Hi, I suppose I should introduce myself.  My name is Connie Chiavario, I'm
the ACL of  Illinois and have been a Leader for about ten years.  I've just
signed on to LACTNET and have been reading with great interest all the posts
on tongue-tied infants.  I'm not an IBCLC, nor is that an interest of mine at
the moment.  However, I had a recent experience of helping a mother with a
tongue-tied infant.  I received a call from a mother who was experiencing
extremely sore nipples the first day post-partum.  This mother had a home
birth and no problems.  I stopped by and gave her some samples of lansinoh,
covered basic positioning and gave her LLL information about how often to
nurse, positioning your baby at the breast, etc.  The next day, she again
called to say that she was "trying everything" and yet had no relief from the
sore nipples.  I then questioned her about the possibility of thrush.  This
didn't seem to be the problem.  We went through everything,  and finally came
to the conclusion that the baby was not using his tongue properly.  He seemed
to start out okay, and then would slide down on the nipple.  (All of this by
phone.)  I then went through the exercises of "walking the tongue back" and
coached the mother through this. (About the 3rd day)  It seemed to be getting
a little better at this point.  We also talked about her being careful to not
become too full so that the baby wouldn't have a hard time latching on. Then,
 I didn't hear from her for a couple of days.  (Even though I did try to call
her and follow up.)  She finally called me back on a Sunday afternoon and
started questioning me about how often a "normal" newborn should nurse.  It
seems that she was literally nursing this baby non-stop.  (In other words,
this mother was NOT exaggerating.)  To further her confusion, she was reading
some book by the Ezzos.  (Not prep for parenting,etc.)  It was something
given to her by someone in her church that was touted as "the way to
parent/breastfeed, etc".  She wanted to know when her baby was going to be
falling into the schedule that was proposed in the book she was reading.  (I
think she was wondering if I really KNEW what I was talking about as far as
breastfeeding.)  Anyway, to make a long story short, she was still
experiencing extremely sore nipples, and her baby was not sleeping at all
between feedings.  Luckily, this mom was determined to breastfeed, and kept
at it despite the pain and soreness she was experiencing.  From what she was
describing to me, it seemed that something wasn't quite right.  So, I asked
if I could come over and see her and the baby and observe her nursing.  The
mom agreed and I spent time watching them and talking to them.  Sure enough,
he did slide down every time he was at the breast.  I then asked the mother's
permission to hold her baby and look in his mouth.  When he opened his mouth,
his tongue looked heart-shaped.  Further investigation showed he couldn't
bring his tongue forward beyond his gums.  When I showed the mother and
explained to her what was happening, she was totally relieved.  She then
wanted to know where she could go to have the baby's tongue clipped.  I told
her I wasn't allowed to discuss doctors, but to call and see where she might
go.  (The doctor that delivered her baby, moved out of the area to another
state.)  She then proceeded to call doctors in our local area and was told
flat out on the phone that tongue-clipping isn't done any more.  (I then told
her to call Homefirst, and that if she told them an LLL Leader saw this baby,
then they would listen.)  She did call, got in the next day, one of the
doctors confirmed what I saw, and clipped it right then and there was no
blood, no pain, and breastfeeding proceeded normally after that.  This is
about 9 months later and this mother tells me all the time about how GRATEFUL
she is that I helped her solve this.  She also concluded that if she had
followed the Ezzos book and advice, that her baby would have been in GRAVE
danger of being one of those dehydrated babies.  (I later shared info with
her that I had obtained.)  I do believe that was quite a possibility in this
case.  Sorry this is so long.  (I recently attended my sister's birth and
afterwards, she experienced extreme soreness and found out that her baby is
"mildly" tongue-tied.)  I gave her some suggestions and it's worked out fine.
 The baby's father is also tongue-tied.  Pretty interesting isn't it?  Thanks
for listening.

Connie Chiavario, LLL Leader, mother to 4 terrific kids!