Hi everyone. I don't post on here very regularly, but I most recently did in reply to a thread about hating breastfeeding. That was a few weeks ago and I had nearly weaned my 6 month old, thinking I had a supply issue and that she just hated to breastfeed. I am posting here in hopes that I may help someone else like me, who suffered with an extremely colicky, hard to settle, difficult to nurse baby with acid reflux. It took 6 months to find out that my daughter was none of those things. I was able to save our breastfeeding relationship and have a much more content baby.

If your baby is diagnosed with acid reflux, or having trouble breastfeeding or gaining, if he/ she seems to "self-wean" before the age of 1, or even if you notice the tongue has trouble lifting very far off the bottom of the mouth and the top lip is tight or curls under, be sure to have him/ her evaluated for tongue and lip ties by a knowledgeable specialist. No one looked for this in our daughter after multiple trips to 3 doctors and a Lactation Consultant regarding her "colic" and "acid reflux," and no one looked IN her mouth. When I suspected tongue tie, even our top-rated pediatrician told us that our daughter did not have a tongue tie and that her lip tie shouldn't affect feeding. I knew in my heart, after reading a TON of research, that this was the issue and it was causing her problems, and I had to fight everyone: the pediatrician, my husband, and my family, and call on specialists in Canada, New York, and Los Angeles. My daughter did have a class 4 lip tie and a hard to diagnose class 3 posterior tongue tie. (Lip ties almost always present with a posterior tongue tie.) I finally found an IBCLC who was very educated in the area and able to diagnose, and then we went to Canada to have a laser frenectomy performed (closest laser specialist to Seattle).

She is immediately a different baby. She nurses to contentment, doesn't nurse around the clock anymore, sleeps well, actually takes naps longer than 45 minutes and I don't have to hold her while she sleeps, she is gaining better, is happier overall, and her acid reflux has vanished.

Here are some symptoms of tongue and lip ties:

Infant symptoms:
No latch
Un-sustained latch
Slides off nipple
Prolonged feeds
Unsatisfied after prolonged feeds
Falls asleep on the breast
Gumming or chewing on the nipple
Poor weight gain or failure to thrive
Unable to hold pacifier

Maternal symptoms:
Creased or blanched nipples after feeding
Flattened cracked, bruised or blistered nipples
Nipple blanching or distortion
Bleeding nipples
Severe pain with latch
Incomplete breast drainage
Infected nipples
Plugged ducts
Mastitis & nipple thrush
Impact on milk supply
Termination of breastfeeding
Poor bonding between baby and mother
Sleep deprivation
Depression or a sense of failure

Add to the above -
Reflux/colic/gassy baby.
Clicking noises while sucking, more notable during bottlefeeding
Loud gulping noises
Choking on milk or gasping for air mid-feed
Noticeably strong suck
Decreased saliva production
Inability to effectively remove milk
Milk dribbling out of the mouth during feeds

Potential problems as baby grows:
Disruption of normal oral development
Difficulty eating solid foods
Inability to chew age appropriate solid foods
Gagging, choking or vomiting foods
Persisting food fads
Difficulties related to dental hygiene
Persistence of dribbling
Difficult or delayed speech development
Severe tightness of the tongue and jaw may lead to restriction of joints and muscles in other areas of the body
Deterioration in speech
Behaviour problems
Dental problems starting to appear
Loss of self confidence because they feel and sound ‘different'
Strong, incorrect habits of compensation being acquired

The specific challenges an adult with a tongue tie may face include:
Inability to open the mouth widely affects speech and eating habits
Always having to watch their speech
Inability to speak clearly when talking fast/loud/soft
Difficulty talking after even moderate amounts of alcohol
Clicky jaws
Pain in the jaws
Migraine
Protrusion of the lower jaws, inferior prognathism
Multiple effects in work situations
Effects on social situations, eating out, kissing, relationships
Dental health, a tendency to have inflamed gums, and increased need for fillings and extractions
Sensitivity about personal appearance
Emotional factors resulting in rising levels of stress
Tongue tie in the elderly often makes it difficult to keep a denture in place
Gastric problems
Poor swallowing and a risk of anterior open bite
Mouth breathing and a propensity to allergies
Open mouthed posture associated with an imbalance in skeletal structure
Restricted (dental) arch development, and facial development

Tongue ties and lip ties are not uncommon and it is estimated that a least 10-15% of the population have them. They are also genetic (gaps between the two front teeth due to lip ties run in my family).

The main authority on the matter is a doctor in Albany, NY named Larry Kotlow, and his website is an absolute wealth of information. You can go to http://www.kiddsteeth.com and click on "articles" on the left. There is also a support group on Facebook with lots of IBCLCs and doctors as members (even Dr. Kotlow is a member), as well as many TT and LT parents. It's a huge support and a wealth of information and if you would like the link, PM me. (It's a private group in the interest of true support for medical needs, but you will be accepted if you ask to join.)

I am now passionate about this issue and think it's a shame that so many medical professionals are still in the dark when it comes to both diagnosing and treating tongue ties and lip ties. If your child has one and you've been told it will go away, or it shouldn't affect breastfeeding, that is not true. If you had one clipped and were not instructed to do stretching exercises 3-5 times per day for 3 weeks afterward, chances are it has reattached. If you believe your child could have these issues, please see a skilled knowledgeable IBCLC or specialist with a lot of experience treating and diagnosing them. There is a list of skilled providers available in the FB support group I mentioned.

Just hoping to save other mothers from months of pain. xoxo.