Milk Matters Infant Feeding Solutions

Biggest congrats ever to our lovely admin J who has given birth to the most bootiful, squishiest baby ever! Belly full of colostrum and a satisfied smile ❤️This will get your ovaries tingling!

To promote good jaw development, ensure bottlefed babies are attaching with a wide mouth. Whilst the bottle won’t say ouch with a shallow latch, they’ve become wider necked to encourage normal masseter muscle development - the consequences of poor oral development are wide-reaching. Many lactation consultants now also support bottle-feeding babies so if your baby can’t or won’t take the bottle effectively, it can be worth ruling out problems like tongue tie

What do we think, new clinic in Cheshire? 👍👎👀✂️

Did you know you could continue to bf even if you decide or need to give formula? http://www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/…/ starting-formula-doe…

Lucky ladies again today! Huge ty üòç

Hands up for a 4 day week

Shared by Elizabeth from the US book “tongue tied”

Is there a way for parents to tell if a revision is complete? Frankly often, no there isn’t. This is the biggest problem we currently face - particularly with services used to only treating the visible frenum at the front. Some services actively tell parents they only treat “anterior ties”. This is really akin to saying we treat webbed finger up to the first knuckle, but the ENT has to do it if you want it released to where they meet your hand, so you can have full movement....
You can get a diamond and a wound site, you can see increased movement, you can get improvement in symptoms - but not resolution. The same applies if the very back section of the tie reattaches, which it’s likely to very quickly do if not fully released (but not always).
We can’t even rely on elevation, because more impacts on that than just frenulum - so at times a complete revision will still not elevate...
In my experience, providers who have been trained by a tongue tie specialist service, deliver better outcome than a regular ENT or staff trained by one (but again there are exceptions). Observing thousands you can often feel a complete release (if you’re the person holding the baby) and the treatment looks visibly different provider to provider. This is one reason we choose to work with the provider we do - for an independent service, knowing the treatment was complete is vital, because parents can and do come back for it checking/follow ups etc. If you’ve had a tie treated and still have problems - please contact your provider whether nhs or independent, your Local infant feeding team, breastfeeding counsellor, IBCLC or support group of your provider is not accessible.
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Insufficient revision with always result in some degree of, or full reattachment. It's very difficult for parents to know if a release was complete, but it seems to be a significant problem in many areas - particularly with providers trained by ENT

It’s not often I hear of a new use for breastmilk, but today is one such day! Fascinating! Any mamas up for photo experiments!?

Starting Formula Doesn't Have To Mean Stopping Breastfeeding.. http://www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/…/ starting-formula-doe…

Vacancy for ks2 teacher in Hebden Bridge

Smile of the day

There is a video being shared around facebook saying that on what you see on the left is optimal latch, it isn't. In the photo on the left the baby is using what we call the "lip grip". In the photo on the right, the baby is using her jaws. Latch does NOT have to look textbook to work for a dyad - really it doesn't, and there can be lots of reasons it isn't in those first few days - but if we're sharing videos of great feeding, suggesting this is what they need to look for, surely they should be just that? It's IMO what Newman would describe as "good drinking" rather than "really good drinking". The breast shouldn't ideal move in and out of the mouth either...

What one mama wishes she had known about the 4th trimester

Any historians? After being massively let down by the person we were renting off, Debs ended up in a different room today. I spotted this above the door and discovered there’s quite a few around the building. It reads “Man with the head, woman with the heart”. Anyone know what sort of period they’re from pls?

Interesting: "For more than 80 years, it has been assumed that stomach acid backing up through the esophagus damaged the lining of the esophagus by causing chemical burns, but new research suggests that the damage in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) actually occurs through an inflammatory response prompted by the secretion of proteins called cytokines." https://www.newsmax.com/‚Ķ/inflammatio‚Ä ¶/2016/05/19/id/729687/

Hands up if you can even do it? 😂 https://the-great-work.org/guide-to-prope r-tongue-posture-…/

