Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Tongue-tied

So much has happened since my last post. The pediatrician and I discovered that Christina's problem is the tongue-tie. Luckily, now that we have figured that out, she has started to really catch up on her weight gain.

We no longer use the tube and syringe. I started using a bottle to supplement the nursing and that seems to be working. You can tell that Christina still has a tough time with the sucking, but it is still much easier than nursing.

Ultimately, the doctor says we need to have her tongue-tie corrected. Apparently it is an extremely simple procedure. At this young of an age, it is just one snip of the skin that is holding the tongue down. Since the skin thickens over time, in a baby as young as Christina, it probably won't even bleed. There is virtually no pain and no healing process.

Since tongue-tied children can also have speech problems, correcting it now only makes sense. Plus, even the bottle isn't so easy for CC. Once she has this procedure, she will be able to nurse and take a bottle with ease.

The problem comes into play when several oral surgeons told me that they won't do it on a baby this young. It's pretty ridiculous, given the simplicity of the procedure. I think that here in NJ, doctors are so afraid of being sued over the smallest thing, that they would rather turn away patients, then help them when they really need it.

I had a consultation with an oral surgeon who told me before scheduling the appointment, that he would do it on a (then) four week old. But when I met with him, he changed his tune.

Christina was practically hysterical because she was starving. I had nursed her earlier and I gave her a bottle at the office. But when the oral surgeon came in, the bottle was running low and CC was having a lot of trouble sucking the milk out.

The heartless surgeon that he is, saw CC struggling for food, and still said he would not do the procedure until she was six months old. So apparently, he couldn't care less about my infant starving to death.

His excuse was that she would move around too much. But, hello??, a six month old moves too. So what the hell?

Between the doctor's obvious cold heart and complete unwillingness to help, combined with the fact that CC was having a melt down, I found it hard to contain my tears.

Christina and I both cried the whole way home.

Since then though, she has been doing much better with the bottle and at her last appointment her weight gain was amazing. She is now seven pounds, fifteen ounces.

Now our game plan includes trying another surgeon. If that doesn't work out, we will just skip the procedure and keep a close eye on the little girl. I am so thankful that she is catching on to the bottle, and that she is still nursing.

I'm having trouble pumping enough to give her in a bottle, so I have had to supplement with formula. But if that is the only way to keep her healthy, then I've got to do it. I am working on building my milk supply though, and I hope to use as little formula as possible.

Other than the crazy feeding issue, Christina and I are doing fabulous. Now that she has a full tummy after nursing and a bottle, she is sleeping so much better. I'm enjoying everyday I spend with her and love watching her personality come out. More updates and pictures to come soon.

1 comment:

  1. Poor CC has had a tough time. I went to see her yesterday and she was somewhat better. I fed her and held her. She looked at me with her big beautiful eyes and was so serious. Like who are you and why am I not feeling quite right? God I love you CC. She did fall asleep when I put her in her swing. Wish I could hold her every day!
    Grandma.

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