My Newborn Had Mouth Ties - Part Two
Updated: Jan 18, 2020
This mama was really hoping her baby girl didn’t have any of these ties in her mouth because they had to “cut” the ties with a laser... it sounded awful! But then again, I was glad we got to the root of the problem. Since we discovered that she had all of these ties, we went ahead and got the procedure done while we were at the dentist office that day.
The tongue, lip and cheek tie revisions went super well! Dr. Baxter actually prayed with us before he took her to the other room, which made the experience all the better.
Bella Grace was literally gone from me for only 2-3 minutes, and when she came back she nursed on one side for 15 minutes. We weighed her when she was done and she had eaten 1 WHOLE OUNCE in that short amount of time! I was so grateful. Grateful for my friend that took the time to ask how nursing was going. Grateful that we had decided to go to Dr. Baxter since we had such a wonderful experience. And I was grateful that we got to the root of the problem and that we were able to continue breastfeeding.
The major downside to the procedure she had was all the stretches that were required for the next 3 weeks. My baby hated them being done, and honestly I hated doing them. I know it was uncomfortable for her, but if I didn’t do them, the ties would grow back and we would have to do everything all over again. Thankfully we got through them, and if I did them right, we won’t ever have to deal with mouth ties again!
It took a lot of time after this procedure to figure out how to get baby girl to latch well, but we eventually got it! Bella Grace now eats every 3 hours, and it takes her about 20-25 minutes total. Figuring out the source of the problem saved our nursing relationship, and I’m so glad we stuck it out.
Mamas, if you are trying to breastfeed and you think that your baby may have mouth ties, look into it and listen to that instinct! You are the mom and your instinct is most likely correct. Take the time to figure out what the problem is because it is so worth it. The bond that you have with your baby while breastfeeding can’t be found anywhere else.