The article highlights the best ways of diagnosing if your baby suffers from lip and tongue as it is a common thing in toddlers. Our guide will get you sorted perfectly on what to do. Unfortunately, the symptoms for lip ad tongue-tie for toddlers often misdiagnosed as colic, reflux, and failure to thrive. Because many of the pedestrians don’t know how to properly do it.
More ways to have the best care for your baby
This post on the guide on this condition in toddlers will definitely help very many moms out there
How Do I Diagnose Lip And Tongue Tie In My Baby Correctly?
The condition is best diagnosed early enough in any toddler who suffers the same you know that the condition is not about structure but function. Moms are the best people to diagnose the condition of their babies.
Instincts play a huge role in parenting, and if yours tell you that your baby suffers from this condition, see a doctor.
What Are The Symptoms Of Lip And Tongue Tie In Toddlers?
Focus on the symptoms is the first step to do this correctly.
Don’t look at the tongue or the baby’s lip, because these may be shaped by the mother’s breast, which come in different sizes and shapes, and the baby’s mouth.
Instead, look for the following;
- Creased or flat nipples immediately you breastfed them.
- Cracked, blistered, or bleeding nipples.
- Discomfort as you breastfeed them.
- Having plugged ducts.
- Suffering from thrush or mastitis bouts.
- Baby may not sleep well because they are not feeding well leading to sleep deprivation.
- Difficulties for the baby to latch on to the breasts and once they do they tend to fall off easily.
- A tendency by the baby to chew or gum on the nipple as they suckle.
- Inability to hold a paci or bottle.
- Gassy stomachs since they swallow a lot of air if they suffer from ties because they can’t maintain a proper suction.
- Poor weight gain since birth.
- Excessive drooling.
- Baby cannot fully drain breast.
- Choking on milk or popping off to gasp for air while suckling.
- As they suckle, they may fall asleep and then wake a little while to continue nursing.
- Prolonged nursing sessions–also known as marathon nursing sessions.
- Clicking noises when breastfeeding.
- Popping on of the breast becomes more pronounced.
- Biting because of lack of a proper grasp of the nipple as such try to use their teeth to achieve the same.
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More Signs To Look For
- The baby has a gap between the teeth and jaw issues too.
- Milk stimulation becomes an issue for the babies which may cause low milk supply by their moms.
- Early weaning or painful nursing because the baby becomes frustrated by breastfeeding.
- Improper tongue mobility by the babies that prevent babies from clearing milk from their mouth, it causes tooth decay to them, especially the front teeth.
- Colic.
- Reflux.
- Moms may not sleep well due to the need to breastfeed babies several times through the night.
If many of the above-mentioned signs are present, you should move to step two which is to examine the baby.
Mistakes Pediatricians And Lactation Consultants Make
When diagnosing the condition the common mistake by the two health care staff is in how they position the baby for lip and tongue examination. You should always place the baby on the examiner’s lap and the baby’s head facing them.
What To Look For?
Look at the lip callus, also known as a maxillary tie or lip tie. Lift the lip up, see the band of tissue that connects the lip to the gum area. If the frenulum a.k.a the band of tissue is tight, a lip tie is evident.
Complications associated with this include;
- Restricted function which causes discomfort while breastfeeding.
- Gassiness, reflux, or colic because of the improper seal that leads to the baby swallowing excess air.
- Tooth decay in the baby because they can’t clear their mouth properly which causes pockets of milk to collect near the upper lip.
Subsequently check the baby’s sucking pattern, followed by confirming your diagnosis and look for the treatment methods available.
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