The last snip.

On Thursday morning I received a call from the ENT's assistant saying there had been a cancelation for Friday at 10:15 if I wanted to bring Serenity in for the frenectomy. I told her I had to check with my husband and would get back to her. Friday is supposed to be Gypsy's last day at his job, since next week he is starts a new one. I called and he sounded a little concerned but said her would ask if he could leave for a couple of hours to go with us to the Doctor's office. He called me later to say it wouldn't be a problem and I made the appointment. I instantly felt nauseous, last time we saw this Doctor was really hard on us both, this lip tie wasn't supposed to be any easier.

Friday morning I drove Gypsy to work, then Serenity and I went and had breakfast. After a change and nurse we headed back to pick him up. He drove us all to the office since I was feeling very tense. We weren't in the waiting room long before we were moved to the patient room and then it seemed like it was forever before the Doctor and his assistant came in.

They were pleasant and talked about how much she had grown Serenity was quiet and inquisitive; they had me lay her on a laid back exam chair and she didn't look concerned at all. He exam and agreed it needed the procedure. He said he would be using a topical and began to prepare it. I asked him to use a local and he agreed. This was the hard part, she really didn't want to be held down and the injection made her scream. I was able to nurse and cuddle her while they stepped out and waited for the anesthetic to work. When they came back she was nervous and cried a little when we laid her back down, she cried when they cut the frenulum (surgical scissors) but to my surprise it was not as much as during the injection and way less than the last tongue cutting. She stopped as soon as I swooped her up and she nursed right away. It was different and I was hopeful. The bleeding slowed down quickly and we headed out. I knew the anesthetic wouldn't last long so we stopped and bought her some infant's motrin and after giving her a dose she requested her paci and passed out in the carseat. Gypsy dropped us off at home and I moved her into our bed where she nursed briefly and fell back asleep.

She woke up a couple of hours later in a pretty good mood but "talking" a lot and seriously about something, my guess is it was her recount of the mornings event. She cuddled a lot and then I offered her lunch. She had some pieces of chicken and fruit and her lip bled a little but she didn't notice. Then she wanted to nurse, by now I knew the anesthetic had wore off and was hopeful nursing would be easier and less painful than it had been her whole life. She grabbed for it and I gently said let mama do it and did my best to latch her correctly. At first it worked and felt right but as soon as I letdown she pulled back pushing on my breast with both hands and sucking on mostly nipple and very little areola. Ouch! I re-latched but it happened again and this time she became frustrated with me and began to whine and pinch my hands when I tried to stop her pushing. We managed to work out a middle point where I could handle it and she could kneed my breast. I felt a little defeated but I had noticed a difference in the beginning, so I tried to be calm and believe that it would get better over the next few days.