Dear NHS staff, I know you all work beyond amazingly hard in your roles, I know the budgets have gone and your hands are tied - but please, please, please stop telling parents their babies tongue tie is “too insignificant” to treat. “Just a small one”, “not likely to be causing problems”, “a partial tongue tie” and other such terms. Parents listen, they dismiss a tie as the cause of their problems and they either struggle on or stop bf, believing they just couldn’t do it.
...After 1hr 30 mins on a call today and a mum describing almost textbook tie feeding, I finally asked if anyone has checked baby’s tongue mobility. Oh yes he was diagnosed with a small tie at birth, but we were told that it wouldn’t cause any problems...
Seriously unless you’re psychic, what a ridiculous thing to say? Because of that though, they’d never further considered the idea of tongue tie, instead Mum was told her nipples were too flat.
I don’t even understand what a “small” tongue tie is. Let’s look at the first two pictures:
The second is clearly “smaller” than the first, and thus actually MORE restrictive. If a frenulum like the second moves to the back of the tongue - it doesn’t suddenly become less restrictive or “partial”
We can see this from the third picture - according to the text on the website this is before and after frenulotomy. In reality it is after tie at the front has been released, but the attachment clearly still restricts the back of the tongue. The baby doesn’t have any more function than the tongue tip.
Now in comparison look at the last image - this is before and after the back section of the tie is released by our practitioner.
Something being further back does NOT make it “milder”, “less significant”, “slight” or any other made up term designed to fob Parents off.
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We travelled to Huddersfield from Edinburgh when our boy was 6 weeks old, and I'm sure we wouldn't still be breastfeeding otherwise. He was born on the 91st percentile, and was suckling plenty but not gaining weight, and would suck / gulp furiously and then gasp for air. Feeds would be frantic and frustrating with his mouth barely open, and he'd fall asleep after 5 minutes but then wake up crying. He was very tense in the upper body. Latching was very difficult indeed. We attended the Edinburgh breastfeeding clinics every week and went on active management but still he only gained 100 or even 60g per week. Finally in desperation we called Karla Napier, a private consultant, who said he had posterior tongue tie and explained the complications with getting it treated in Scotland, either on the NHS or privately. Milk Matters had a slot for us 3 days later so we booked in, hugely relieved to be seeing experts. And my god are they experts! Our consultation was great, and Charlotte knew exactly what we had been going through. An examination revealed that he had severe posterior and anterior tongue tie. As soon as he had been snipped, his jaw sprung open wide like a normal baby and he was able to latch. What a relief. It wasn't plain sailing to re-learn how to feed, but slowly we came out of the fog of stress, domperidone and breast compressions helped get my supply back up, feeding slowly improved and he started to gain weight. He became stable on the 9th percentile, then 10th, 14th. And now at 10 months old he is still feeding well and loving solids too, and on the 50th percentile. I honestly believe I would have given up if it weren't for them. So many women must suffer and give up without knowing there may be a solution. Thank you!

We took our four month old to milk matters the other week, after two previous TT divisions elsewhere. We were still having lots of problems feeding and we found out that some of his tie was still there, and hadn’t been released fully. I was unsure about getting his tie done again as it would be his 3rd time and nothing had worked so far. We were under no pressure but Charlotte and Debra made sure all of his tie was released this time.

His tongue elevated straight away, and I cannot believe the change in him, he is like a different baby. He can now feed properly, he doesn’t tense up or reject the feed and he is also sleeping so much better at night.

He had been put on medication for reflux and referred to a paediatrician but I can now safely say he doesn’t need any of that! Thank you so much!!

We took our 7 month old baby boy to Milk Matters for the tongue tie procedure...Bit of background - After being born 10 weeks early and then spending 3 months in the neonatal unit, we took Olly home and it was my sister who noticed the tie. Not one word from the hospital that he had this. He developed reflux and repeatedly told it had nothing to do with his tie and bottle fed babies don't suffer.(i couldn't breastfeed as Olly was tube feed). Despite a family history of tongue tie, NHS wouldn't see Olly and said Speech and Language will see him when he's 5. After this disappointing news we were pointed in the direction of Milk Matters. Within days we had an appointment scheduled and planned a trip to Huddersfield from Scotland (no private clinics will do this in Scotland). One initial phone call to Charlotte and i felt like crying a little, i was finally being listened to, someone understood our frustrations. A fantastic consultation with Charlotte and we felt instantly reassured we were doing the right thing. He wasn't‚Äã feeding properly with the bottle after all. His tie was so tight causing his upper lip to pull in. The snip done and a few hours later Olly was licking his lips and sticking out his tongue. This was only a week ago and we feel it was the best decision for Olly and us as parents. This should have been on the NHS but we believe we would not have had the care and support offered to us as we did with Milk Matters. NHS do a fantastic job and saved Olly's life after a traumatic birth, but they did let us down with regards to this. Thanks Milk Matters. You've been amazing. ÔøΩ

We contacted Charlotte and she advised we could send pictures/videos as we are several hours away. She was lovely to talk to and very understanding. My daughter has every symptom of a tongue tie but after sending info through it turns out it is something much more simple and we are looking at getting things sorted soon. Thank you so much, Charlotte has been the only person to listen to me when I knew something wasn’t quite right. Highly recommend.

Thank you so so so much to Charlotte and Debra. My LO was diagnosed with PTT at approx. 6 weeks. We attended our NHS appointment when he was 10/11 weeks old and was told 'there would be no mileage in snipping it' however, we had numerous symptoms which were wearing myself, husband and LO out. I deliberated giving up BF but decided to seek a second opinion; Debra advised that my LO had a severe TT and with the symptoms it definitely needed cutting. Milk Matters saw me every weekend for about 6 weeks as the tie kept tightening/attaching as my LO had lots of structural issues but with osteopathy locally and a final session with Tracy at Hudds Osteopathy we got there in the end!!!! My LO now loves pulling tongues, blowing raspberries and breastfeeds efficiently, quickly and seems much happier in himself so our BF journey has been saved thanks to Milk Matters. Best £200 spent and at no time did Charlotte or Debra make me feel like I was being a nuisance. Thank you again and will definitely be recommending Milk Matters to friends etc!

