8/10/2006

All tied up

Yesterday we went to an ear, nose and throat specialist, otherwise known as an otolaryngologist(I cut and paste with the best of them), to get Drew's tongue clipped. Well, technically not his tongue. His lingual frenulum, the tissue under the tongue which functions as a stabilizer. Anyone who has read Jill's blog recently might remember her own tongue-tied tale. (Jill you must update us on treatment and progress. I insist!)

Well, you'd think I might have picked up on this earlier. I've heard numerous stories from both friends and strangers about this simple little problem which is easily remedied. As much as it troubles me to do so, I must give my husband the credit. Ok, it's not really troubling but he does have a way of pointing out strange irregularities and fixating on them so that when Drew was only days old and he pointed out his odd looking tongue I readily dismissed it.

Again, in my own constant defense, it really isn't all that odd looking and in fact, looks the same now that it's fixed. I did monitor it some but really didn't worry after I saw him stick out his tongue when he was only a few weeks old.

In recent weeks though, with breastfeeding becoming more and more of an ordeal and Drew's weight staying low, I gave it some more thought and began to notice that he was unable to stick his tongue out beyond his lower gum line. It all made sense and so I took him in to my doctor where she confirmed that yes, indeed he did have a slightly shortened or tight frenulum. Why don't doctors automatically check for this? Grrrrrrrrrrr....

So....yesterday. I was presented with the distinct pleasure of dragging both Ethan and Drew to this specialist for the procedure. The worst part was waiting in the crowded waiting area for over an hour (although Drew may disagree). We then went in to meet and be questioned by an ancient sage with cruel looking instruments at his disposal. Actually the doctor was quite good although he did ask that I leave the room for the procedure which I thought was a little old school (the hysterical mother who faints at the sight of blood or suffering). Ethan and I were dismissed back to the waiting room where, before long, we heard Drew's screams.

Poor thing...he seemed to recover quickly though. Time will tell if it makes much of a difference. I dearly do hope.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Trevors dr. said the same thing about Trevors tongue. She said I could get it clipped or wait and see if he has nay problems with it. We opted for waiting just because with everything else he was going through at the time with his blood and everything. He doesn't seem to have any problems nursing so I think I will wait. Let me know how everything works out.

KW said...

Poor Drew! And poor you, and all of course...
what a story...

JJ said...

So glad you selected an appropriate name for your post.

Hopefully Kei...I mean YOU're on to something. =)

May his frenulum heal swiftly.

Jill said...

Poor Drew, and poor you! I hope it really helps in the nursing department. Jed just got his tongue checked yesterday so I'll update my blog and let you know what the doctor said.

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