CityMom Britny shares: Best bottles for tongue tie
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My now five-month-old, Mack, was born with a tongue tie.
A tongue tie means that the underside of the tongue and the floor of the mouth are connected by a band of tissue. For tongue-tied babies the band of tissue is shorter and/or thicker, limiting movement of the tongue.
When Mack was born, he didn’t have feeding issues per se; he latched surprisingly well, but he would take so long eating that he’d fall asleep. When he woke up a half hour later, he was starving, so he’d latch, eat slowly, and fall asleep again.
He was eating around the clock and never filling his stomach. We switched entirely to bottle feeding at 10 weeks and had so many suggestions on what bottles to try. We tried several until we found the right bottle for us.
Back Mack with his bottle.
Here are the best baby bottles according to our tongue-tied baby:
Dr Brown’s Natural Flow Bottle
These by far are Mack’s favorite. The nipples are longer, so it’s easier to get a deep latch, and there are different-sized holes on the nipples to regulate the flow of milk. Size one worked best for him until his tongue tie was fixed. Per Dr. Brown’s website, these are the best choice for babies with a lip tie.
Philips Avent Anti-Colic Baby Bottle
The special design of the AirFree vent in these bottles helped cut back on the amount of air he inhaled.
Evenflo Feeding Classic Bottle
The bottle nipples on these are slow flow, and there are glass bottles for an eco-friendly option. Now that Mack is showing more interest in holding his bottle, I think the design of these will make it easier for him to grip.
MAM Easy Start Anti-Colic Bottle
This bottle was great for transitioning from nipple to bottle in the first few weeks.
Image credit: Curious Courtney’s Photography
Other factors:
He had a hard time eating from ones with a wider base. He would try to put his mouth on the entire nipple and would suck in too much air.
Nipple shape seemed to be a key factor as well. Long nipples with a standard base worked best for his tongue tie.
Tongue-tie release
While I found bottles that worked for Mack, severe tongue ties can cause speech problems if left untreated. Per the recommendation from his pediatrician, we visited a pediatric dentist. The dentist believed Mack’s tongue tie was severe enough that it could cause lasting issues, so we had it clipped.
A tongue-tie release is a quick medical procedure where they numb the bottom of the tongue and use a laser pen to release the tissue.
Within minutes after the procedure, Mack had stopped crying and was drinking a bottle like nothing happened. The area was swollen and gray for a few weeks, but his tongue movement increased almost instantly. We were able to go up a size in nipples to increase the flow of milk and he was chatting so much more!
