# baby plants tongue on roof of mouth



## Wugmama (Feb 10, 2005)

My 9 day old is having a terrible time latching. Funny thing is sometimes he latches with no problems. But most of the time it is a horrible struggle for him. My midwife said to keep pulling him off when he is not latched on correctly. Last night this went on for almost 2 hours. Does the kid not deserve to eat because he can't latch?

Has anyone had this specific problem? I've been told to put my finger in his mouth, nail down, then turn my finger nail up to help push his tongue down and "train" him. THis doesn't make a lot of sense to me. His tongue still stays at the back of his mouth and I can't pull it forward with my one finger. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do to help him latch correctly other than keep trying. I switch sides, try standing, try the cradle hold and the side sleeping hold. I can't seem to find a thing that works all the time. I can't find a pattern for our successes.

~Tracy


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## Fiercemama (May 30, 2003)

Is it possible that your DC has a short frenulum? If so, DC can't stretch their tongue quite far enough to latch well. This can be remedied in the doc's office with a quick and painless snip. Really. When DC puts out his tongue, is it sort of heart shaped?

I would recommend getting in to see an LC. If you are having latching problems, mw are not necessarily equipped to help you sort out these problems.


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## Wugmama (Feb 10, 2005)

I did think of that because I read about it in the Dr. Sears breastfeeding book. I don't think that is his problem though. There have been times when he has had the perfect latch.

My midwife has an LC she recommends. I talked to her today and she thought I should wait another day because it does seem like we have made progress. He is gaining weight and having wet diapers. It is just at times it is such a struggle for the poor little guy.

Also, there is a lactation clinic at a local hospital that is open 1 hour every day my mw told me about I can go to.

My first baby was born at 42 weeks and never had this type of problem. I guess things are different with a 37 weeker!

~Tracy


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## willow659 (Feb 26, 2006)

It was suggested to me to do the same tongue exercise, but I 'm not seeing any difference either. I'm constantly relatching dd. too. Do you have an update about what worked?


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## MyBaby'sSmile (Dec 5, 2003)

The same thing happened with my little guy. I found the football hold worked the best for us as I could see best when his tongue was down and could try to latch him on. It took a bit of time but he is a great little nurser now


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## momtoTnT (Dec 15, 2004)

My ds was just like that - one of the nurses in the hospital told us basically to give up because he'd never be able to nurse. Thankfully I didn't follow her advice.

Anyway - I just kept unlatching and re-latching him. It took him a few weeks to figure it out, but once he got it, he got it, and we had no other problems.


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## MarcyC (Jul 4, 2005)

My older daughter did this - she'd even latch on correctly then pull her tongue back and get it up on top of my nipple. It was so aggravating. We ended up using a nipple shield for awhile.


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## wombat (Nov 3, 2002)

Ah yes my first was fullterm and my 2nd was a 36w. There is a big difference in nursing them, those few weeks make a big difference.

You know, if he's gaining and having wet diapers, you both must be doing something right. Maybe just don't worry too much about the tongue. Just keep plodding along. Early newborns get tired quickly and it's hard to get them to try for great latch all the time. 2 hours of hassles doesn't seem worth it IMO. I'd give him a little EBM in a dropper/cup etc to calm him down and then try latching again. A hungry, tired, frustrated baby doesn't learn well and you'll just get frustrated too.

My ds didn't do the tongue thing but it was a rocky start. He was in the NICU though, and wasn't gaining and had to be supplemented a bit. He'd latch great sometimes and terribly other times. It's a learning PROCESS, it's a bit back and forth for a while. Very frustrating when you're in the middle of it though. He was doing fine by 6-7w though.

Good luck, hope it improves quickly for you both.


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## Samjm (Mar 12, 2005)

DD was born at 37 weeks too. Her mouth was just too small to get a good latch. We continued trying to nurse, but I also gave her pumped breastmilk in a syringe to make sure she was getting enough to eat.

After a week or so we were doing OK.


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## crazydiamond (May 31, 2005)

Oh yes, my DD did the same thing! It made breastfeeding impossible for the first few days and no one could get her to stop.

Several LCs gave me the suggestion to stick my finger in her mouth and get her to suck on that properly. . .then quickly pull out finger and stick in boob. Sounds great in theory, but didn't work for us.

Then one awesome incredible nurse (not an LC!) told me to give her a pacifier. I was dead-set against it at first, but was so exhausted I felt I had nothing to lose. So after syringe feeding her on the 3rd night, I gave her the binky for an hour. Then a few hours later, I gave it to her again for a while. And again and again. By the middle of the next day, she successfully latched on to a nipple shield! I kept doing the "pacifier training" (what the nurse called it) for a few days afterwards and then didn't need to do it any more. Just having something between the roof and her tongue for a while gave her the idea that she should keep her tongue lower. We used the nipple shield for a while longer and by the time she was 3-4 weeks old, I got rid of it too!

She's been latching on normally without any further problems since then! I'm so glad I didnt' give up. So I know you may be totally against pacifiers, but I urge you to give it a shot (we used a Gerber NUK). It may just be what your babe needs to get used to sucking on something correctly. And since it's more rigid than the boobie, you can make sure she's sucking on it correctly. And I bet you'll be able to slowly transition off of it! If you _really, really_ don't want to use one, your finger will work just as well. I was just too tired to stay awake with my finger in her mouth for long periods of time. . .but if you don't mind then it's certainly just as good.


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