Revision Revisited

Remember about this time last year when I blogged about getting Adam’s lip-tie revised? Well it turns out that kind of thing is hereditary and Owen ended up with a matching one of his very own.
Since Adam’s tie caused so many problems, Mike and I decided to get Owen’s procedure done as soon as possible. So off to Charlotte we went as soon as symptoms started to show themselves.
The procedure itself is not fun but it’s not too bad either. The dentist specializes in using a laser to burn off and cauterize the skin that’s attaching the lip to the gums. Turns out that Owen was fairly tongue tied as well so we got that revised too. Both procedures take about 15 seconds each. Easy peasy.
I had a much harder time with this appointment than I did with Adam’s. I cried as soon as Owen started crying and it took longer for me to recover than it did him. Postpartum hormones are an absolute beast and it took me the rest of the day to really come back down to earth. It didn’t help that our poor baby had just gotten skin lasered out of his mouth and was in considerable pain once the numbing stuff wore off.

So now we’ve entered into aftercare mode, which is worse than the procedure. For three weeks we have to stretch out his lip and tongue where the ties used to be three times a day So that it doesn’t grow back into itself. I imagine it’s a very painful process and Owen screams bloody murder while I’m doing it, but again recovers quickly after I pick him up.

All of this would never be worth it except that it’s totally helped! Before Owen couldnt stay latched onto me, so he’d end up taking in a huge amount of air. All of that got trapped in his gut and he couldn’t get it out. Cue the ear-shattering screams when he couldn’t take it anymore. In the evening it was the worst and he’d cry for hours. We’ve actually had an evening or two of minimal crying and calmness after Adam goes to bed. It’s incredible and I hope it only gets better as Owen heals. Do I want to (and sometimes do) cry every time I have to work on his mouth? Yes. Would I do it again to help him eat and feel better in the long term? Sure would.