The other issue was that she was nursing and nursing and nursing, but never seemed full. She never got that "milk drunk" look about her that I was used to seeing on Theo. She cried most of the time and barely slept. I couldn't figure out why, as I have PLENTY of milk (like, I can pump 10 ounces and still feed her - yeah, plenty). On Wednesday, I knew I needed to get some help. I admit, I felt embarrassed. I mean, I nursed Theo for a year and a half. I've helped other moms get off the ground. I know what I am doing when it comes to nursing, but none of my tricks were working. My mom graciously offered to pay the $100 to see the lactation consultant that taught the breastfeeding class I took when pregnant with Theo. Luckily, she was available that day.
Wednesday afternoon, I packed up Lucy and headed to her home office. Lucy was crying (as usual) when we got there and she took one look at her and said "I already can see the problem, it's so obvious. She's tongue tied." I felt instant relief and validation. It wasn't ME. It wasn't anything I was or wasn't doing, she just had a tricky tongue. She helped me get Lucy latched on with the shield and we chatted. She explained that because Lucy had a tight frenulum, it was nearly impossible for her to latch correctly, if at all. Additionally, because tongue tied babies have to work so hard to get any milk at all, they get tired and give up. This is why she wanted to nurse ALL the time, but was never full, because she was always falling asleep. I was super engorged as a result, because she wasn't moving the milk. We did a bunch of weigh ins while I was nursing and in an hour, Lucy only took in 2 ounces. Obviously, tongue tie is dangerous for breastfed babies. They aren't getting enough milk to grow and lose weight and their mamas risk plugged ducts, mastitis and low supply. Many mamas, not knowing why their baby isn't latching and growing, give up and go to bottles.
The lactation consultant explained that Lucy would need a simple procedure called a frenotomy in which the frenulum would be clipped. Yikes! She said it's quick, easy and would completely fix the problem immediately. She gave me a referral to an ENT that she works with who does it in office. She also gave me an article on tongue tie from the American Academy of Pediatrics to read and show Susan. The visit was an hour and a half during which time she got my head back in the game, calmed me, reassured me, listened to me and fixed up my pumping problem (too small flanges). I left feeling hopeful that we would get back on track.
I took Lucy this morning for her frenotomy. I liked the ENT a lot. She had a calm, reassuring manner about her and explained everything in great detail. She looked at Lucy and agreed with the LC that she was in fact tongue tied - classic, type I. She had me hold Lucy in a dentist like chair with her back on my chest. She leaned the chair back and I held Lucy in a bear hug. She took a special tool and clipped the frenulum. It did bleed a bit and Lucy cried, so it likely hurt a little (the ENT said they think it's probably like biting your tongue). They sat us up and had me nurse right away and I decided on the true test - left side, no shield. We got the latch perfect on the very first shot and I nursed for 10 minutes with no pain at all. And in ten minutes, Lucy looked milk drunk for the first time. I nearly cried right there in the office. We have to do some mouth exercises with her every time she eats for the next 5 days to ensure the frenulum doesn't scar back down and then she will be all fixed!
Since we've been home, she's eaten every 2-3 hours in a fraction of the time it had taken and then goes off to sleep. Just like a newborn should. It's such an extreme difference from what we are used to, she's like a new baby. Theo and I even got to go to the store together and I was able to do his nighttime routine, which I had been missing a lot.
Now that she's fixed, we have time and space to be fairly mad at UNC. They traipsed probably 27 people in and out of my room in the 24 hours I was there - pediatricians, a lactation consultant, researchers, nurses, nursery workers, food service, admissions, phlebotomy, etc, etc, etc. I was sick to death of them! Lucy was seen by FOUR pediatricians and not one of them ever looked in her mouth. They made sure to tell me what temperature to put my water heater on so I didn't burn my new baby, however. The lactation consultant came by, but Lucy was sleeping and she never came back. UNC has a very strongly worded pro-breastfeeding statement in their patient rooms, so why is it not standard protocol to check all babies for tongue tie? Literally, it took the private LC and the ENT 4 seconds to tell me she had it, so it wouldn't add much to their checklist. She and I suffered through her first 8 days for no reason at all. I went looking for help and knew something wasn't right because I am not a first time breastfeeder. How many new moms probably quit assuming their baby can't latch or that their milk is deficient because their baby isn't growing? It was an easy fix, once identified and it saved our breastfeeding relationship. The LC said my crazy supply is what saved Lucy, she basically just had to swallow, didn't actually have to work for the milk. We didn't have to use bottles or formula, though even I admit it was tempting last night when I literally nursed for 7 hours.
So, that's that. She's all fixed up and Susan is writing a letter to UNC expressing our anger at this very simple thing being missed. Hopefully it will lead to someone taking a quick glance at babies born there to identify this issue and make for many, many more successful breastfeeding pairs.
Oh, and now she can stick out her tongue! It's so cute.
Do babies with this eventually grow out of it? Do they have troubles with bottles? I can't help but wonder if Ellie had the same problem - we went through 5 LC's to work on her latch and not one of them looked in her mouth. I literally felt like I was (trying) to nurse every single minute of the day. She only latched about 1/4 of the time, and never seemed full after nursing. But she never had trouble with a bottle (until the reflux started, and that's a whole other bag of worms). I could be grasping for straws at easing my guilt, but I just wonder if E's latch was possible off for the same reason?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if they do actually grow out of it, but some pediatricians think they do and it's "not a big deal" (since it only affects breastfeeding in newborns). Yes, speech problems can occur and it is hereditary. Apparently, I have a maternal cousin who was clipped as a baby. Tongue tied babies can drink from a bottle but are often messy eaters since they don't get a good seal. You can google for pictures and check out Ellie's tongue.
ReplyDelete