My child has a tongue- and lip-tie: a mom’s perspective
Dr. Peterson and his wife, Rachael, have had two children with tongue- and lip-ties. Read how tongue- and lip-ties have affected their family and breastfeeding journey from Rachael’s perspective!
When our son Louis was born, we weren’t surprised to find that he had both a lip-tie and posterior tongue-tie. Thankfully, this time around, we were much more experienced, educated, and prepared for what this diagnosis entails for us as parents and for our baby.
Our daughter Audrey was also born and diagnosed with a lip-tie and posterior tongue-tie at four weeks old. Unfortunately for Audrey, it took 4 long weeks of painful, sleepless days and nights from a gassy tummy before we were able to figure out what was causing her symptoms. She would cry the second she lay down. She had difficulty latching and had frequent, short nursing sessions. She made a clicking sound whenever she was eating and was unable to suck or hold a nipple in her mouth properly. I ended up with mastitis and on antibiotics because she was not able to adequately drain me. Audrey ended up with thrush (a yeast infection) in her mouth (a common side effect when the mother is taking antibiotics), and therefore had to be given an oral antifungal to get rid of the yeast infection. Needless to say, things were a mess, and I knew something was wrong. With the help of a wonderful lactation consultant, we learned she had tongue- and lip-tie. The only doctor in our area qualified to reverse Audrey’s condition had a long waiting list. She was eight weeks old when we finally got the frenectomy done, and the the results were wonderful. Audrey breastfed successfully for 13 months!
Our experience with Audrey ignited a passion in us. Chris started reading about tongue- and lip-ties, frenectomies, and everything related. We both wanted to help our friends, family, and community become more educated and aware of tongue- and lip-ties. We also wanted to provide families with access to frenectomies without having to wait. We started connecting with community groups and educational organizations for tongue- and lip-tie, reached out to lactation consultants. Chris attended the Pediatric Tongue- and Lip-Ties: Diagnosis and Treatment with Soft-Tissue Lasers; Hands-On course at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He gained in-depth education on breastfeeding, the problems that tongue- and lip-ties can produce, and how to perform frenectomies on infants using a laser. He also obtained his Solea Dental Laser Certification. His knowledge, passion, and commitment to offering the best results to patients amaze me every day. We continue to promote tongue- and lip-tie education in our community and have met some incredible people throughout this journey.
Chris revised our son Louie’s tongue- and lip tie-when he was 4 days old, and both Louie and I have experienced great results. Louie’s latch and suck has improved tremendously, and the pain I originally experienced before his frenectomy has subsided. We have worked closely with a lactation consultant (I highly recommend working with a lactation consultant) and are seeing improvements in our breastfeeding journey every single day. One of the most important things I tell other moms who are going through tongue- and lip-tie diagnosis and revisions is to trust the process. You may not see 100% improvement immediately after a frenectomy. My lactation consultant discussed with me that a baby learns how to suck at just 8 weeks gestation, therefore if a tongue- and/or lip-tie is present, the baby has been learning how to suck improperly since then. This means that once their tongue- and lip-tie are repaired, their brain and muscles have to work together to learn a completely new way of sucking. This takes time!
My biggest advice to parents is to educate yourself! Find a provider who is specifically and specially trained in tongue- and lip-ties. Do your research on repair via scissors vs. laser. Reach out to other parents who have had experiences with this process. Connect with groups in the community who offer support and education. And of course, always feel comfortable to reach out to Chris or me. Our main goal is to create awareness of what a tongue- and lip-tie is, how to recognize symptoms, and how to best treat tongue and lip ties. We want to offer families appointments within a reasonable time frame so they don’t have to wait for an evaluation and/or frenectomy. We also want to provide parents with the necessary resources to have their infant evaluated for a possible tongue and/or lip tie. Parents deserve access to the best possible treatment for their children.
Supporting one another as parents and sharing our experiences are some of the best ways to ensure success when it comes to tongue- and lip-ties, and everything else parenting related! 🙂
