So you took the decision and went ahead with a tie release surgery. It’s a huge time for you and your baby, and a very emotional one too. You might be wondering what happens now and how you can help your baby get the most out of the procedure.
I’m going to take you back to our shoelace analogy. You can read about that here, if you haven’t already. Now your child’s “shoelaces” have been untied and he/she needs to work out how to use those muscles in a coordinated and effective way.
Your baby has been practicing sucking and swallowing in the womb since they were around 8 weeks gestation. They have been practicing with the tie restriction all this time! So now, they need to practice again, because everything is different….and they won’t necessarily get good function straight away (although some do). More like there will be moments of better function, together with moments of going back to old habits.
The path from where they started to where they’ll hopefully end up, is not a straight line – there are ups and downs along the way.
So just like any rehab, there needs to be close attention paid over the first few weeks after surgery. Exercises are a crucial part of this – the ones you are doing at home. Your tie release provider, osteopath, and your IBCLC will guide you so that you are helping the baby build strength, coordination and efficiency.
An from an osteopathic perspective, regular visits for a month are recommended weekly, so that work can continue to address any whole body compensations, check in on oral function and modify any home exercises you are doing.
It takes 4-6 weeks for function to stabilise and then it’s an ongoing process of mastering excellent oral function and oral posture. After the first month, your osteopath will recommend a follow-up time frame, generally in around 4-6 weeks unless other issues are identified, to check in on that oral function and whole body compensation.
Book your appointments now to ensure you have weekly check-ups sorted for that first month. Sometimes, we don’t need them all, often we do. But your osteopath will guide you and modify appointments as needed.
You’ve been through the worst of it now, take courage! Your baby is incredibly resilient and will quite probably surprise you in how quickly they recover and take on better function.