Hi All,

In response to Cathy's questions:

 

Baby does have excessive tongue movement - but it is getting better.  There
is no tongue tie.  Baby does not have torticollis.  He will nurse in any
position but some days prefers to lie on his right side only - other days he
is fine.  His jaw was opening asymmetrically - but we have done a lot of
work with this little guy (Bowen Therapy) and it is MUCH improved - almost
100%.  I know that there are still some body issues happening with him -
mostly in the neck area now.  There is no broken clavicle.  We have worked
on a the deeper latch and baby pushes away and adjusts the latch to be a bit
more shallow that it should be - but again - even that is getting better.

 

This little guy has made such huge improvements it is amazing.  He is 7 wks
old - when I saw them first 6 wks ago he couldn't get milk well at all -
completely disorganized, causing mom terrible pain - surviving on let-down
(weight gain fine but taking 90+ minutes to get barely 2 ounces) - always
fussy, unhappy, very agitated, tight and obviously not happy.  Now, he is
much more relaxed, happier, making eye contact (finally), and not agitated
the vast majority of the time.  He got 3.7 ounces from mom in about 30
minutes on my couch.  :-)

 

The biggest issue we are having right now is the lip movement - there is a
lot of it.  I am certain he is using it to assist in the compression of the
breast.  I am confident that with a couple more sessions of the Bowen (I did
one when they were here the other night and we watched as the 'popping' of
his jaw ceased entirely...) that all will be well with the body and that
will transfer over to the tongue abilities as well.  If you had seen his
tongue abilities 6 wks ago as compared to now you wouldn't think it was the
same tongue!  

 

So my main question was/is - are there any specific therapies that can help
with the lip movement or no?  If baby is simply compensating then fine - I
am sure in this particular case it will eventually work itself out as we
correct the rest of his body issues.  Oh, and this does not happen with
every feeding.  Some feeds look and feel "Normal" - others have the
excessive lip movement and mom can feel the tongue not doing what it should
be.it is hit and miss.When baby is exhibiting this 'funky' behavior (as mom
calls it) she switches to a nipple shield and it settles right down.  

 

Warmly,

Jaye

 

 

 

Jaye,

Look at the tongue, excessive lip movement is often compensatory for reduced
tongue mobility, usually due to tongue tie. Also, does this baby have
torticollis? Look for a cupped ear, a head that likes to stay turned to one
side, and if baby is still very young an asymmetrical jaw opening (the
mandible will look tilted). Ginny Wall and Robin Glass have an awesome
article in JHL this month putting that all together. 

Torticollis is one reason a baby won't want to be in a typical bf
position...

Getting a deeper latch can help as well, by increasing tongue contact with
the breast. One way to do this is to start the baby less close to the nipple
(slide entire baby a tiny bit toward the opposite breast).

Could the babe have a broken clavicle as well?

 

 

Jaye Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

Breastfeeding Network

Sacramento, CA

www.breastfeedingnetwork.net

 


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