After a frenectomy... 

Many lactation consultants recommend this method. It was taught to me by myofunctional therapist, Jennifer Tow.

Holding the floor of the mouth below the diamond wound with one finger & with the other finger, push the tongue back. This should help keep the diamond open. Recommended 6x day, before feedings. Start doing stretches when the dentist recommends. 

Remember the wound heals from the floor of the mouth upwards, so we want to keep it open in that nice flat diamond shape! :)

​

Try to do them effectively, and quickly.

"Get in, get out, get it done..."

I know its hard, especially with older children, but try to have a nice ambience environment for the first week or so after babe gets the frenectomy. We want to give that chill vibe to help them regulate their nervous system during this time of change and stress. Think more zen-garden-party & less Wal-Mart ambience. ;)

​

Especially when doing stretches and exercises, but in general, we want to take the lead with calming the environment as much as we can (reasonably). 

These are different than the stretches to keep the diamond wound open. Start these 24 hours after the frenectomy.

You should have the list of specific ones that we discussed to do. Try to do these when baby is happy and in a playful way, letting them know that its safe and okay for parents to have their fingers inside their mouth. If they aren't into it, just wait a bit. Recommended 3-5x day.

These are for helping to strengthen baby's new range of motion and abilities! Taught to me by myofunctional therapist, Jennifer Tow. 

Cranio sacral therapy, baby wearing, skin to skin & rhythmic movements may help your baby's fascia & nervous system to re-center and work more functionally together after a frenectomy. Its can be a piece to the puzzle. Image a fishing net that was bunched up and now got untangled, now we want to smooth it out and help it to re-settle. 

Fixing a tongue tie is a process, not a one time procedure. There are many factors going on. Baby has been sucking incorrectly for many months in utero. It takes time to use their new range of motion. Most of the time, it will not all be magically fixed the moment the frenulum is released. What we want is to synergistically be doing all these things- skin to skin, stretches, exercises & using great positioning, while these changes are unfolding. 

​

If we see small wins, that is good. We expect to see one better feed per day. 

​

You are amazing....this is quite a challenge. To have feeding difficulties, after a BIRTH, with sleep deprivation and all the other challenges right now. YOU ARE AMAZING. Hang in there...