Feeling lame

Lots happening since last we spoke.

Lauren and I are having great difficulty with breastfeeding. She has ankyloglossia, also known as "tongue-tie". It's where the little string of skin under the tongue (frenulum) isn't long enough, so she cannot fully extend her tongue without discomfort. The result? She doesn't latch properly and ends up chewing the hell out of my nipples. It's magnificent pain for me. Crying pain. Massive, crying pain. So much so, that I do not feel the bonding that typically is associated with breastfeeding. We bond in other ways, just not that. I hate it, and I can only imagine she feels it.

So we saw a lactation consultant today, who concurred that the problem was the tongue issue. She recommended clipping the frenulum. Ugh. It makes me woozy. My mother had a clipped frenulum when she was a baby, so no doubt there is my genetic link. Obviously, Mom doesn't remember anything about it, but the consultant told me that it is not a huge pain for the child. Kinda like the heel-stick. Ok, well I was there for the heel-stick, and it hurt her enough to make me cry. And also, I've cut my frenulum before, on ridiculously hard Italian bread, and it hurt like a mofo. So I just can't buy the low-pain theory. It may very well be true, but as an emotionally-worn mother, it's hard to accept. I'm still on the fence.

Today was also her appointment with the pediatric urologist. It was a little bit of a sucker punch. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when they did the ultrasound and bladder catheter/x-ray, but I certainly didn't expect the results.

First, the ultrasound. It was relatively painless. She was perfectly calm through most of it, and at one point she fell asleep. Near the end, she woke up pissed and cried the rest of the ultrasound. It was hunger, mostly. No big deal. I had given myself a breastfeeding break yesterday, relying heavily on pumping what she ate all day, so my nips felt ok. I fed her while we waited on the radiologist to come and perform the cath/xray.

That sucked. Catheters suck. And of course it was uncomfortable for her, so she had a miserable little cry as she intensely sucked on my pinky finger. It broke my heart. Of course, I cried.

Then we went to see Dr. BeeGees to find out the results. (This is where I sigh...)

Right kidney is working great. That's the good news. The bad news is that the left kidney is polycystic. It's barely, if at all, functional. There was no visible activity. His assessment is that most likely, she will lose it. It will either wither away and disappear, swell up and have to be removed surgically, or the very slight possibility that it could deflate and a stent placed (the chances of that are very slim and not really worth thinking about at this point.)

Now we wait. We watch both. We go to a 2nd renal scan in two weeks and we just.. see.

I apologize, Lauren, for passing down to you the crummy body parts. Here's your roll of duct tape. Welcome to the family.

Comments

[Mama Luxe]

Sorry to hear about the pain and the problem. I never had it done but I imagine that any pain is over quickly and will ultimately make life better for both of you!

Sorry also to hear about her difficulties with her kidney. My baby was born with a heart condition so I do understand how upsetting it can be to have to bring them for these painful but necessary procedures.

Best of luck with everything!!!

[Bri]

My little brother had to have his tongue clipped in grade school, he was having trouble speaking correctly because of it. After the surgery, he had a speech therapist for a year. If they are recommending it now, I would advise you to go ahead. It may hurt a little, but she won't remember and you won't have to worry about future problems.

Good luck with everything, sending good thoughts to you and your family!

[B]

I hope this is not construed as assvice. I really just want to share my own experience with this as who who has been through it.

My eldest was tongue-tied. We went for the clip. He cried for like two seconds and then he was ok. I hated doing it but really, he needed it.

He was nursing like a champ in no time.

My goood friend is a pediatric dentist. She claims that the clip of the frenulum probably saved our son years of orthodontic work. I guess tongue tied people have this issue quite often.

Good luck in your decision.

[Alisa]

My Syd had a tongue tie that wasn't diagnosed early on. The docs checked her in the hospital because of our breastfeeding difficulty, but said she didn't have one. I always found it strange that she never stuck her tongue out at me while my friends babies were practically licking their eyeballs like lizards! At around 4 months of age, her tongue stretched out far enough that she was actually able to get some milk from me. Up until then, I had used a silicone nipple shield so that she'd always have something to grab onto. I was actually very succesful with the nipple shield. In the event that you decide not to do the frenulectomy, you might want to try one. If my next child is born with a tongue tie, I think I'd probably do the frenulectomy, personally. It's different when they're so little because the tissue is thinner and not muscular at all, like when they get older. If I had it to do over again, I think I would have had the procedure done. By the time we figured out what the problem was, she finally started latching on. Depending on the severity of the tie, there's a slim chance she might need to get it done later, either way. Hopefully that is not the case though.

[erinberry]

I hope you get some hopeful news at the next renal scan. I know it must break your heart that your baby has this problem, but I hope it makes you feel a little better to know that lots of people live very normal lives with a single kidney. Wishing the best for little Lauren.

[erinberry]

I hope you get some hopeful news at the next renal scan. I know it must break your heart that your baby has this problem, but I hope it makes you feel a little better to know that lots of people live very normal lives with a single kidney. Wishing the best for little Lauren.