Our baby was bottle fed from day one, he began to have lots of problems with constant wind, restlessness, poor sleep as always fidgeting/back arching and seemed uncomfortable with something. He would also become agitated during feeds. He was treated for silent reflux and then later on a cows milk protein allergy. Although some symptoms did slightly improve (mainly the eczema though it did still flare up) the restlessness, poor sleep and other symptoms continued. This went on for 10 months then I stumbled on the Milk Matters website at 4am in the morning when your sleep deprived trawling for answers. After reading, it occurred to me i couldn't think of our baby ever sticking out his tongue! After trying to observe for TT I could see he never actually lifted it up. I was convinced he had a TT and this could be causing all his symptoms. A visit to the HV and the GP who stated his tongue looked fine and due to him eating solids without problem

they weren't concerned.

So at 11.5 months old we travelled from Scotland to see milk matters and hey presto he did have a "very tight" TT which was divided in a matter of seconds, such a quick procedure! Haven't given our baby any of his reflux medication since it was snipped. There has been a huge difference since the procedure, the restlessness/wind problems have gone, he is sleeping through the night and not agitated taking a bottle. Now at 2 weeks on he is also starting to talk whereas before the only sound he could make was a scream. I'll be trying him with dairy soon as don't think he has an allergy either. Wish we had found milk matters sooner as it's been a very long sleepless road and to think it was something that could have been easily resolved. have actually been related to the TT and could have easily been resolved. Charlotte and Debra were both excellent and highly recommend! The aftercare has been amazing too if I have a question they text back with advice promptly.

Thank you so much

I’m thinking of having tee shirts made with “Milk Matters rules!” printed on the front and back. I will replace all my tops with these shirts and wear them until the end of my days!! ���. Seriously, I’m so thankful! Less than 48 hours after having my son’s tongue tie snipped and he’s filling up at the breast and coming off on his own, smiling! Something he has never done in his almost 11 weeks of life. We flew to Manchester from Aberdeen after having his tongue tie snipped on the NHS just 12 days earlier. Apparently, the tie wasn’t at all released by the NHS consultant. Charlotte has spent loads of time chatting with me via messages and phone calls. I know I can reach out to Milk Matters for any aftercare support we may need. I can’t recommend MM more! If you’re thinking of making an appointment, just do it!

It's taken me nearly a year to write this review, as I get so emotional thinking about how much Charlotte and Debra helped us and truly changed the breastfeeding journey we would otherwise have had. They've made my life, and my babies' lives, better.



We had a really rough start - I was very ill after the birth, severe anaemia which went undiagnosed by the NHS until I was nearly at death's door. My twins were also tongue tied. My milk supply took a hit. Cue too much weight loss and formula top-ups. We had their tongue ties snipped on the NHS but there was NO follow-up. A few weeks later, feeding was still going terribly and Milk Matters found that not only had their tongues re-attached, but they hadn't been properly cut in the first place.



Milk Matters then put their arms around our whole story and started working with us to get us on track to exclusive breastfeeding.



Charlotte gave us ongoing, sometimes hourly support over Whatsapp, where we told her how the last feed had gone and what we should do next. She put us on a feeding plan which she tweaked and adjusted as my supply grew and as the babies became more effective at feeding. We went to Milk Matters several times for check-ups on their tongues, to make sure they weren't reattaching. All of this support was included in the cost of the initial procedure.



After months of daily support, I was able to exclusively breastfeed my twins, and our breastfeeding journey is still going strong at 16 months.



I can't recommend Milk Matters enough. I have told all my friends who are pregnant that if they even suspect tongue tie, to get straight to Milk Matters and get it checked out. The help and support they give, the ongoing follow up, the encouragement and sheer time spent on clients is phenomenal. Their expertise is unmatched.



If it weren't for Milk Matters, I'm sure we wouldn't have continued breastfeeding past a few weeks. It was so important to me, and it was a lot of hard work (pumping 8x/day!!), but Charlotte and Debra made it possible.

I can’t thank you all enough for your help and support with my little boy. After a failed NHS tongue procedure and a correct procedure from yourselves my little one is now feeding happily. The support I have received is second to none and the follow up support is equally impressive. I know that if I have any future problems you’re only a phone call away. :)

I cannot recommend Charlotte and Milk Matters more highly. From the moment I made contact on the Monday morning to the procedure being carried out on the Saturday morning I felt like my daughter Xanthe and I were the only people in the world for Charlotte. She gave me so much time on the telephone and via text contact and during our appointment I didn't feel rushed or hassled but that she was going to do everything she could to make Xanthe (and my) feeding, and therefore, Life better moving forward. I didn't find out about Milk Matters until Xanthe was 3.5 months old and we really had a rough ride. Because of her posterior tongue tie Xanthe was having to clamp down on my nipples in order to latch on. This caused the blood supply to stop and me to have incredibly bad vasospasm which as Charlotte explained it is like having a bull dog clip attached to your nipple at all times(Try this on your finger for a few seconds!!) - it is agony. I went to see Doctors and 'feeding specialists' on a weekly basis, desperate for help. I was put on pills after pills and eventually told to bottle feed by everyone. Not once did anyone look in Xanthe's mouth and see that the poor wee thing was struggling so badly. Charlotte recognised this straight away from photos and videos of me feeding! She is AMAZING. Post treatment we have had a lot of craneo work to help the drooping mouth Xanthe had caused by the tongue tie and that is improving daily. I CANNOT recommend Charlotte and Milk Matters more. It was well worth the trip down from Dundee and I would suggest making the journey from wherever you are to have FIRST RATE treatment and be able to enjoy breastfeeding your child again. I am loving it. I also highly recommend Charlotte's book "why Breast feeding matters' - a very interesting and enjoyable read.

