Tongue Tied

Dear Elise,
I think I really became a mama on day 2. It was Saturday afternoon and Alabama was playing Penn State. MeMe and Papa had brought us lunch in the hospital and we were cheering on our favorite team. It came time for you to eat so they left the room for me to breastfeed. You ate and ate and ate...and still were hungry. I just knew something wasn't right. And your dad was not much help, poor thing. He just wanted to watch the game. But you ate and ate some more. I had the nurse come in and check you twice and they said everything was fine. But I wasn't convinced. Three hours later a nurse rounded and you were still hungry. She looked at your precious little mouth and said "Oh, she's tongue tied. She can't suck." Well I just immediately busted into tears. I lost it; blubbering, sobbing, pathetic idiot. She said that you basically hadn't been eating anything for 30 hours. So I was starving you, and had no idea. Your poor dad. He tried to hold it together to listen to the nurse. I don't know if he wanted to laugh at me or cry because he realized we had no idea what we were doing. Needless to say, we gave you a bottle and you calmed right down. It's amazing how babies quit crying when their bellies are full.


After you finally ate, we had a good day. Your daddy and I were tired, but Alabama won so it was a good day! But those hormones are no joke! I would be laughing one minute and crying the next. It is absolutely ridiculous! I cried when we sent you to the nursery for the night. I told your dad that I must be a horrible mother to send her starving child away. He just laughed at me and held my hand until I went to sleep. He's a good man.




Trust your gut, little one. I knew something wasn't right and kept asking for help until we discovered the problem. Don't be afraid to ask for help. We all need help every now and then. And when all else fails, laugh. It truly is the best medicine.