Tucker's Tongue Tie Tongue Twister

Tucker was born severely tongue tied, it was the first thing the nurse said while assessing him at birth. At 2 1/2 weeks of age I took him to see a pediatric ENT who confirmed the tie and clipped his frenulum. Tucker did have better suction with his pacifier, but we still struggled with breastfeeding. He would also collapse bottle nipples of all flow speeds and varieties. He also always been a drooly baby, but that is hardly an indication of anything as he is a baby and drooling is normal.

In the last 6-8 months I have seen the limits of Tucker's tongue. He is unable to stick out his tongue to any degree, in fact I have never seen his tongue come past his bottom teeth. He tries to imitate me sticking out my tongue, but all he can do is curl the sides of his tongue. He has no elevation in the front or center. When he cries his tongue becomes rippled and again does not rise in the least. His tongue is not capable of reaching the roof of his mouth which will affect his ability to make the l, r, t, d, n, th, sh, and z correctly.

I called and scheduled a consultation with the pediatric ENT who clipped his original tie. My current suspicion is that he was born with both an anterior (front) and a posterior (back) tongue tied. The anterior tongue tie is easily seen and diagnosed whereas the posterior is harder to diagnose. If Tucker does indeed have a posterior tongue tie it is corrected by laser surgery, usually outpatient provided there are no complications. Then after a few days of recovery, some tongue stretching exercises, and possible speech therapy he should have all the lingual movements of a "normal" child.

I am not opposed to more conservative treatment such as speech therapy without surgery, but I do want an answer as I am certain something isn't correct where his tongue is concerned. I have waited, watched, and compared his tongue to other children for a year and he is definitely restricted. I think I am doing the right thing in having another consultation. I want to give him the best chance available in all aspects of life.

His appointment is Monday July 8th at 2pm. I could have been seen sooner, but my Mama will be here during that time and I will certainly need and want her support especially if Tucker does require surgery. She supported me during Tucker's first tongue clipping. Tucker slept through it and I cried, go figure.

Accidental Potty Training...Success!

Tucker has recently started to walk and is pretty steady on his feet. I decided I would buy a potty chair and get him accustomed to it, even if that just meant sitting him on it during diaper changes and before his bath. That is exactly what I did and low and behold he has taken to the idea like wildfire. The first day he peed right after his nap, the second day he peed 3 times and pooped twice, today he has peed and pooped twice each. He isn't alerting me with words that he needs to go because he isn't talking yet, but he is showing me physical signs. He is wearing big boy underwear (not even trainers) during the day when we are home.



I have no great expectations for Tucker. We are taking it day by day. He will happily sit on the potty for a few minutes at a time; if he goes potty we cheer, if not no big deal. I have read all the studies about how training too early can be detrimental or make the process last longer, that may be true...I don't know. What I do know is that aside from his nighttime diaper I have nothing in his diaper bin. So if nothing else, I am saving myself from dirty diapers. Tucker is showing no signs of stress or resistance, so assuming everything continues in a positive manner we will keep potty training.


My mama had me trained before I could talk using much the same method I am using now. I know it can be done and she has been great with supportive words and tips. Nick is completely on board with the process. He will sit on the floor with Tucker reading him stories and handing him toys to play with. Here is to our continued success!