on hard but the pain is minimal and short lived. It is definitely better than full on biting!

Time: In the beginning, nursing sessions would last over an hour, and they came what seemed like every half hour to hour. I was a 24/7 milk machine. I can now proudly (and somewhat sadly) say that we are down to 5-10 minute sessions, and only 3-4 times a day. At night he sleeps with me and nurses 2-6 times, but only for comfort. It lasts 2 minutes and he is asleep. Who knows if he is even getting much milk. While I am a little sad that I am not his only source of food, I see light at the end of the tunnel. I love nursing my son. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gone through the blood, sweat, and tears I did. But, I am secretly excited about being able to leave him at home with his dad for a few hours. It has happened once. The longest my son has gone without nursing is 10.5 hours! This was an unusual day, but it is good to know he can do it. I have been lucky not to get my period yet, but I know as he eats less and less, it will happen. But it is welcome. Soon, my son will need a little brother or sister, and I will get to start off as an experienced breastfeeding mother!

I am extremely proud of making it to one year. Only 14% of mothers in America do. A sad fact, but I made it. It was easier than I ever thought it would be. The hardest part of breastfeeding only lasts a few weeks. The benefits of making it to one year and beyond last a lifetime. And they benefit you as well. Breastfeeding past one year, and nursing multiple children decreases my own risk of breast cancer. Indeed.

Fun Facts:
I have nursed my son in 10 States. (this includes layovers and driving through)
I have nursed my son in a plane across the United States, and next to complete strangers.
I have nursed my son in a duck boat (a car that can be driven into water)
I have nursed my son in the USS Constitution, the oldest floating naval craft in the US.
I have nursed my son on a paddle boat.
I have nursed my son in a boat on a lake between US and Canada.
I have nursed my son in a cave.
I have nursed my son in a moving vehicle by putting my boob over the carseat, and was seen by a man next to us at a stoplight.
I have nursed my son at the base of a waterfall with my feet in the water.
I have nursed my son next to the ocean in Florida.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a slideshow with my breastfeeding photos from the past (almost) year.