Because he has a brand new toy, that's why! Unfortunately, procuring the toy proved a bit more difficult than stopping by the nearest Target.
You see, a couple of weeks ago, we took Mister Miles to an ear nose and throat doctor to have a frenotomy — a procedure in which the frenulum (that bit of tissue that attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth) is cut. Before the procedure, Miles' frenulum extended all the way to the tip of his tongue. As a result, he couldn't stick his tongue out. At all.
In the past, midwives and doctors routinely fixed "tongue tie" at birth. The current trend, however, is to wait and see if a child eventually experiences problems eating or speaking. Although Miles had no trouble getting nourishment (he weighed in at 16.5 pounds at 4 months), it bothered me that we were waiting to see if he might have speech problems as a toddler. Fixing a tight frenulum in a baby involves a simple snip snip. Fixing it in a toddler involves general anesthesia.
And even if he never developed a speech or dental issue, shouldn't a little boy be able to lick an ice cream cone? Or stick his tongue out at his older brother?
So we got it fixed. Was it hard to watch? Yes. Did he cry? Yes. Did I start sweating, turn completely pale and nearly pass out? Yes.
But I'm so glad we had it done. In no time, he had forgotten about the pain and was playing happily with his new toy.
See for yourself:
8 comments:
That is absolutely adorable.
He is certainly making use of his tongue! I can't wait until he sticks it out at me!
I think his new toy is great....and he won't lose it. Cute photos of a very cute boy. Love, Val
Super cute photos!
I wonder if I got my tongue snipped, if people respond the same way? Probably not...
Mom and I are laughing out loud. Awesome story and great pictures.
He is so cute. That seems like a strange thing to wait to do as a toddler. Good call doing it now.
i actually got that done when i was in 1st grade! it's amazing what your tongue can do when it's not tied down! i was sedated when they did it, because i was having teeth removed, and had no idea that was on the agenda until my mom told me after. :P
Loved your story. So glad you had it done now!! He is really enjoying his tongue..He is so adorable..Love, Martha
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