I can't recommend Charlotte & Debra enough! Thankyou so much for helping us after a very long 6 months of seeing our little girl suffer & of us been exhausted, knowing something wasn't right! Our baby was diagnosed with CMPA and reflux. After either been told by various medical professionals that our baby didn't have a tongue tie, only had a slight tie or that it was too insignificant to treat...we took matters into our own hands and took her to see Charlotte. Best decision we ever made! Wish we had realised earlier on! Within an hour she had thoroughly examined our little one, listened to everything we had to say...confirmed a tongue tie (one of the thickest she had seen in 8 years of practise!) and Debra did the proceedure which took less than a minute! After just 3 days, we now have a much more settled, content baby who has gone from feeding 1-2 ounces EVERY hour! ...to feeding 3-4 ounces every 2/3 which is huge for us! And hopefully things can only get better from here on:) Thankyou again for offering us such an excellent service!

I can not recommend Charlotte and Debra enough for sorting Arabella’s Tongue tie after 10weeks of the the NHS failing to do anything about it and telling us it was fine and wouldn’t cause any problems.

Her tongue was 100% tied and she could not breastfeed at all, she bottle fed eventually after trying every bottle and teat on the market but because she couldn’t latch correctly it was causing terrible wind issues and colic.

As soon as her tie was cut she fed fine straight after and has been a completely different baby ever since, the wind issues have completely disappeared. My only regret was not coming to see them sooner.

Hi,



I just wanted to say a big thank you for seeing our little girl (9.5 months) a few weeks ago. I emailed you asking for advice due to her many feeding problems and we saw you and your colleague and had her tongue tie cut. I can happily say that is has massively improved her feeding - I just wish I had come to you when she was much younger and I could have had a more pleasant breastfeeding experience.



She can now swallow her food and she seems to actually enjoy eating! She sleeps better and we have successfully taken her wedge out of her cot so she lies flat now. We have also seen an osteopath who has helped her too. She still dribbles with her milk a bit but things are definitely better.



I find it so upsetting and it makes me angry that this could have been sorted a lot sooner had it been picked up earlier. Is there anything I can do locally to help better recognition in newborns? I have heard so many people now that have had ties missed and therefore problems. It's so frustrating.



If she is lucky enough to have a brother or sister in the future we will certainly be coming to you straight away for an assessment in the hope that it will make motherhood in the early months less stressful and upsetting if feeding issues could be sorted earlier.



Many thanks again,

Hi I came in March with my 4 month old Jasper who was suffering from chronic silent reflux. He cried 95% of the day everyday for the first 4 months of his life. Me and my husband was behind despair. It was a miserable time and it should have been happy. Jasper never napped throughout the day and we could see the pain in his eyes day in, day out. He screamed until around 11pm every night when he eventually fell asleep due to exhaustion. I went to see a breastfeeding specialist, as she called herself at my local hospital , she just Completley fobbed me off, and told me he was like this as he was only getting me foremilk. She told me he wasn't tounge tied enough to send my for treatment through the NHS so we battled on. Jasper was put on ranitidine which didn't work, he had his dosage doubled to the highest possible dose he could have. Still nothing. ÔøΩ. He was then put on Lansaprazole for 2 month which seemed to help alot but we knew he still wasn't a normal happy baby. We ended up in A&E and they saw us straight away telling us they could tell how much discomfort and pain he was in. Next, they went down the route of a Cmpa, we was given nutramigen and Aptimal pepti. Jasper wasn't used to bottles and wouldn't take it, it was so stressful, we didn't know what eles to do. Then a lady who runs the La Leche League told me to come to milkmatters, and she swore it was down to his TT. When we came we was told he was 50% tied and 2 week after the procedure he turned into a different baby. No. More gulping air, no more pain, no more gas and nomore reflux!! We are still breastfeeding now at 8 month. Thank God he didn't take to the formula and thankfully we came. Thankyou so Much xx

Debra and Charlotte came highly recommended, and i can understand why- the service they provide is second to none, their professionalism and in depth knowledge of everything feeding related is excellent. My daughters tongue tie kept reattaching, but after 15 stressful weeks, lots of messaging and texting them both and several follow up appointments, we can finally begin to enjoy our breastfeeding journey. Thank you so much for all your help! It's 100% worth the journey to Huddersfield. ÔøΩ

Dear Charlotte, Debra and Tracy,



Thank you so much for helping my little boy! After many messages back and forth to Charlotte trying to decide if it was worth revision I decided Milk Matters was the right place to go, with great recommendations from other mums from facebook we flew over all the way from Portugal to get my 3 month olds tongue tie cut. The procedure took about a minute and was nowhere near as awful as I was expecting. He cried for a few seconds and then latched on with the best latch he had ever had!



