About 10 months ago, my husband and I were getting ready to welcome our new baby to the world. I remember finishing up my last few days at work before my maternity leave. They were filled with struggling to tie my shoes, fatigue, excitement, and enjoying our lives just being the two of us. We never really thought that adding that one little, sweet, adorable, delicious-smelling baby could effect our lives in so many ways.
As soon as Grayce was born we were all aflutter, with hormones making the lack of sleep not so bad. However, we had no idea that Grayce would suffer from a tongue tie, and all those sleepless hours trying to breastfeed would prove pointless as her little tongue was unable to get her any food.
We watched her in the weeks to follow go from a normal newborn to not waking at night to eat, to barely moving, to us having to undress her and massage her to wake enough to eat. It was horrible. To know that you brought this being into the world so healthy and not know why she was losing weight and wasn’t gaining normally as the doctor would say and to have this feeling in the pit of your stomach saying “Get other help, something is wrong. Should I put her on formula and not breast feed?”
To feel guilty for making a decision for your baby’s health and go against the norm and the advice of doctors was even harder.
About six weeks after she was born we finally got advice to go to a lactation consultant. She had me nurse her and weigh her. The change was in the 100th of a ounce. She took her and swiped around her mouth to find that she had, what doctors don’t even look for at birth, a tongue tie.
A week later we were in the Children’s Hospital to get it “snipped.” Yes, it was hard to watch her wiggle and strain against the doctor, but when the cut came she didn’t even cry–I did. She was able to eat an entire bottle immediately after the procedure and from then on has been packing it in.
I can’t help but thank that consultant every day for seeing what every doctor we saw couldn’t and for potentially saving my beautiful daughter’s life. I learned early on to trust my gut, seek help and celebrate the successful endings. Now onto happier things: Months later we are learning to crawl!
Megan Lemery is a 30-year-old mama to one. She’s learning how to manage a life full of happiness, firsts and full schedules while finding her truest self through the light and love of her life.
Author: Mile High Mamas
Jessica James
What a blessing!
Jennifer
My son is 5 and I am thankful to this day for the support that my wonderful lactation consultant provided. She is an angel.
Kelly
I am so sorry that you and your daughter went through this. I don’t know where you gave birth, or who your doctor was, but the staff at St. Joe’s saw that our daughter was tongue-tied right away, and had scheduled an appt. for her to have it snipped when she was just 4 days old. This seems like a gross oversight on the part of your doctors.