Is your baby’s tongue-tie affecting the way you breastfeed?
Tongue or lip-tie can be an issue when it comes to your baby latching and breastfeeding. If the baby has a tongue-tie, it can cause discomfort for the breastfeeding mum, and the baby may struggle to get the milk that she needs to gain weight. So, it is important to know if your baby has a tongue or lip-tie, especially if the baby is not gaining enough weight.
What is a tongue tie or Lip-tie?
A tongue-tie is where the skin that joins the bottom of the baby’s mouth (under the tongue) is shorter than usual. Sometimes this can make it harder to breastfeed.
A lip-tie is where the skin that joins the upper lip to the gums is shorter or tighter than usual.
So with these factors, there is a possibility of the baby having difficulty breastfeeding due to these restrictions.
What are the symptoms of a tongue tie in babies?
- Difficulty latching onto the breast
Sometimes this restriction can cause your baby not to latch on the breast properly. They may be feeding and getting milk but using other muscles in their mouth to withdraw milk. By doing this the baby is not latched on correctly and this can cause the mother to get sore nipples.
- Poor Weight Gain
When your baby is not latching correctly this can cause your baby not to get all the milk that they should be getting. This can cause poor weight gain. If you have worries about weight please do get your baby checked out by a health care professional.
- Tired after feeding
As your baby is trying their best to get all the milk they can get it can cause them to be tired. So they might have longer feeding sessions or are sleepy after or during feeds.
- Clicking sounds
If the baby is not latched on the breast correctly sometimes you might hear a ‘clicking’ sound. This clicking sound is a sign that your baby doesn’t have a deep latch. This is not always due to a tie issue but it can be.
What are the symptoms of a breastfeeding mother who has a tongue-tied baby?
- Sore damaged or misshaped nipples:
As I mentioned before this is due to the poor latch and the baby using other muscles in the mouth to extract milk. In turn, it can cause sore, cracked and misshaped nipples due to the position and latch.
- Engorgement or Mastitis re-occurring:
If the breasts have not been fully drained this can cause milk build up in the ducts of the breast. This is due to your baby not taking all the milk out of the breast during feeds – (check out my blog as I talk about Mastitis and Engorgement and how to fix it).
- Milk production fluctuations
Your body may produce more or less milk due to the baby’s feeding sessions. Your body may be confused about how much milk to produce. Regular feeds drain each side of the breast, this will help your body regulate how much milk your body needs to produce.
- Exhaustion
Constantly feeding and seeing that your baby isn’t satisfied can lead to exhaustion and frustration. Hang in there mama, there is always a solution to the problem.
What procedures do I have to go through?
Now, this is the important part because the answer isn’t that straightforward. The best thing for you to do is to contact your health care professional or lactation consultant to check for the tie. They can check to see if the tie is very short or to see if it is a big issue. One factor they look out for is that your baby is gaining weight. If your baby is gaining weight then they may ask you to continue to breastfeed as long as you are comfortable to do so.
They say this because sometimes the constant feeding will help your baby tie to stretch out naturally, so there is no need for surgery. They can also recommend that babies to have specialist exercises that will help baby to help stretch out the tie.
However, if they see that the baby is not gaining sufficient weight and the mother is experiencing pain during breastfeeding they will ofter to get the tie cut. It is called a ‘Frenulotomy’ a tongue-tie release. You will have to go through the healing process and aftercare with your doctor but in most cases, they have been successful and very benificially to a lot of babies!
When it comes to lip-ties they don’t usually have a procedure to cut the tie. They tend to allow the tie to stretch by itself over time as it is not as impactful as a tongue tie.
My Experience
One of my daughters had a lip-tie. It caused her mouth to fall into a diamond shape/ triangle shape. (her upper lip was hanging downwards in a triangle shape. There was one point when she was a newborn I noticed she was feeding a lot and she was very fussy when it came to feeding. She kept coming off the breast and I didn’t know why. So I decided to go and see the doctor they looked and they could see the tie but they had no concerns. They said she would grow out of it, and they also weren’t concerned because she was gaining a lot of weight (they thought I was bottle feeding)!
So, over time she seemed to work on the tie as it wasn’t tight anymore and her lips were taking shape and they started to hang normally.
Ps. If you want to know how I boosted my milk supply read the BLOG HERE!
My sister’s son experienced a tongue-tie and again she had a similar response to me. The doctor said that the baby is gaining weight and mum is comfortable so keep going the baby will grow out of it. He eventually did.
So again, go get checked out if you are concerned it will give you that piece of mind that you need.
Should I be ‘topping up’ whilst I am breastfeeding?
If your breasts or not getting drained from the milk that the baby is taking it is a good idea to express the extra milk. This can help you to avoid getting Mastitis or breast engorgement. Here are my breast pump recommendations.
This express milk can be given to the baby by a syringe to relieve them from the struggles of breastfeeding. It is best to contact your healthcare professional about the steps that you can take for your baby whilst you wait to see if your baby needs to go through the tongue-tie procedure.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, if you are worried about your little one’s tongue-tie or lip-tie it is best to speak to your healthcare professional so that they can give the steps that you need to take with your baby. Don’t worry too much because lots of babies have had a tongue tie. It’s just about taking the steps for you and your baby to continue growing on your breastfeeding journey.
Keep going mama, you are doing great!
Feel free to leave a comment below or contact me with any questions you may have.
Please share this blog with anyone you know who may benefit from it and share it on social media!
*Note: this post contains affiliate links, a small commission will be given to Little Milk Diaries, but no extra charge to you.
I am delighted to share with you my new shop which is at its beginnings. Beautifully hand-designed mugs, cups and teapots for the breastfeeding mum. Please feel free to check it out if you are looking for a gift or if you are looking for something pretty that will remind you to stay hydrated! Then stop on by. Thank you for all your support 🙂 SHOP NOW