He was not a happy baby and I was one exhausted stressed out mummy desperate to get him sorted. We had seen all sorts of professionals who diagnosed him with colic, reflux but completely dismissed a tongue tie that I knew was there from my many hours of research! He wasn't gaining sufficient weight, slept for about ten mins at a time and was in pain and miserable all day all night. It was making life with a 2 year old to entertain pretty unbearable. I had no breast or nipple pain which is what made the lactation consultant tell me it wasn't a tongue tie as it wasn't possible to not have pain. Well it was! The pediatrician didn't even know how to check for a tongue tie! And the others all looked at me like I was mad.



As soon as he had his tie snipped along with seeing the osteopath once, he instantly fed better and his whole body was more relaxed and his tummy felt soft not like a hard knot he had since birth. No more squirming and pain after feeding. His stools changed from green, smelly and difficult to pass to the healthy yellow breast fed stool and regular! He was no longer feeding every 15 minutes and was more satisfied after a feed. The smiles and chatting have increased every day and he is so much happier as am I!



We have had some minor setback due to teething and perhaps a little reattachment and although he still feeds more often than what's considered normal and doesn't sleep as well as I'd like the difference is huge, he is still a happier baby and is getting chunky!!



Would absolutely recommend milk matters and so glad I trusted my gut and flew over. It's made the world of difference to me and him and the whole family really. Thank you again for everything xx

Charlotte is so highly knowledgeable about the tongue and its assessment (she also writes the Analytical Armadillo blog and is definitely a research minded clinician) and I have complete trust in Debra also as a very knowledgeable, effective and safe tongue tie practitioner (she does the tongue tie divisions and I think she trained in Southampton which I have heard gives specific training In full release of posterior ties). They helped where the NHS couldn't (no follow-up, bad reflux, misdiagnosed reattachment). They provide follow-up in the form of free tongue checks if needed. I have been in touch with this service for over 6 months due to an unusual case of reattaching tongue tie so I know their service well. It is a busy service but they will make time to answer your queries in an approachable and thorough manner. They have released the reattachments and helped me to breastfeed for this long and hopefully I can continue to do so.

Charlotte and Debra came highly recommended to me and I can see why. They are fantastic at what they do. The aftercare is excellent, they are always to hand on the phone and do regular check ups. Worth travelling for. Thank you so much to both of you for helping a very painful latch and bottle refusal. Alfie now will take a bottle of expressed milk and isn’t sick anymore from taking in wind. Thank you so much for helping me fall in love with breastfeeding again! Holly & Alfie

Amazing service. After 2 months of constant crying and no sleep for either of us. I now have a happy 5 month old who sleeps 12 hours a night. No wind issues and no more reflux.

We travelled to Huddersfield from Edinburgh when our boy was 6 weeks old, and I'm sure we wouldn't still be breastfeeding otherwise. He was born on the 91st percentile, and was suckling plenty but not gaining weight, and would suck / gulp furiously and then gasp for air. Feeds would be frantic and frustrating with his mouth barely open, and he'd fall asleep after 5 minutes but then wake up crying. He was very tense in the upper body. Latching was very difficult indeed. We attended the Edinburgh breastfeeding clinics every week and went on active management but still he only gained 100 or even 60g per week. Finally in desperation we called Karla Napier, a private consultant, who said he had posterior tongue tie and explained the complications with getting it treated in Scotland, either on the NHS or privately. Milk Matters had a slot for us 3 days later so we booked in, hugely relieved to be seeing experts. And my god are they experts! Our consultation was great, and Charlotte knew exactly what we had been going through. An examination revealed that he had severe posterior and anterior tongue tie. As soon as he had been snipped, his jaw sprung open wide like a normal baby and he was able to latch. What a relief. It wasn't plain sailing to re-learn how to feed, but slowly we came out of the fog of stress, domperidone and breast compressions helped get my supply back up, feeding slowly improved and he started to gain weight. He became stable on the 9th percentile, then 10th, 14th. And now at 10 months old he is still feeding well and loving solids too, and on the 50th percentile. I honestly believe I would have given up if it weren't for them. So many women must suffer and give up without knowing there may be a solution. Thank you!

We took our four month old to milk matters the other week, after two previous TT divisions elsewhere. We were still having lots of problems feeding and we found out that some of his tie was still there, and hadn’t been released fully. I was unsure about getting his tie done again as it would be his 3rd time and nothing had worked so far. We were under no pressure but Charlotte and Debra made sure all of his tie was released this time.

His tongue elevated straight away, and I cannot believe the change in him, he is like a different baby. He can now feed properly, he doesn’t tense up or reject the feed and he is also sleeping so much better at night.

He had been put on medication for reflux and referred to a paediatrician but I can now safely say he doesn’t need any of that! Thank you so much!!

