You can see it pretty well in this photo:
Being tongue tied can cause problems throughout a person's life. The first time is during breastfeeding or feeding out of a bottle. (Luckily, Lil' Mootz didn't have a problem with either of these and he's a very big eater, already weighing in at 20ish pounds.) When a toddler is learning to speak being tongue tied can prevent a person from learning to speak clearly. Then in later life being tongue tied can cause a person to have cavities and other oral problems because they aren't able to use their tongue to clean and pick their teeth.
Just a little fun fact, being tongue tied is genetic. I have cousin who was tongue tied. There was another family member on my mom's side who was tongue tied, but I can't remember who.
I've been wanting to get this fixed since day one. True, a person who is tongue tied may never have a problem, BUT a person who is tongue tied may have problems. I didn't want to take the chance.
Unfortunately, every doctor Lil' Mootz has seen has been against getting this fixed. UGH! Finally, during his six month check-up Lil' Mootz saw a doctor that thought getting his frenulum snipped was an excellent idea and gave me a number for a pediatric surgeon.
Today, Lil' Mootz had his tongue tied situation snipped! And he was so incredibly awesome about it. I was so proud of him!
I really have no idea why physicians are against snipping the frenulum. Lil' Mootz's appointment was at 3:00. We waited for the surgeon until 3:45. The surgeon came into the room, looked under his tongue and explained the reasons for wanting to get the procedure done. At about 3:52 I put Lil' Mootz down on the table and they swaddled him up, so he couldn't fight. 3:53 the surgeon swabbed the numbing stuff under his tongue (he started crying at this point) and by 3:54 the surgeon had snip-snipped and the nurse told me I could pick Lil' Mootz up.
A two minute procedure and I had five pediatricians tell me it wasn't worth it until Lil' Mootz was older and we knew if he could talk properly. And if he couldn't? Months of speech therapy. Two minutes or months? Hmmm...tough call.
There was a little blood, but the second I picked up my Lil' Mootz he stopped crying (well, not the second because I went and bumped his head on the giant light, so that earned an extra tear or two) and shoved his sucker into his mouth. In the car I gave him a bottle, so fifteen minutes after getting his tongue fixed he was smiling again.
All evening he's been crawling around, playing, laughing and getting into things he shouldn't be. You wouldn't even know he went through a mini surgery this afternoon. I can see him playing with his tongue and trying to get used to the difference. He's so funny because he keeps sticking his tongue out! (I tried to get a picture, but "stubborn" is a word he knows well.)
12 comments:
I'm glad he's doing ok!!!!
he handled it like a champ!! and speech therapy is no fun if it can be prevented....trust me! my middle one is in speech and thankfully he is making great progress.
i can't wait to see a picture of the little man sticking his tongue out!! lol!
Glad everything went so well. If it will save him from problems later then I don't see why it shouldn't have been done.
I'm glad you went ahead and did it now. Bean had an issue with a blocked tear duct and our doctors tried to tell us to wait until after he was a year old to do the "surgery" because it might have cleared up on its own by then. We had it done when he was about 6 months old because I felt it was better to get it over with now when he couldn't remember it, you know?
And, plus lil Mootz is probably thrilled he can finally get his tongue out of his mouth now! :)
Glad he's doing so well.
I'm glad to know he's doing ok!
I can't believe they told you that!
So glad he did well!
What a strong boy! I would have totally lost it! I hate doctors!
Glad he's doing well! I don't see why the doctors were so against it!
Such a cute picture! :)
Hey there, I am a Marine wife and my husband and I just had our first child after 2 years of marriage. He has been having a difficult time breastfeeding and we have seen multiple lactation specialists and pediatricians who all assured me that he was fine, and just had a difficult time latching. I finally saw an LC who found that he has a tongue tie which wasn't detected until now because it is so far back under his tongue. Apparently when the frenulum is that far back and close to the salivary glands etc. most pediatric surgeons will not perform the suregry to correct it. So I have been doing battle with his pediatrician and Tricare to get approval for one of the few surgeons in the country who will perform the surgery. I wondered if you had had any insurance issues, could recommend a doctor, or if you had any advice on how to handle the situation, any would be more than welcome. We were so glad to read that your son is doing well, so congrats to him!
Emily~
You didn't leave an email and since your blog is private I can't get on it to leave you a comment. If you email me I can let you know in more detail how our experience with the whole thing went.
Thanks!
I know this post is really old news, but I found it when I thought I'd look up the limitations of being tongue-tied, and my boys are 3.5 now, and were both born tongue-tied enough that they were almost impossible to nurse. At 6 weeks both the lactation and the pediatrician referred us to a doctor who could do it, and he looked at it and said it wasn't bad enough that he wanted to mess with it. I was not brave enough to speak up, but I gave up breastfeeding that day (trying to feed two tongue-tied babies while you have a 15 month old running around isn't exactly my cup of tea), and now, one of them has a very strong lisp (not sure why the other one doesn't) that doesn't seem like the kind that will go away on its own, and I feel so much regret for not advocating for them! Now we live in China and will not make a return to the states for at least another year and a half, and even then, won't have insurance. I can't tell you how much I regret not being more assertive. Good for you!
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