Planning to BF? Check for tongue tie.

Beth.1212

I'm hoping this post can save someone a little pain! 

I delivered at a hospital using a midwife and doing everything I could to maximize my chances of breastfeeding successfully (using the niplette early in my pregnancy to help correct my inverted nipples, going without any pain meds, avoiding IV fluids, doing skin to skin and nursing asap after delivery, nursing often in the early days, etc.) Unbeknownst to me, my son was born tongue tied. No one checked for it, and so despite having a good latch, I was experiencing a lot of nipple pain and developed cracked and bleeding nipples. (I did consult with the lactation consultant and the nurses at the hospital, and my son was seen by 3 different pediatricians, and no one caught this problem.)

Thank god for the lactation consultant that came to my house! She diagnosed the tongue tie right away. It turns out that I was experiencing "nipple erosion." Sounds fun, eh? We just had my son's tongue tie fixed by an ENT specialist so hopefully things will get better now, but in the past 2 weeks my son has developed bad eating habits - he uses his jaw/gums instead of relying on his tongue to nurse. We may need to "retrain" him.

If you plan to breastfeed, I recommend that you specifically ask someone to check your baby for tongue tie. Apparently, it's not standard practice to check, and it can lead to a lot of pain and frustration if it goes undiagnosed. Luckily my son was managing to eat and gain weight even with his tongue tie, but not all babies do. 

Good luck with your BF!