We took our 7 month old baby boy to Milk Matters for the tongue tie procedure...Bit of background - After being born 10 weeks early and then spending 3 months in the neonatal unit, we took Olly home and it was my sister who noticed the tie. Not one word from the hospital that he had this. He developed reflux and repeatedly told it had nothing to do with his tie and bottle fed babies don't suffer.(i couldn't breastfeed as Olly was tube feed). Despite a family history of tongue tie, NHS wouldn't see Olly and said Speech and Language will see him when he's 5. After this disappointing news we were pointed in the direction of Milk Matters. Within days we had an appointment scheduled and planned a trip to Huddersfield from Scotland (no private clinics will do this in Scotland). One initial phone call to Charlotte and i felt like crying a little, i was finally being listened to, someone understood our frustrations. A fantastic consultation with Charlotte and we felt instantly reassured we were doing the right thing. He wasn't‚Äã feeding properly with the bottle after all. His tie was so tight causing his upper lip to pull in. The snip done and a few hours later Olly was licking his lips and sticking out his tongue. This was only a week ago and we feel it was the best decision for Olly and us as parents. This should have been on the NHS but we believe we would not have had the care and support offered to us as we did with Milk Matters. NHS do a fantastic job and saved Olly's life after a traumatic birth, but they did let us down with regards to this. Thanks Milk Matters. You've been amazing. ÔøΩ

We contacted Charlotte and she advised we could send pictures/videos as we are several hours away. She was lovely to talk to and very understanding. My daughter has every symptom of a tongue tie but after sending info through it turns out it is something much more simple and we are looking at getting things sorted soon. Thank you so much, Charlotte has been the only person to listen to me when I knew something wasn’t quite right. Highly recommend.

Thank you so so so much to Charlotte and Debra. My LO was diagnosed with PTT at approx. 6 weeks. We attended our NHS appointment when he was 10/11 weeks old and was told 'there would be no mileage in snipping it' however, we had numerous symptoms which were wearing myself, husband and LO out. I deliberated giving up BF but decided to seek a second opinion; Debra advised that my LO had a severe TT and with the symptoms it definitely needed cutting. Milk Matters saw me every weekend for about 6 weeks as the tie kept tightening/attaching as my LO had lots of structural issues but with osteopathy locally and a final session with Tracy at Hudds Osteopathy we got there in the end!!!! My LO now loves pulling tongues, blowing raspberries and breastfeeds efficiently, quickly and seems much happier in himself so our BF journey has been saved thanks to Milk Matters. Best £200 spent and at no time did Charlotte or Debra make me feel like I was being a nuisance. Thank you again and will definitely be recommending Milk Matters to friends etc!

Our baby was bottle fed from day one, he began to have lots of problems with constant wind, restlessness, poor sleep as always fidgeting/back arching and seemed uncomfortable with something. He would also become agitated during feeds. He was treated for silent reflux and then later on a cows milk protein allergy. Although some symptoms did slightly improve (mainly the eczema though it did still flare up) the restlessness, poor sleep and other symptoms continued. This went on for 10 months then I stumbled on the Milk Matters website at 4am in the morning when your sleep deprived trawling for answers. After reading, it occurred to me i couldn't think of our baby ever sticking out his tongue! After trying to observe for TT I could see he never actually lifted it up. I was convinced he had a TT and this could be causing all his symptoms. A visit to the HV and the GP who stated his tongue looked fine and due to him eating solids without problem

they weren't concerned.

So at 11.5 months old we travelled from Scotland to see milk matters and hey presto he did have a "very tight" TT which was divided in a matter of seconds, such a quick procedure! Haven't given our baby any of his reflux medication since it was snipped. There has been a huge difference since the procedure, the restlessness/wind problems have gone, he is sleeping through the night and not agitated taking a bottle. Now at 2 weeks on he is also starting to talk whereas before the only sound he could make was a scream. I'll be trying him with dairy soon as don't think he has an allergy either. Wish we had found milk matters sooner as it's been a very long sleepless road and to think it was something that could have been easily resolved. have actually been related to the TT and could have easily been resolved. Charlotte and Debra were both excellent and highly recommend! The aftercare has been amazing too if I have a question they text back with advice promptly.

Thank you so much

I’m thinking of having tee shirts made with “Milk Matters rules!” printed on the front and back. I will replace all my tops with these shirts and wear them until the end of my days!! ���. Seriously, I’m so thankful! Less than 48 hours after having my son’s tongue tie snipped and he’s filling up at the breast and coming off on his own, smiling! Something he has never done in his almost 11 weeks of life. We flew to Manchester from Aberdeen after having his tongue tie snipped on the NHS just 12 days earlier. Apparently, the tie wasn’t at all released by the NHS consultant. Charlotte has spent loads of time chatting with me via messages and phone calls. I know I can reach out to Milk Matters for any aftercare support we may need. I can’t recommend MM more! If you’re thinking of making an appointment, just do it!

It's taken me nearly a year to write this review, as I get so emotional thinking about how much Charlotte and Debra helped us and truly changed the breastfeeding journey we would otherwise have had. They've made my life, and my babies' lives, better.



We had a really rough start - I was very ill after the birth, severe anaemia which went undiagnosed by the NHS until I was nearly at death's door. My twins were also tongue tied. My milk supply took a hit. Cue too much weight loss and formula top-ups. We had their tongue ties snipped on the NHS but there was NO follow-up. A few weeks later, feeding was still going terribly and Milk Matters found that not only had their tongues re-attached, but they hadn't been properly cut in the first place.



