Double dinosaur cookies

In the last week we've bought two things - very different but perfect when combined :)

The first was a dinosaur imprint rolling pin from Etsy (read about it here) and the second was a Funpod (bargain at £25 - thank you to the local Preloved Facebook site!!).

Also fun to hide in...

So at the weekend Doof and I made double dinosaur biscuits :)

It was so much better having him "standing" at the right height - rather than doing everything with him sitting on the kitchen table. He LOVED getting properly involved and wanted to join in with every step. He actually got cross when I tried to pour the vanilla essence without his help! My proudest moment was when I asked him if he wanted to crack the egg, he said yes, took it and somehow crushed/cracked it in one hand without spilling any yolk or white! 

I love how his language is coming on so quick at the moment - he tries to copy everything you say and has new words everyday.  Today he kept chanting "roll-y roll-y" as he was using the rolling pin. So sweet! Even though we've cooked together for the last year I think I have nursery to thank for some of his kitchen skills as this was the first time we'd made cookies together and yet he knew exactly how to roll out the pastry, making sure to sprinkle flour down beforehand, and how to use the cookie cutters (even if a few of our dinosaurs did end up with out heads due to cutter-pastry misalignment issues...).

The end biscuits turned out great - the dinosaur imprint from the rolling pin is awesome (although I need to train D to push a bit harder into the dough with it to make the dinosaurs more pronounced) and next we're going to experiment with imprinting fondant icing on cakes :)

Double dinosaur biscuits

Overall a lovely way to spend the afternoon - thanks Doof!

"Where's his head gone? Oh well, never mind!"

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Biscuit recipe:

230g unsalted butter

175g caster sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

425g plain flour

1. Cream butter and sugar

2. Add egg and vanilla extract

3. Sift flour and salt

4. Slowly add and mix well

5. Roll out and cut out shapes

6. Place on buttered baking tray

7. Cook at 180 deg C for 10 minutes

Doof is 23 months and did every step except for the putting in/taking out of the oven :)

What is MTV doing to my baby?

As Doof stares open-mouthed at Robin Thicke's blurred lines video I can't help but wonder...

It started out innocently enough. When he was teeny tiny I'd watch TV when doing those long tortuous hour long breastfeeding sessions - perfect for an episode of CSI or Rookie Blue. But then one day I realised I wouldn't want him to be in a room with 2 people shouting at each other, so equally I didn't want him to hear it on the TV.

So I decided we'd watch music TV instead... And a music-TV-addict was born!! Even now any tantrum or sadness can be averted by putting on One Direction's comic relief song... But be aware - not all music videos are PG and some are downright freaky/scary!

There are definite songs Doof likes (he's a bit 2013 I'm afraid!):

Wake me up - Avicii

Roar - Katy Perry

Blurred lines - Robin Thicke/Ti/Pharrell

Burn - Ellie Goulding

Love me again - John Newman

Just give me a reason - Punk ft Nate Ruess

I knew you were trouble - Taylor Swift

I love it - Icona Pop

Dear darlin' - Olly Murs

And there are some bands he loves. At the moment it's mainly One Direction or the Peppa Pig orchestra. I'm not sure which is more embarrassing to be honest...

Equally there are some he doesn't - and when they come on you know about it. From a worryingly young age he would pick up the remote and point it (right way round!!) at the TV. Either to turn it on. Or off if it was *not* a favourite song. And even before he learnt to pick the remote up he became conditioned to smile every time I did!!

With D I had the same good intentions that I think most parents have. Of course they won't watch any TV until they're 3. Or maybe just when they're sick. Or when you really need to get something finished. Or when you've been all night and just need 30 minutes quiet time... Etc etc. My excuses keep coming and in the end I've produced a toddler addicted to Peppa pig and MTV. Anyway we were completely busted a few months ago when grandparents came to visit for the afternoon. Of which D spent a large proportion pointing desperately at the (dark and silent off) TV and saying "arghhhh" repeatedly. Oops.

Iz on the other hand has watched TV since she was born (second sibling syndrome!). Will be interesting to see how she turns out... :)

Hang on, this is the wrong remote! Who put this here?!

Bah! Caught in my stealth approach to get as close to the magic box as possible!

I've got the remote and I'm not afraid to use it...

Where's that One Direction CD gone?!

Sshhhhh I'm watching One Direction

Why isn't the TV on?!

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What songs does your little one like? Have you got a future rock god or pop princess? And do you censor what music videos you let them watch?!

  

Top ten essentials for life with a baby

I meant to write this when D was more "baby" than toddler. But life happens, combination of work and D distracted me... But here it is, better late than never, my top 10 essentials for a baby*:

* which I stand by now having a new baby again!

(In no particular order)

1. Blackout blind

The holy grail of getting your baby to sleep longer (apparently). We don't have an actual "blind" - more a concoction of black cardboard pieces taped to the window and a dark blanket over the top... But it makes the room dark so at least D knows its bedtime. 

2. Carrier 

I think a baby carrier is one if the most essential things. Especially if you live somewhere like London and want a social life that doesn't always involve "accessible" routes. A carrier leaves both your hands free, means baby gets nice snuggsies and you can access anywhere you want.

