Upper Lip Tie

Natalie is a pretty baby isn't she? Especially when she is smiling and happy. We bought this walker for her and she is super happy in it.

A few days ago I was perusing the forums over at DiaperSwappers like I do often while nursing a baby. Someone posted a picture of their baby's mouth and said she had an "upper lip tie". So I looked at Natalie's mouth. It looks like this:

Which looks like bottom lip tie on this blog post about Maxillary Labial Frenulums written by "The Funny-Shaped Woman". See how it "blanches" when I pull on it? (It turns white around the frenulum.) Today we went to a La Leche League meeting. I asked them about it. I think that most of our earlier nursing issues are because of this little thing. The 2 leaders who looked at it said it looks pretty thick. Since she is gaining weight and having wet and dirty diapers this isn't an issue at all. But it could be when she's older.

Its possible that she'll have a gap between her teeth when her adult teeth come in. It is possible that it may cause her to have trouble pronouncing words. It is possible that she'll fall and split it at some point, too.

It looks like its a familial thing, often seen in families with a history of cleft palate/lip. Which is us, since Rhayn had a cleft of the soft palate. It really makes you wonder doesn't it?

At her next doctor appointment I will bring it up and see what they say. Most likely, since it isn't causing her grief (that I know of) we will take a wait and see what happens attitude.