Milk Matters then put their arms around our whole story and started working with us to get us on track to exclusive breastfeeding.



Charlotte gave us ongoing, sometimes hourly support over Whatsapp, where we told her how the last feed had gone and what we should do next. She put us on a feeding plan which she tweaked and adjusted as my supply grew and as the babies became more effective at feeding. We went to Milk Matters several times for check-ups on their tongues, to make sure they weren't reattaching. All of this support was included in the cost of the initial procedure.



After months of daily support, I was able to exclusively breastfeed my twins, and our breastfeeding journey is still going strong at 16 months.



I can't recommend Milk Matters enough. I have told all my friends who are pregnant that if they even suspect tongue tie, to get straight to Milk Matters and get it checked out. The help and support they give, the ongoing follow up, the encouragement and sheer time spent on clients is phenomenal. Their expertise is unmatched.



If it weren't for Milk Matters, I'm sure we wouldn't have continued breastfeeding past a few weeks. It was so important to me, and it was a lot of hard work (pumping 8x/day!!), but Charlotte and Debra made it possible.

I can’t thank you all enough for your help and support with my little boy. After a failed NHS tongue procedure and a correct procedure from yourselves my little one is now feeding happily. The support I have received is second to none and the follow up support is equally impressive. I know that if I have any future problems you’re only a phone call away. :)

I cannot recommend Charlotte and Milk Matters more highly. From the moment I made contact on the Monday morning to the procedure being carried out on the Saturday morning I felt like my daughter Xanthe and I were the only people in the world for Charlotte. She gave me so much time on the telephone and via text contact and during our appointment I didn't feel rushed or hassled but that she was going to do everything she could to make Xanthe (and my) feeding, and therefore, Life better moving forward. I didn't find out about Milk Matters until Xanthe was 3.5 months old and we really had a rough ride. Because of her posterior tongue tie Xanthe was having to clamp down on my nipples in order to latch on. This caused the blood supply to stop and me to have incredibly bad vasospasm which as Charlotte explained it is like having a bull dog clip attached to your nipple at all times(Try this on your finger for a few seconds!!) - it is agony. I went to see Doctors and 'feeding specialists' on a weekly basis, desperate for help. I was put on pills after pills and eventually told to bottle feed by everyone. Not once did anyone look in Xanthe's mouth and see that the poor wee thing was struggling so badly. Charlotte recognised this straight away from photos and videos of me feeding! She is AMAZING. Post treatment we have had a lot of craneo work to help the drooping mouth Xanthe had caused by the tongue tie and that is improving daily. I CANNOT recommend Charlotte and Milk Matters more. It was well worth the trip down from Dundee and I would suggest making the journey from wherever you are to have FIRST RATE treatment and be able to enjoy breastfeeding your child again. I am loving it. I also highly recommend Charlotte's book "why Breast feeding matters' - a very interesting and enjoyable read.

I can't recommend Charlotte & Debra enough! Thankyou so much for helping us after a very long 6 months of seeing our little girl suffer & of us been exhausted, knowing something wasn't right! Our baby was diagnosed with CMPA and reflux. After either been told by various medical professionals that our baby didn't have a tongue tie, only had a slight tie or that it was too insignificant to treat...we took matters into our own hands and took her to see Charlotte. Best decision we ever made! Wish we had realised earlier on! Within an hour she had thoroughly examined our little one, listened to everything we had to say...confirmed a tongue tie (one of the thickest she had seen in 8 years of practise!) and Debra did the proceedure which took less than a minute! After just 3 days, we now have a much more settled, content baby who has gone from feeding 1-2 ounces EVERY hour! ...to feeding 3-4 ounces every 2/3 which is huge for us! And hopefully things can only get better from here on:) Thankyou again for offering us such an excellent service!

I can not recommend Charlotte and Debra enough for sorting Arabella’s Tongue tie after 10weeks of the the NHS failing to do anything about it and telling us it was fine and wouldn’t cause any problems.

Her tongue was 100% tied and she could not breastfeed at all, she bottle fed eventually after trying every bottle and teat on the market but because she couldn’t latch correctly it was causing terrible wind issues and colic.

As soon as her tie was cut she fed fine straight after and has been a completely different baby ever since, the wind issues have completely disappeared. My only regret was not coming to see them sooner.

Hi,



I just wanted to say a big thank you for seeing our little girl (9.5 months) a few weeks ago. I emailed you asking for advice due to her many feeding problems and we saw you and your colleague and had her tongue tie cut. I can happily say that is has massively improved her feeding - I just wish I had come to you when she was much younger and I could have had a more pleasant breastfeeding experience.



She can now swallow her food and she seems to actually enjoy eating! She sleeps better and we have successfully taken her wedge out of her cot so she lies flat now. We have also seen an osteopath who has helped her too. She still dribbles with her milk a bit but things are definitely better.



I find it so upsetting and it makes me angry that this could have been sorted a lot sooner had it been picked up earlier. Is there anything I can do locally to help better recognition in newborns? I have heard so many people now that have had ties missed and therefore problems. It's so frustrating.



