Tongue Tied

I will readily admit that I am addicted to the Discovery Channels. Not necessarily ALL of them. Mostly Discovery Health and TLC. Daddy doesn't understand why I like to watch shows like Trauma: Life in the E.R., Dr. G: Medical Examiner, or Medical Mysteries. He'll actually watch some shows with me, such as Moving Up and American Chopper. But he mocks me for my apparent obsession with shows like Jon & Kate Plus 8 and What Not to Wear. (He'll watch them with me on occasion, but I don't think he'll ever admit that he enjoys watching them.) I was finally able to prove that these shows can be valuable.

When I began my maternity leave, I soon came to realize all the good shows are on later in the evening. There's not much going on for daytime TV. With that said, I discovered Bringing Home Baby on TLC. It was while I was watching this show yesterday that I had an epiphane. The episode was about a couple the day after they brought their little baby home from the hospital. The new mommy was commenting that the baby was having a hard time eating. She didn't feel he was getting enough to eat because he never seemed satisfied. My ears perked up because the same thing has been going on for me. I let Riley nurse from anywhere between 1 to 1 1/2 hours, and still end up supplementing with a bottle. I just figured he had a large appetite. The girl's mom took the baby from her, took a look in the baby's mouth, and told her she guessed it's because the baby was tongue tied. Both the girl on TV and I said, "huh?" The mom pointed out that the baby's tongue was "heart shaped." My mouth fell open. I had noticed the same thing with Riley's tongue. The couple on TV made a quick trip to the hospital to have the problem taken care of while I made a quick trip upstairs to do some online searching. What I found is that if the connecting skin under a baby's tongue (a membrane called the frenulum) is short or extends too far toward the front of the tongue, it is a condition called ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie. About 4 percent of babies are born with tongue-tie. Many cases of tongue-tie correct themselves during a baby's first six weeks, as the structure of the mouth changes, and some babies learn to adjust to a tongue-tie that doesn't go away. But because tongue-tie limits the range of motion of a baby's tongue, the condition can cause problems with feeding, swallowing, and speech — not to mention licking an ice cream cone down the road. And who wants to deal with that? I put a call in to the doctor's office to see what could be done about it. I received a call back from a very unsympathetic male nurse. I expressed my concern about nursing issues and that I was almost dried up. He basically told me there was nothing to do and Riley should adapt on his own. He didn't say it quite so tactfully though. I ended up demanding an appointment with a doctor and found myself at the clinic 2 hours later. One look inside, and the doctor agreed with me that a frenotomy could be done. She referred me to an ENT surgeon downtown. Before heading downtown, I decided to attempt to take a picture of Riley's tongue. Yes, as weird as that sounds, I did. It's so cute with the heart shaped tip, and I wasn't sure if it would look the same afterwards. So . . . I made him a little mad at me so I could get him with his mouth open. As an FYI, I did NOT hurt him in any way. I know, I'm a mean mommy. The picture isn't all that great. He was kicking and screaming a bit, so it was hard to hold the camera still. With that said, just a quick trip downtown, two snips with iddy biddy "manicure" scissors, a little bit of gauze, and Riley is a new babe. I hope it does the trick.