A year on...

A year ago I took my 5 month old to a pediatric dentist to see if she had a tongue and lip tie. I remember it clearly because I had decided I was going to give up nursing if I  got told again there was nothing wrong (pediatrician and previous specialist had said there was nothing there) I was having such a tough time. It was summer time and I wanted to be out having fun with my baby. But instead I was stuck at home because I felt guilty if I missed a pumping session. I was pumping to supplement and increase my supply. And honestly I was terrified of nursing in public because my baby cried every time I nursed her. I felt so selfish about quitting but I just didn't think I could do it anymore.  Fortunately this story has a happy ending...the dentist diagnosed and revised the ties and I am so happy to still be nursing my thriving almost 18 month old!   I'm so thankful to the LCs who first found the ties and to the ones who strongly encouraged me to get another opinion. My best advice is trust yourself! I knew there was something wrong and I wish I had pushed harder to get help sooner. My second piece of advice is to remember that with older babies it might be a while before you see the improvements. Fortunately my daughters weight gain increased and fussiness decreased in about 3 weeks but developing a comfortable nursing relationship took a really long time. I had been worried about my supply and feeling like a failure for so long that things didn't start feeling easy and natural for months. Now I love it and nursing is my special time to cuddle my busy toddler! I wish good luck to everyone who is thinking about having a consultation or doing the revision and to those who have just had it done! In our case it really made a tremendous difference!

~Sara Gagliano