Celebrity mom Rica Peralejo recently went through a lot of stress because her newborn son, Manu, could not latch owing to a condition called lip-and-tongue-tie.
This condition present at birth restricts the tongue's range of motion.
According to MayoClinic.org, the "unusually short, thick or tight band of tissue tethers the bottom of the tongue's tip to the floor of the mouth...[and] may interfere with breastfeeding."
It can also "affect the way a child eats, speaks and swallows."
In an Instagram post last Saturday, June 6, Rica opened up about going "back to square one" on her nursing journey after their son underwent a surgery to correct his condition.
She wrote, "It was a fairly good night last night.
"I am able to get up early because he was sleeping 2-4 hours stretches last night compared to awake every hour and wouldn’t allow me to put him down. [hands up emoji]
"Here we go with the normal newborn schedule, with added challenges for us because we had lip and tongue tie revision that brought us back to square one of our nursing journey, and lots of reassuring actions and therapy, communicating that we love him and that we are sorry he had to get the surgery."
The 38-year-old mom of two admitted that it made her motherhood journey a lot more challenging, but seeing her son's smile days after the surgery eased out her anxiety.
Rica wrote, "Not easy tho. Especially when Mama is sleepless in Taguig [smile emoji] but we try and we try, bleary-eyed, we try... and then one day I notice him trust me and smile at me and find refuge in me all over again and that’s a win!
"That’s enough to propel me forward. That’s my dose of oxytocin, to combat the cortisol of rejection and overall stress. [heart emoji]
"Tapos nagmemake up na din ako sa house and lumalabas labas ng mga a few hours para may change of environment and konting semblance of beauty.
"Maalala ko manlang na ganda pala ng mga non-maternity porma ko before.... [smile emoji]"
Rica and her husband Pastor Joseph Bonifacio welcomed Marcus last June 9, Sunday, after over 25 hours of unmedicated home birth.
In a separate post last June 28, Friday, Rica shared how she turned to prayers to help her and Joseph face the hardships of nursing Marcus.
Rica wrote, "Lip and tongue tie release, a newborn crying and crying out of pain, unlearning and relearning your nursing dynamics, your body going haywire because of stress, his body not knowing so much while feeling so much, on top of it all your husband heads straight to work with zero sleep, and your firstborn falls off the edge of the bed.
"I’ve been sending requests to our prayer team. Desperate ones. And no light of day has come yet when I decided to take a shower and cry to God and forced thanksgiving from my mouth.
"I said I am grateful. Grateful for Manu. For my husband. My firstborn. This is a gift.
"To hold Manu even while he is in pain and I am in pain, is a gift. I still have You to thank for that. . .
"Did I feel better immediately after that? Nope.
"In fact I went to bed engorged and hopeless about how to express all the milk he won’t get bec he is afraid of the overactive let down.
"I slept anxiously and expecting the worst... But then at some point I open my eyes and we are nursing.
"He is removing the milk effectively. He is not fussing. He has no more pain and I have less of it.
"My husband is sleeping and did not have to get up much to soothe a frantic baby.
"It felt like a breakthrough. And I remembered it all began with thanksgiving... Philippians 4:6 ESV [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God...
"I prayed, begged, requested… but I did not do it with thanksgiving.
"How funny I was just telling someone earlier that His favor is not about to come, because we already are [favored] and that’s the starting point.
"Anything else we receive is an addition, and not a confirmation of His blessing. Because Jesus sealed the deal long before we all feel it."
According to MedicalNewsToday, the "painless procedure" for lip and tongue tie entails snipping the piece of skin connecting the underside of the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. Healing time takes up to 10 days, and the baby may experience some discomfort.
The faster treatment option is laser surgery, which can be done in two to three minutes and heals within two hours."