Frenotomy...

I think that was what it was called...On the 9Th of this month Riley went to an outpatient Surgery Center to have this surgical procedure done. Let's start at the beginning...this is a blog isn't it?! I can't make it too short, ha. When she was about 6 weeks old i noticed that when she stuck her tongue out it kind of forked and pulled, resembled a snake tongue a little bit...and i thought huh, that's weird. So i asked a few mom's at a play group i used to go to and they said "oh, she is probably tongue tied" and i was like what the heck is that?! Well, i learned that sometimes that thing under your tongue that kind of connects it to the bottom of your mouth can connect to far forward toward the tip of one's tongue, which is exactly what happend with Riley. So i took her to her pediatrician and she said that it looked really mild and she'd rather wait til she is older and if it's causing a problem then we can go ahead with speech therapy and if that isn't helping then they can "clip" it or "cut" it or what have you. And, being a young, first time mom, i talked to josh and we were like hm okay. We also learned that if you notice this right when the baby is born, they dr will just come in that day or the next and just cut it right then and there, no hassle, etc. Most dr's don't even get an anesthetic...Well, a few weeks later josh and were still not sure how we felt about just leaving her tongue, we did like the idea of not having to put Riley in pain but it just didn't sit well with us to wait on it, so when riley got a little cold and i had to take her back to the dr's, her peditrician was out and we saw the dr in the office that was the one who actually does the tongue cutting stuff...so i asked him his opinion (by now riley was like 6months old) he also agreed that it was very mild and he looked at me, kind of pained like and said "i would of done this if she was more of an infant, i just hate to do it now. I hope you don't mind my decision to not do it" -how does one respond to that? so i said. Ok. Well, still not feeling satisfied months later, i sat down one day and said all the letters in the alphabet then i said all the sounds, holding the tip of my tongue down, just like riley would have to do and i realized that the sounds and letters that were the hardest were "R", "L" and "SH" sound...RILEY FISHER...would be more like Wilyey Fisa. sad! i told josh and he agreed, this needed to be dealt with. I talked to her pediatrician and demanded a referal to the ENT. LOVED HIM! He said, "i agree it's mild, noone knows if she will have problems with it or grow out of it. Regardless, i don't argue with parents, if they want it done i do it!" i was soo thrilled. I almost got him to do it right then in the office, but since she has teeth he said they need to put her under general anesthesia at the outpatient surgery center, and to top it off he still gives a little numbing shot under her tongue, "i like to feel like i'm doing something to help the pain" he said. So she went from...This poor little "snake" baby who could only stick her tongue down toward her chin a little ways, as it pulled and forked, and couldn't lift it up in her mouth toward the roof or from side to side...to a happy little kid who is moving in a new direction every day! I smiled so big today when i gave her a beater to lick cake batter off of and she could actually get her tongue far out of her mouth! what joy :)

The surgery went well, the nurses were so awesome, they had a toy room and everything. The saddest part was when Josh and I got her from recovery and she wanted her pacifer but she kept spitting it out because, well we think because, her tongue was numb, so it felt weird and she was crying. I don't think she felt any pain, i gave her a few doses of baby tylenol that day just in case. She came home and played and was a little drowsy, after a waffle and some fruit, i looked over from doing the dishes and this is how i found her! Too cute