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I have breastfed all three of my babies. We have been very fortunate with our journey’s, but not without issue. With my first baby I had a raging oversupply. I was making enough milk for twins+, and it was overwhelming. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have any support from my family, because they had never breastfed. It was insanity, and I was just trying to manage things, while making enough milk for my own child. We made it for a total of 20 months.
With my second baby I knew what I was doing, and felt very confident in my abilities. Then we found out she had a horrible dairy allergy. She was a miserable baby, and learning how to cut dairy from my diet was challenging. I had a lot of slip ups, but eventually got it under control. She finally grew out of the intolerance and we nursed for 15 months, when she self weaned. With both of these babies I had little to no support, simply because I didn’t know anyone who breastfed. I was relying on facebook groups, and anything I could find on google.
With my third baby, I knew I wanted to cherish every minute of my last breastfeeding journey. I knew I was well versed in anything that could go wrong; I was VERY prepared. And again, we faced some challenges. Almost immediately, I knew that my new tiny human had a crummy latch. It was so painful, but I was hopeful she would “grow into” a better one. Boy was I wrong. I was MISERABLE. I was in so much pain. Important body parts were barely hanging on. (seriously at one point I questioned if I needed stitches…) Things were not getting better, and I needed help.
I reached out to a local IBCLC, and got an appointment immediately. She took one look at the situation and agreed her latch was awful and we needed to work on solving the problem. We tried a few things, worked on healing my lady friends, went to a chiropractor, and tried everything we could to get her mouth to be bigger. Nothing worked, and when we peeked into her mouth, she was severely tied. She had lip, tongue, and cheek ties. My IBCLC said they were pretty severe, if not some of the worst she had seen, the pediatric dentist agreed with her, and we had them revised quickly thereafter.
This decision was sooooo hard. I googled (do not recommend) the procedure. I was so anxious leading up to the event. I was so upset as they took her to the procedure room, and wanted to crawl in a hole when they brought her back to me. But the second she latched after the procedure, it was like the heavens started singing. It was so good, she latched perfectly, there wasn’t any pain, and she ate for the longest she had ever eaten. She transferred so much milk, that she took her first really solid nap. She started to relax, and was just a better baby. Her weight gain became more consistent, and she started to pack on the pounds. The way her body was finally able to relax was amazing. It was an immediate change (although this is not always the case) for us, and instant relief.
In all honesty, the procedure was hard, but so worth it. The recovery was inconvenient, but made lasting improvements. Ultimately, it was the right choice. But let me share a few things with you that made this experience a little easier. First, the right IBCLC. I found my IBCLC on facebook, and she was a godsend. She was seriously amazing and I honestly miss going to appointments with her. My whole crazy gang would show up at her office and she handled our crazy so well. Who you choose as your IBCLC will make or break this journey, and in my opinion you cannot do this procedure without one.
You also need to gather some items. My IBCLC gave me a list of things to purchase or have on hand for this procedure and to keep my baby comfortable. She told me to get several different medicines that were appropriate for her age and size. Lots of handy items that would make stretches easier and more effect, and just a few items that would make doing the post-op care a little easier. There were also a few items that I needed to heal myself and to make sure that we could continue on this journey. Here is my basic list of items I used:
- All the medicine: Tylenol is going to be your best friend, but Arnica, and Camilia will also help. You can also use Motrin if your baby is old enough. These things will just help baby stay comfortable. But I do not recommend trying to dose all of things at one time. Space them out. I learned from experience. Gloves were also super helpful! Made stretches a lot easier.
- A good Light source: I thought I could get by with just an overhead light or a lamp, but in reality their mouths are really small and hard to see. So I got a headlamp and it made things so much easier. It also helped me not wake up my spouse while doing stretches in the middle of the night.
- Ointments for yourself are going to be really important. You have got to heal in this time too, and your baby will still be struggling with aspects of their latch, and things might still be a little rocky. My IBCLC gave me some Medihoney and it was a game changer. It really helped speed up healing.
- Some other odds and ends were helpful too. Bibs were handy. They are super drooly after the procedure so having some on hand helped a lot. Being able to make breastmilk popsicles was helpful, and the coldness felt really good on their mouth. I also got a new positioning pillow. Our weight gain wasn’t great in this time frame so making sure we had the optimal position was important to get a good feeding.
Having oral ties revised is not an easy decision to make, and it is really hard on everyone involved, but I truly don’t think we would have been able to nurse without it. I was actively thinking about exclusively pumping when I met my IBCLC, and it was heart breaking because I have loved nursing all my children. So getting the procedure done was worth it to save that bonding time.
