Hellobee

When I last posted about Little Bug’s posterior tongue tie, we were preparing for him to have the laser procedure. Well, we went last Friday and had it done and I cannot even begin to tell you how much of a difference we have seen.

We arrived early at the clinic and let LeLe run around in the parking lot for about 15 minutes to burn off some of her energy after the long car ride. In that time, Little Bug had the most massive blow out I have ever experienced and that was actually so hilarious and off the wall that it calmed me down, which was awesome. We went inside just before 8:45 am and got into our exam room at 9:00 on the dot. The ENT specialist was incredible. Very reassuring and calm and he explained every little nuance of what a posterior tongue tie is like and how the procedure and aftermath would go. I was beyond nervous on the day of and it was really nice to have him be so straightforward and just plain nice at the same time. He examined Little Bug’s tongue and concluded that there was a relatively severe tie and that it would definitely benefit him to have the procedure done. I was actually kind of relieved to hear this because I was pretty worried that we would get there and be told that Little Bug was fine and have no plan to go forward from there.

The actual procedure took less than a minute and Little Bug was gone from the room for 3 minutes total. The doctor walked him to and from the laser room and when he came back, Little Bug was pretty pissed off, but not crying. He did start crying as soon as I held him, but that was only for a few minutes and then he was done. I nursed him and the change was immediately evident. He took a bit to actually get into nursing because he was still kind of upset. Once he got a good latch he fed for four minutes straight, which was about three minutes longer than he ever had. He didn’t pull off in frustration and I couldn’t hear him sucking in air like I had before. It was completely different. Up until that point, I had not cried yet and I lost it and started bawling. Mr. Cereal thought I had lost my mind, but I couldn’t properly express to him how relieved I felt that this was an actual solution to all the mess we had been dealing with. I could actually feed my baby and that was the biggest relief ever.

It’s been almost a week and the change is absolutely remarkable. He is a totally different baby and I am starting to relax a little more. We have to do stretches 6 times a day and those are a little rough. He hates them and I think at times they still hurt him. Plus, he is crazy strong so getting him to let us pry his tongue off the bottom of his mouth is a bit of a struggle. But he has already gained a little over a pound and his smiles never stop. The doctor estimated that his reflux would probably dissipate over the next three or four weeks, and we should be able to wean him off of the zantac soon.

Little Bug’s diamond wound from the laser procedure.  I couldn’t get a before photo that wasn’t blurry because Little Bug is so strong.

I am beside myself with happiness and I am looking forward to the next few months to see how everything goes. The absolute best part about this is that Mr. Cereal and Little Bug have really bonded because he isn’t so upset all the time. They are having a bit of time every night where they sit and make faces at each other, and just in general mess around. Little Bug has also been much more receptive to being in the bouncer and the swing, whereas before he just wanted to be held all the time.

I really hope that this was the solution to all Little Bug’s problems. And I hope that we can continue to make progress with him. I am actually enjoying breastfeeding with him now, and I never thought that would happen. We are incredibly lucky to have had this doctor so close to us and to have been able to get in so quickly and get this taken care of.