Using your “mom gut” Guest patient Heather: being the mom of a tongue tied micro premie.

Heather is a seasoned mom, she is mother to 6 children, all of which have been tongue tied. She never knew the first 3 were tied until they were much older. Today we focus on her 5th baby born at 26 weeks, less than 2 pounds, surviving twin, soo small he was considered a micro premie! There are obviously many challenges and needs for such a small baby and many feeding issues that come with that. He needed extensive therapies with SLP, occupational therapy, IBCLC, feeding therapy, etc. She suspected he was tongue tied because she had recently learned her previous 4 children were tied, but was told over and over and over it was just a premie problem. Her baby was on a feeding tube and couldn’t get enough breastmilk to sustain him, there was a very real risk with his situation he could get oral aversions and be on a feeding tube for life. A baby in a similar situation to her son ended up on a feeding tube even to this day! She tells her very real and raw story about having to pick herself up, know her “mom gut” knew better, and found people who were trained in ties to assess and treat her baby. She contacted our favorite IBCLC Jacqueline Kincer at Holistic Lactation and found a pediatric dentist with a CO2 laser to release the tongue tie. Her weighted feeds went up, baby gained weight now he could efficiently swallow, and he started to thrive and gain weight! Got off the feeding tube! He is healthy 3 year old! We also asked about her experience with the kids she didn’t know had ties at birth and what it was like comparing her kids that were released. She had extremely painful breastfeeding and mastitis with all the babies, but her 4th was too much to bear and she discovered her baby was tongue tied. That’s what started her journey to airway health and myofunctional therapy for the kids. When her 6th baby was born she knew what to do right away! Her older children all have small narrow mouths, crowding, tendency to mouth breathe, and will be doing some orthotropic expansion. Thank you for telling your story Heather, advocating for your kids, and taking responsibility for their development!