OK - I've been following the posts about tongue tie closely - very
interesting!  After reading the post by Kathy, I wanted to offer my personal
experience to offer a possible support to her idea of TT being an adaptation
to large tonsils.

My 2nd oldest son was born, and latched initially very well.  While we had
no specific problems, I did notice his latch was much more aggressive than
that of my first son.  I had some discomfort, but nothing that I sought help
for - we nursed for 2 years.  Along the way, I did have more blocked ducts
and 2 cases of mastitis (none with my first son).  Once he had begun
talking, we noticed speech problems with his "L" and "R" sounds-they sounded
more like "W" (and of course, his preschool friends were named Luke and
Larissa).  Everyone thought his speech was cute, and that difficulty with
those sounds were normal for some.  We had started to notice that he had
apnea spells while he slept, along with big time snoring, and consulted our
ENT.  He had his tonsils removed while in Kindergarten, and the ENT
commented that his tonsils were even bigger than he initially thought - very
large.  Then a year or two later, at the dentist, the hygenist said he had a
tongue tie.  We looked, and while it certainly was not a serious tie, it was
visible to us.  We took him to our ENT and an oral surgeon, both of whom
said it was not anything to require clipping.  At this point, his speech is
ok - still has that slight sounding issue, but is doing very well in school
- no problems at all.  Something else, though that I have noticed, is he
still has and did have very sensitive gag reflex - was my biggest spit upper
of all 4 my children.  Is this all part of the possible relationship between
the TT and tonsils?

There is no known family history, but not sure that means anything
conclusively.  Mild cases I'm sure exist (like my son) that never drew extra
attention.  While it was not enough to warrant any extra care, I do find the
link to all of the issues interesting - and wonder if they can help us to
understand the connection to why it might happen - environmental, genetic,
or protective force as Kathy suggested?  Combination?  But if there is
nothing "wrong" with breastfeeding, I believe no intervention is necessary.
 If, however, it can prevent cases as one of the posts mentioned about the
infant who was sent home on a referral to an ENT with a known potential
feeding problem - and having it lead to problems  - being pro-active and
giving mom a heads up can save a breastfeeding relationship.

Jessica Elston,CLS
WIC BFPC

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