I just wanted to mention a little a piece of Gili's history I missed and didn't want to leave out.
When we first arrived in Israel I was suspicious that Gili was not growing and I also was unsatisfied with her nursing style. She fell asleep before nursing well and I didn't feel like she had a good suction. I only knew because I had two good nursers with whom to compare. With Gili it was like I had to work to hard to keep the whole act together. I needed more hands to hold her and her head, her lip, myself... So finally I got her weighed and she hadn't gained weight in at least a month. I quickly found an English speaking nursing consultant (and fellow blogger - A Mother in Israel/) who tried to help me, but we just couldn't get it right. She eventually mentioned that Gili may have tongue tie (Ankyloglossia). I think she mentioned that it was a little controversial; many doctors don't believe it is a problem. However, she sent me in the right direction. Eventually I met with Dr. Roee Furer, D.M.D. He said her tongue was fully tied and quickly cut her lingual frenulum as well as that connecting her upper lip to the middle of her top gums.
I'm not convinced it helped. I should have gone back, but I was concerned with his quickness to cut and his interest in clipping my other two children's tongues based on a survey and without having seen them. It is very possible that they all need there tongues cut, however I can't find substantial research as extensive as Dr. Furer's that isn't directly from him. His research makes a lot of sense, and if I find another [respected] doctor who agrees with his findings, I'll bring my children to Jerusalem to have them "untied" post haste.
Gili had several signs of tongue tie including trouble nursing, falling asleep, poor weight gain, and fungus on her tongue. The doctors didn't mention a conection between the fungus and tongue tie. Our pediatrician, Dr. Monica Finkleshtein, gave us a fungicide, Professor Amir said it wasn't a problem, and Dr. Furer said it was something that needed to be watched after carefully, and was cause for concern.
We did actually get reimbursed for the procedure. I didn't have time to get the approval, but one of the representatives we spoke with said, if she needs it, go ahead and we'll figure the rest out later.
Eventually we met with Dr. Yehuda Finkelshtein (yes, our pediatrician's husband), an ENT - Otolaryngologist specializing in baby eating problems, at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba. He said her tongue was short, but not tied. He said she needed a longer nipple, specifically the Haberman Feeder. After some difficulties getting the right one and the terrible expense, especially in Israel, we gave up. I did try the one that was a little shorter and Gili wouln't take it, so I didn't want to spend close to $50 on another one for her to gag on. He was really nice, even gave me his home number and address, because he lives near us. I wonder if Gili will have to meet with him again or if a speech therapist will help her from this point on.
So that's the story. Boring as it may be, it's part of the picture.
I also wanted to mention a couple tiny, possibly relevant details I missed in previous posts:
The Physical therapist (Sept. 1) mentioned that she couldn't find a soft spot, but maybe the plates in her head were overlapping. She also said she shouldn't be in her jumper for more than ten minutes at a time. I don't understand well enough to explain why, but I'll trust her.
I also thought it was worth mentioning that I was potty training my son while I was pregnant. I think I may always wonder how I got CMV.
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