However, tongue tie doesn’t just affect breastfed babies. It can also affect bottle fed babies. This usually only starts to become a problem after about 6-8 weeks of age. Unfortunately, mothers of bottle fed babies with a tongue tie that is affecting their ability to suck effectively, often undergo months of distress due to the lack of knowledge in the healthcare community around this subject.
The main reason why top-ups are given is because parents are not aware of ‘normal infant breastfeeding behaviour’.
If you are finding that your baby is taking an hour to drink 1-2oz, and is falling into a cycle of: sleeping while feeding, then waking up distraught with hunger, then falling asleep again after a few minutes of sucking, then you may want to increase your teat size. Your baby is likely exhausted from sucking, but not getting enough milk to sustain or satisfy him/her.