tongue tie anyone?

Andy was born with a severe tongue tie. We were told that he wouldn't be able to be bf and I kept being handed a spoon to feed him! We weren't really given much information about it and were really just told that it would affect his feeding and speech but it might just come right on it's own and we should just give it some time.
This week we finally saw a good doc who knows about tongue ties. He pretty much said that if it's not fixed Andy won't be able to talk. He's sent a letter off to get us on the waiting list. I'm feeling a bit cross that we weren't given more info earlier. Our usual doc didn't even know what it was!
So, I'm pretty freaked out about Andy having surgery. Has anyone elses children had this done? I'm also worried that once his tongue is freed he won't know how to suck as his tongue will be in a totally different position - at the moment he can't get it past his teeth. Will Andy need to learn how to BF all over again? Cracked nipples?!! Ahhhh!! I think they are like leather now, so hopefully not a problem. A friend has suggested that this maybe why Andy isn't a very good sleeper- becuase he is struggling to feed so he can't get his tummy full enough to last the night. Boy am I glad that I've always just fed him when he has woken during the night. How bad would I now be feeling if I didn't??!
I'd love to hear if you've been through this.
Thanks heaps :)

Aww thanks Yeah I'm pretty glad that I had the strength not to listen to the midwives and kept on trying.
Congrats on being preggers. How neat

Hi Ann, Sounds like Rhyley maybe tongue tied. Having a w shape or a heart shape at the tip is a classic symptom as the tip of the tounge is still attached to the bottom of the mouth so it gets pulled down creating a w or a heart shape.

Andys is attached by quite a lot where as mild tongue ties have only a wee bit of skin still attached which often separates on it's own. (I've been hoping that all the screaming would've stretched Andys off. But have been informed that there isn't a hpoe in hell!)

The fact that Rhyley can get his tongue out of his mouth would suggest that his tie may only be mild. But it still may cause problems speech wise. The doc we saw this week reckons that Andy should be able to say words by now! Bit optimistic I would've thought!

I remember being told when kobe was born that there was a chance he would have one because of the cleft and that if it was the case they would fix it before he left the hospital, sorry i know that doesnt help but its a bit odd they havent looked into it by now. I used to work with a guy who was tongue tied and he spoke properly and everything, didnt have any problems.

A little OT but... Some little boys just don't start talking before their first birthday. Probably little girls too but the ones I've got are rather chatty hehe.

Thanks Shell. So nice to hear. Does it hurt afterwards? Do they have problems breastfeeding? I'm quite worried about BF afterwards.

Yeah ditto on that! lol
Whats Jack saying? I can't wait until Andy starts talking so I can get to know what's going on inside that cute wee head of his!

from my well child book i have written:

On feb 2 gabriel went into starship and had his tongue tie fixed. all went well but mum and dad anxious. went home the same day and gabriel was fine. only a little bit upset but it didnt seem to interfere with his feeding at all.

he would have been about 2.5 mths old then tho. i am surprised too that your doc didnt know anything about it.

Shell21 wrote: Hi AndysMummy, I used to see tongue tie ops quiet often (I'm a theatre nurse and worked in ear, nose and throat specialty) and I can tell you its a REALLY simple operation - takes about 10 minutes - and recovery is usually quick. It just allows the tongue more movement. I'm not sure if they follow up with speech-therapy - may depend on the severity of the tongue-tie....

My SIL's new baby (who is only a few weeks old now) had this done when he was about 3 days old. The Drs said that its a lot easier to fix it when they are little - so am so suprised that a Dr has picked it up sooner with Andy. Good Luck moving forward though!

ETA - they are in Palmy too, so someone somewhere at the hospital knows what they are doing!!!!

Edited by SimSam

I'm planning to BF for as long as Andy wants to. So I am a little worried about how having his tongue fixed will affect BF.

I so wish that we had of been given more information sooner. Am feeling like a BAD mother! The specialist at the hospital when Andy was born wasn't all that helpful and our EX (as of Mon) GP knew nothing! I had to explain it to him. Becuase the people we saw weren't that worried about it and said wait and see, thats what we did .

I'm sure it will all work out fine We got through BF probs at the beginning so I'm sure Andy and I can work through any other BF that may arise