If she is lucky enough to have a brother or sister in the future we will certainly be coming to you straight away for an assessment in the hope that it will make motherhood in the early months less stressful and upsetting if feeding issues could be sorted earlier.



Many thanks again,

Hi I came in March with my 4 month old Jasper who was suffering from chronic silent reflux. He cried 95% of the day everyday for the first 4 months of his life. Me and my husband was behind despair. It was a miserable time and it should have been happy. Jasper never napped throughout the day and we could see the pain in his eyes day in, day out. He screamed until around 11pm every night when he eventually fell asleep due to exhaustion. I went to see a breastfeeding specialist, as she called herself at my local hospital , she just Completley fobbed me off, and told me he was like this as he was only getting me foremilk. She told me he wasn't tounge tied enough to send my for treatment through the NHS so we battled on. Jasper was put on ranitidine which didn't work, he had his dosage doubled to the highest possible dose he could have. Still nothing. ÔøΩ. He was then put on Lansaprazole for 2 month which seemed to help alot but we knew he still wasn't a normal happy baby. We ended up in A&E and they saw us straight away telling us they could tell how much discomfort and pain he was in. Next, they went down the route of a Cmpa, we was given nutramigen and Aptimal pepti. Jasper wasn't used to bottles and wouldn't take it, it was so stressful, we didn't know what eles to do. Then a lady who runs the La Leche League told me to come to milkmatters, and she swore it was down to his TT. When we came we was told he was 50% tied and 2 week after the procedure he turned into a different baby. No. More gulping air, no more pain, no more gas and nomore reflux!! We are still breastfeeding now at 8 month. Thank God he didn't take to the formula and thankfully we came. Thankyou so Much xx

Debra and Charlotte came highly recommended, and i can understand why- the service they provide is second to none, their professionalism and in depth knowledge of everything feeding related is excellent. My daughters tongue tie kept reattaching, but after 15 stressful weeks, lots of messaging and texting them both and several follow up appointments, we can finally begin to enjoy our breastfeeding journey. Thank you so much for all your help! It's 100% worth the journey to Huddersfield. ÔøΩ

Dear Charlotte, Debra and Tracy,



Thank you so much for helping my little boy! After many messages back and forth to Charlotte trying to decide if it was worth revision I decided Milk Matters was the right place to go, with great recommendations from other mums from facebook we flew over all the way from Portugal to get my 3 month olds tongue tie cut. The procedure took about a minute and was nowhere near as awful as I was expecting. He cried for a few seconds and then latched on with the best latch he had ever had!



He was not a happy baby and I was one exhausted stressed out mummy desperate to get him sorted. We had seen all sorts of professionals who diagnosed him with colic, reflux but completely dismissed a tongue tie that I knew was there from my many hours of research! He wasn't gaining sufficient weight, slept for about ten mins at a time and was in pain and miserable all day all night. It was making life with a 2 year old to entertain pretty unbearable. I had no breast or nipple pain which is what made the lactation consultant tell me it wasn't a tongue tie as it wasn't possible to not have pain. Well it was! The pediatrician didn't even know how to check for a tongue tie! And the others all looked at me like I was mad.



As soon as he had his tie snipped along with seeing the osteopath once, he instantly fed better and his whole body was more relaxed and his tummy felt soft not like a hard knot he had since birth. No more squirming and pain after feeding. His stools changed from green, smelly and difficult to pass to the healthy yellow breast fed stool and regular! He was no longer feeding every 15 minutes and was more satisfied after a feed. The smiles and chatting have increased every day and he is so much happier as am I!



We have had some minor setback due to teething and perhaps a little reattachment and although he still feeds more often than what's considered normal and doesn't sleep as well as I'd like the difference is huge, he is still a happier baby and is getting chunky!!



Would absolutely recommend milk matters and so glad I trusted my gut and flew over. It's made the world of difference to me and him and the whole family really. Thank you again for everything xx

Charlotte is so highly knowledgeable about the tongue and its assessment (she also writes the Analytical Armadillo blog and is definitely a research minded clinician) and I have complete trust in Debra also as a very knowledgeable, effective and safe tongue tie practitioner (she does the tongue tie divisions and I think she trained in Southampton which I have heard gives specific training In full release of posterior ties). They helped where the NHS couldn't (no follow-up, bad reflux, misdiagnosed reattachment). They provide follow-up in the form of free tongue checks if needed. I have been in touch with this service for over 6 months due to an unusual case of reattaching tongue tie so I know their service well. It is a busy service but they will make time to answer your queries in an approachable and thorough manner. They have released the reattachments and helped me to breastfeed for this long and hopefully I can continue to do so.

Charlotte and Debra came highly recommended to me and I can see why. They are fantastic at what they do. The aftercare is excellent, they are always to hand on the phone and do regular check ups. Worth travelling for. Thank you so much to both of you for helping a very painful latch and bottle refusal. Alfie now will take a bottle of expressed milk and isn’t sick anymore from taking in wind. Thank you so much for helping me fall in love with breastfeeding again! Holly & Alfie

Amazing service. After 2 months of constant crying and no sleep for either of us. I now have a happy 5 month old who sleeps 12 hours a night. No wind issues and no more reflux.