Lip-ties are a medical condition. It’s when there isn’t enough space between your baby’s upper and lower gums. Mamas will have issues nursing their baby. They’re easy to identify and treat.
YES, Lip-ties are a real thing that is a medical condition that occurs when there isn’t enough space between your baby’s upper and lower gums. This lip-tie can limit the movement of the lips to make feeding more difficult.
Will you see issues with Breastfeeding when my child has a lip-tie?
YES, If the babies’ lip can not move up enough the mother will see that the baby is not getting a good enough latch. Therefore, YES you will start to see some feeding issues.
- Poor latch
- Popping off the breast frequently
- Noticeable clicking noise while nursing
- Burping more frequently
- Colic
- Not getting enough milk and feeding often
- Slow weight gain, lack of weight gain, 1% on the weight chart
How can a lip-tie affect my child?
There are many different ways a lip-tie can affect your baby and even children when it goes unnoticed.
- Speech Problems
- Sleep Apnea
- Problems eating
- Gap in their two front teeth
- Gum recession
- Tooth decay on the front teeth
Who can treat a lip-tie?
A dental office who specializes in tongue and lip-ties or an ENT. The procedure can be done in their office called a frenectomy. The procedure will be done with either a laser or surgically. This is a fast, 90-second procedure by laser that releases the tension. WebMD shows a great article on Lip-ties.
What is the best way to feed my baby?
Mama, you can still breastfeed your baby! If you or your pediatrician is concerned about weight, here are a few suggestions. After you breastfeed, give a bottle of pumped milk. You can give formula from a store. You can do both if you are stressed and not producing enough milk. Any of these solutions work until the lip-tie is revised, and you can go back to exclusively breastfeeding if that is your choice. Remember to pump each time that baby eats if using formula to make sure to keep up your milk supply.
If you want to only breastfeed, here are a few tips. Pump a little first to make sure your breasts are not hard and the baby is able to get a better latch. Try different positioning techniques for the baby to get closer to your breast.
This is my child! Now what?
A lip-tie can make your nursing journey challenging at first. You might have just checked a lot of boxes off from my freebie saying that is my baby. A lip-tie isn’t hard to identify and is simple to treat with the help of your pediatrician, a dentist, and myself, a lactation consultant and speech therapist.
Remember, your breastfeeding journey is not supposed to have you in pain and crying everyday. Schedule an appointment with me, to help you on your road to exclusively breastfeeding your baby pain free.
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