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Discovering And Correcting Lip Tie On A Toddler And An Infant

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When my son was born, I told the nurse at the hospital that I wanted to see a lactation consultant because he wasn’t latching correctly. She told me there wasn’t one available that day, assured me he was fine, and that I just needed to reposition him. Having just given birth and being very emotional, I was desperate to go home to my toddler whom I had never left for more than a few hours, so I believed this nurse.

Discovering And Correcting Lip Tie On A Toddler And An Infant

But I knew something wasn’t right. Even though my son was gaining weight and pooping away, the pain of nursing was unbearable and I thought I was getting mastitis, but then the pain went away. At around 3 months, my La Leche leader noticed that it did not look like he was latching as far as he should be and asked that I have him checked for tongue tie. The pediatrician said he didn’t have it, and that because he was gaining weight, he was fine.

But mothers always know. Even if we don’t know what it is, we know when something is wrong.

It is becoming up to us to figure out what is going on with our babies. Nowadays, many people turn to Facebook to ask questions relating to health, as sometimes it’s easier asking total strangers. So when a mother on a babywearing group I’m a member of posted a photo of her 7 month old daughter and asked if she had lip tie, my heart started beating fast as I read through all the comments, and my head started saying “This is it.”

So I looked under his top lip, and sure enough, clear as day, there was his upper labial frenulum, starting from his lip and working all the way down to his gums, reaching where his two front teeth will eventually come through.

how-to-diagnose-tongue-and-lip-ties-2

I tried to take a good photo, but 6 month old babies don’t like being held down, so here are three examples of what lip tie in a babies can look like

So I put the kids to bed and researched like my life depended on it. It’s hereditary- does that mean I have it? Run to the mirror, yes, I do! This is why my mother was told she had no supply after a month, because no-one caught onto the fact that my lip was tied.

Some of the symptoms associated with a lip tie in babies are:
  • Difficulty latching correctly to breastfeed
  • Colic/gassiness/reflux from incorrect latch
  • Baby thrashing/pulling away from breast
  • Baby’s latch falling off nipple
  • More frequent night feedings
In mom, it could be
  • Very painful nursing
  • Cracked/sore nipples
  • Mastitis or plugged ducts
  • Loss of milk supply

It varies from baby to baby and woman to woman, so if you think something isn’t right, find out from other moms in your area who the best lactation consultant is, who knows how to spot tongue and lip tie. Tongue tie is discussed much more often than lip tie, and we need to change that!

Within 24 hours I went to see a lactation consultant at a free breastfeeding clinic and she confirmed that my son had lip tie. What a weight is lifted off your shoulders when you finally know what is wrong with your baby, despite doctors and nurses saying “he’s fine.” I booked an appointment with Dr James Jesse in Loma Linda, California. He is the very best of the best, a dentist who uses a laser, not a knife, to cauterize the labial frenulum away from the lip. People travel far and wide to get to Dr Jesse, and because the procedure is so fast, I managed to get an appointment the next day.

The doctor and his staff are absolutely wonderful, and he checked all of us and confirmed we all have lip tie except my husband. Dr Jesse said my son’s in particular was severe and when I asked about not losing my milk supply he confirmed that I was lucky I still had it. So we chose to have both children undergo a laser frenectomy. My 2.5 year old daughter went first, and here is what she looked like before:

Lip Tie

And here she was during the procedure. They turned the television on for her, gave her a shot to numb the area (I was TERRIFIED she would freak out, but not a word. Not even a flinch. The needle is the smallest apparently) then he lasered it within a few minutes, she hopped off, they gave her a sugar free popsicle and she was as happy as can be.

Lip Tie Procedure

My son’s was more difficult for me to watch. My husband had to lie in the dentist’s chair and hold his arms down while a very sweet nurse held his head. It is a very quick procedure, only a few minutes, but when your baby is crying (and note- he started crying before the doctor even touched him because he didn’t like being restrained) it feels like an eternity. As soon as it was over he immediately wanted to nurse. I didn’t notice a difference which didn’t surprise me as we caught it so late. The earlier lip tie and tongue tie are treated, the better your nursing relationship will be.

Both kids were absolutely fine throughout the day and sleeping at night, you wouldn’t have even known they’d had this done! Dr Jesse said I could give Children’s Tylenol, but I didn’t see a need. After care is very easy- you simply need to give the top lip three quick lifts every hour while they’re awake for a week to make sure it doesn’t grow back. We instantly noticed a difference in both kids’ smile. Here is what my daughter looked like about 9 hours after the procedure.

Lip Tie

Notice in the bottom photo you can slightly see the wound, which means when she smiles, instead of her top lip being pulled by her frenulum, she can now smile freely.

Several people have asked why I chose to have my toddler’s done, as she is no longer nursing. We chose to because lip ties can cause:

  • A gap in-between the two top teeth requiring braces
  • Cavities in the four top front teeth as food is unable to escape freely
  • Speech issues
  • Dental issues

Within 24 hours of me posting about this on my Facebook page, 5 children were spotted to have lip ties. This is something that commonly goes unnoticed, along with tongue tie. Both require someone who specializes in this area to diagnose them, not any pediatrician or lactation consultant can spot it. So please spread the word. You could be helping another mother like me who had no idea what was wrong, but knew something was not right.

Have you or your children got lip tie? Or tongue tie? Let us know in the comments below.

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Serna

Wednesday 5th of October 2022

I think my LO has a lip tie. Can I show someone a picture to get an opinion?

Kassandra

Tuesday 9th of August 2022

My son, 15 m has both lip and tongue ties. We failed at nursing. We had a lactation specialist come help me, and she told me he had them. And bless her, she even helped me contact the only dentist in my city who performs this procedure. But I, 2 months pp, was too scared to have it done. I thought oh well, I’ll continue pumping (which I did until 11m)

Here we are at 15m and I’m looking to get an appointment with the same dentist because I’m informed he will most likely have speech problems, and require braces.

I’m so scared of how much he will cry in the chair. But I know we need to have it done.

Wish us luck 🍀

McKinley

Tuesday 26th of July 2022

I’ve been wondering if my 1 year old had a lip tie. She had a severe tongue tie which they cut in hospital so I’m wondering how they wouldn’t have caught her lip tie.

Sara

Friday 15th of November 2019

I just took my son to the dentist for the first time today and they told me he has a lip tie. His pediatrician never told me he had one and he had trouble latching for the first three months. He is 21 months old now and still nursing, but it can be painful at times. I'm wondering if this is why. I'm torn if I want to have it fixed or not because he would not act well at all and is bigger and strong for his age. Thank you for the article!

Farrah

Saturday 16th of May 2020

Please fix it. It is literally a couple minutes long for the procedure, and the healing process is a breeze. No special requirements. My special needs daughter is 22 months old. I lost my chance to breast feed her due to her unnoticed lip tie my oldest had a severe tongue tie, I opted out of fixing it, at age 7 we fixed it because it effected his speech, he doesn't even remember it. He's 15 and will forever have speech issues. I chose to not chance it with my daughter.

Cassy klawon

Tuesday 31st of July 2018

My daughter Emma is 17 months. I have no idea why she wouldn’t nurse so I just pumped for 12 months. She is having speech issues as well. then We had our daughter Isabelle. (Now 4 months) and I’m thinking why is it she nursing why doesn’t she want a nurse so I checked her mouth. Wow she has a lip tie. So I checked Emma. She has one to!! Both have a 4!!! They both go in the am to get it revised!! I’m praying this helps

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