Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Catherine – First Baby Learning Curve Experience






When I found out I was pregnant, I never really thought about how I would feed my baby. I knew I would breastfeed. It wasn’t some goal I set, but I had seen my mom, sisters, and a good friend breastfeed so it seemed natural. I watched a 1-hour DVD on breastfeeding a few weeks before I was due and thought I would be good to go!

My daughter was breech and I ended up needing a C-section since despite our efforts, she wouldn’t turn. I made it clear to the delivery team I wanted to hold my daughter as soon as possible and that I would be breastfeeding. I was able to hold her skin-to-skin within 10 minutes of delivery and she latched on in the recovery room, exactly 1 hour after she was born. I already had colostrum and the nurses complimented me and I felt good about how it was going.

That night though my daughter seemed to be getting frustrated during feedings and a nurse suggested I use a nipple shield on one side so that she could latch on easier, so we did. By the morning, my milk had come in and the lactation consultant complimented me on that. The latch was painful though and we started using the shield on both sides. While I was in the hospital 4 days, 4 different lactation consultants came by who each offered different and sometimes conflicting advice. I went home and still couldn’t figure out how to relieve the painful latch.

When my daughter was 10-days-old, I scheduled a private consultation with a lactation consultant and there learned my daughter had a lip tie and posterior tongue tie. I had never heard of that before, but was told this was the reason for my daughter not being able to latch correctly. The lactation consultant said that a pediatric dentist could correct it with a quick laser surgery and that the sooner we corrected it the better so that my daughter could learn how to use her tongue and suck properly. Lip and tongue ties have speech and dental implications later, if not addressed. The lactation consultant also showed me an alternative position so that breastfeeding would be more comfortable.

I went home from that visit a bit relieved, but also nervous.  As a new mom, I wasn’t sure if I was doing something wrong, so to know it wasn’t “my fault” and that there was a solution was a relief. However, the idea for surgery, even if minor and quick, for my young daughter was a bit scary. I told my husband what I found out and he was very opposed to the surgery since our daughter was little and *perfect*.

Since the new breastfeeding position I had learned helped with the pain, I was okay with her not having surgery.  (Plus, I would have never sent my child in for surgery only for my pain.) But as days and weeks passed, I felt my daughter was spitting up too much, a bit gassy, and had a lot of hiccups. I found a blog – Mommypotamus – which included several articles on tongue ties and by the time my daughter was 3-weeks-old, I convinced my husband we should schedule a consultation with the pediatric dentist. The dentist we chose is so popular that he had a 4-week wait list!

We saw Dr. Cole when my daughter was 7-weeks-old. He confirmed the lip tie and posterior tongue tie and was able to perform the procedure that same day. Immediately after the procedure, my daughter nursed and in fact, I had to ask my husband if she was really eating because I couldn’t feel anything – it was so different! Within 3 weeks, she weaned off the nipple shield. We also noticed she spit-up less, burped more easily, and in turn had less gas and hiccups. There was still some pain with her initial latch but adjustments by a neuromuscular doctor relieved neck and jaw tension. (Before her ties were revised, she had to overcompensate for poor tongue mobility and that caused some tension that took a few visits to relieve.)

My daughter is turning 4-months-old next week and I am so thankful for the knowledge I gained and that I can now nurse her without pain. I’m also glad this procedure resolved other issues she had.

I am normally a very private and modest person but I feel a desire to share our story. This is in part because a former coworker of mine reached out after Mary was born to see if I had any questions on C-section recovery and she was willing to share her breastfeeding experience. I also had a friend from church and a sister who shared their experiences with me. Without the support I’ve had from people like them, I may have given up, especially since I didn’t have any goal set for breastfeeding. Particularly in the days right after my daughter was born, I took it one feeding at a time (sometimes in tears). We’ve come so far from that time, it seems like a distant memory! These pictures are special to me for capturing a moment in our journey. I hope sharing this helps to raise awareness so others aren’t hesitant to address the issue and so they don’t give up.

If you think your child may have a tongue or lip tie, I encourage you to join the Tongue Tie Babies Support Group on Facebook and check the provider list. We’ve learned many pediatricians and lactation consultants may be familiar with ties yet they don’t validate all of the issues ties cause. We actually switched pediatricians for this reason.

By the way, I mentioned earlier my husband was initially hesitant for our daughter to have surgery because she is perfect. I agree that she is, however now that we’ve learned more, we are both confident that she has a better quality of life now and in the future without those ties!

… And next time we have a baby, I know what to check for right away :)

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