my baby is tongue tied. i noticed that sometimes he starts truly choking and can't seem to clear his airway and gets huge mucus bubbles- like my dd did one time when she had a plastic clothing tag in her throat- it is so scary for him and also for me of course. does anyone know about this and how it relates to breastfeeding?

nak...

edited to say i was tongue tied too. mine was clipped. and he truly is too- his frenulum goes all the way to the end of his tongue.

find a doctor or midwife or lactation consultant who understands what tongue-tied is. get it clipped if it truly is tt!!!

it can wreak havoc on the bf relationship...get it done asap.

joy, a la leche league leader for 10 years.

Originally posted by silksbyjoy
find a doctor or midwife or lactation consultant who understands what tongue-tied is. get it clipped if it truly is tt!!!

it can wreak havoc on the bf relationship...get it done asap.

joy, a la leche league leader for 10 years.

he truly is as a midwife already confirmed it. i don't have any pain when nursing and he seems to be gaining. do you think the choking is related? thank you for responding too.

The choking could be just a result of a strong letdown. My kids are not tongue tied, but choked while nursing until they were a few months old. I think my letdown was just too much of a gush. No tt experience here though, so I don't know if it could be related.

i have not seen choking be related to tongue-tie. instead, what is more commonly perceived as the problem with tt is that the baby repeatedly breaks suction, makes a clicking sound during nursing, and make have difficulty gaining weight or desire to be nursed constantly--even more constantly than is usual for new babies :P. mom often complains of sore nipples and may develop mastitis.

short frenula (aka tt) do run in families, by the way.

some babies have no problems bf due to the tt, and some resolve with no intervention over time. however, if mother percieves a problem and the diagnosis of tt is validated (sounds like it has been), a frenotomy is a simple procedure that can be done in the doctor's or dentist's office, involving no stitches or anesthesia.

hope this helps. all info is from LLL International's Breastfeeding Answer Book, 2003 edition.

Teague was tongue-tied.
he was nursing fine, but we did have it clipped..it took all of a few seconds & hardly any blood at all... just enough to make a small spot on a piece of gauze.

speech later in life is a concern as well...if he is truly tied, i'd get it snipped.

i want to say the ped we saw did say something about excessive air...or something causing more gas, hiccups, .....possib related to the chocking? i dunno.

goodluck ~

Originally posted by Moonglow
The choking could be just a result of a strong letdown. My kids are not tongue tied, but choked while nursing until they were a few months old. I think my letdown was just too much of a gush. No tt experience here though, so I don't know if it could be related.

this happens when he is not even nursing so i know that isn't it. it is almost like if he gets a reflex to just cough or spit up a little like babies do it is like he can't do it sometimes. and he can't breath for a bit and his eyes are just full of fear and it is scary.