Owen went to the doctor for his 6 month check up today. Here are his newest stats:
Weight: 18 lbs. 3 oz. (75th %)
Height: 28 in. (100%)
Head: 18 in. (95th %) He's got a big head!!
The doctor said he is doing great. He did notice a dry spot on his face and gave us some cream for it. Dr. Baliga also told me that he has ankyloglossia aka tongue-tied. This means he has an unusually short, thick lingual frenulum, a membrane connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. He can not move his tongue past his bottom teeth. Come to find out this is why it looks like his tongue is always stuck right there in front....he can't move it!
I've been trying to read up on this afternoon. Evidentally this can be to blame for him not being able to suck on a pacifier as well as being a messy eater. Many children with this have difficulty breast feeding. It is by the grace of God that Owen has been able to breastfeed with very little problems. Maybe that's why he had such difficulty in the beginning...luckily he adapted.
The doctor has now referred us to an ENT on the 16th. They are probably going to have to clip the fraenulum under his tongue so he can have full range of motion. I'm worried that if we don't do something, it could affect his speech later. Anybody out there had this done? Do they put the child under sedation? What is the recovery time? Do they have trouble eating at first because of pain? I would love your insight!
5 comments:
Matt and Katie both had this and Katie had her clipped when she was in highschool. Matt still has his and he can't stick his tounge out. He is really hates it but the surgery at his age is elective so I would def. have it done now. Katie had hers in highschool and it was painful but worth it.
Clay and basically every man on his father's side of the family are tongue tied! I know several of them had it clipped (some more than once) but it grew back together. Clay's is not terrible and neither is his brother's so they didn't have the surgery.
I do have one cousin who had it clipped at birth, and she's done great with it!
I was tongue tied when I was a baby and had it done then. I haven't had a problem. As for the ENT, if you are seeing Dr. Crawford, you're going to like him. Olivia sees him for her ears.
Hey Shannon! :) I actually spent some time in the Peds ENT clinic just this week at UNC. I would be almost certain Owen would need sedation for this since most kids need sedation for just about everything, even simple things like stitches, just because they aren't willing to sit still and it's bothersome! If your ENT tells you know, I'd make sure that you asked about what happens if he can't cooperate. It's always better to know that sedation is coming rather than to find out he needs it during the procedure attempt. If that's concerning to you (and I think it would be for me, too), you can always go to an ENT who is at a facility that does things for kids so that there are pediatric anesthetists. UNC and Duke are definite places for that. I would recommend Dr. Amelia Drake at UNC. She's a fantastic doctor and super nice. I agree that Owen would appreciate having this now versus later since you don't want it to make feeding solids more cumbersome than it can be, and you also want to avoid problems that could occur with speech. Also, he really won't remember it now, but even waiting a year or so may make things a lot harder. Let me know if you have questions :)
Shannon--
this is very common with little ones. I had trouble breastfeeding Katie and the lactation consultant noticed it and referred me to get it done. She was probably less than a week old when it was done and it was super-quick. This guy didn't even use anything like anasthesia, but Katie didn't cry and she barely bled. Obviously, the younger the better. Katie immediately was able to move her tongue aroung and even outside of her mouth. This is something that I would recommend as it is important for feeding and for speech skills. Keep us posted!
Brooke
Post a Comment