Personally I L.O.V.E my ergo. I could go on and on and on about how much I love it (apart from this minor downside). But if I did that we'd never get to my next 8 essentials so I'll be brief... Basically I hate baby bjorn carriers. With a passion. They are bad for babies hips, make them dangle by their crotch (oww who wants that?!) and can lead to overstimulation. But the ergo... Oh it is great. So comfy, no backache even after wearing it for hours. Baby falls asleep within seconds of going in it. Toddler can be back carried in it. Has useful pocket for my phone :) what's not to love?

Look how cosy I am :)

3. Giant muslins

Everyone loves muslins. Well giant muslins are just *that* bit better. They have a million uses - for swaddling, as a blanket, a blackout cover in the buggy, a breastfeeding cover, vomit mopper-up, etc. The uses are endless. We've even used ours as a whole body cover when there was a super poonami and we had no spare clothes with us... and draped over a hospital cot to try and darken the super-bright room so D could get some sleep. I always carry at least one with me at all times :)

Use as a light blanket, swaddle, or to cover your hospital cot!

 

4. Video monitor 

So useful to know if the moaning baby is settling to sleep or building up to a crescendo scream. And to see if the toddler is lying down or galavanting around his cot. Or for peace of mind when you hear a little noise and aren't sure what it was. I wouldn't go back to a non-video monitor ever.

So cute when they're sleeping....

5. Giant playmat

Everyone has the little square playmats but why settle for that? D outgrew his pretty quickly and as soon as they're able to roll it only takes 2 or 3 turns for them to be off the mat and on the floor... Our giant playmat (about 1x1.5m) is great - room for even toddlers to sit and play (or all 6 babies at our NCT reunion!). Iz can roll and roll to her heart's content and still stay on the padded area :)

I love my giant playmat!

6. Lion mobile (or equivalent)

Ok so this is a specific example of a general "group" of items. We had a lion that clipped onto D's buggy and when you pulled it at the bottom it played a tune for about 60 seconds. D quickly associated it with falling asleep when in his buggy and so anytime he needed to sleep on-the-go all we needed was the lion. Fingers crossed it has same effect on Iz!

He's clutching the lion mobile in his right hand after it had it's desired sleep-inducing effect

7. Ewan sheep

A lifesaver when you want baby to go/stay asleep but don't want to have to stand there saying "sshhhh sshhhh sshhhh" for hours on end...

Ewan - also good for wrestling...

8. Sleeping bags  

Never have to worry about blankets riding up and covering their face? A deterrent to them being able to climb out if their cot? An extra layer to stop them scratching their eczema-affected knees? Win. Win. Win.

9. Clothes pegs

No one will tell you this as a new parent but invest in clothes pegs. Always have at least 3 on your person at all times. Then when your precious darling falls asleep (finally!) in the pram/buggy you can rig up one of your giant muslins (see above) and you have a way of securing it strategically so baby stays shaded and in darkness with no risk of dislodgement or being blown off into oncoming traffic (this may or may not have happened to me...). Hello baby nap time and mummy coffee time :)

Clothes pegs = staple

10. Inco pads

You know the ones? You probably had them under your sheets as the end of pregnancy approached in case your waters broke one night? These are great as on-the-go nappy changing mats. And when a bit of poop gets on them --> bin it. When D had a vomiting bug we lined his buggy with them so he could still go out but there would be no horrific cleanup if the worst happened... Very light and portable with a million uses.

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So what do you think? 

Did you have all these? 

Or did you have a different "top 10" list?

Munchkin caterpillar spillers stacking cups

Ok so the title is a bit of a mouthful but if words were activities then you get more than you'd imagine from these cups. Designed for bath time (each cup has a different assortment of holes in the bottom) we jumped at the chance to review these - if you’ve read this blog before you’ll know we’re a BIG fan of bathtime (see here for our glow in the dark bath and here for other fun bathtimes). But actually we found so many other ways to play with them - all of which D loved. 

Stack 'em, build 'em, click 'em

Stacking and building

The cups can neatly stack inside one another or be built on top of each other to form a tower. Both equally fun for a toddler to do :) And don't forget the obligatory knocking over afterwards...

 

It wasn't me, it was the dinosaur

 

Practising counting and colours

Each tub is a different colour and is labelled with a number. D is just starting to learn different colours so this is a great way to get him to both recognise each colour, and practise saying the names of each. He's too young for number recognition/games yet but that's something we can look forward to doing later on :)

Developing fine motor skills

There are lots of ways to develop motor skills with these tubs. Stacking them inside each other or on top of each other, clicking them together to make the caterpillar, breaking the caterpillar up, working out how to turn the "waterwheel" in the smallest cup. 

 

Moving the wheel using his hands, or by blowing (good practice for swimming!)

Understanding cause and effect

The holes in the bottom of each cup are different so they all empty water at different speeds and patterns. Older children can have fun guessing which ones will empty fastest and then test their hypothesis - a very simple introduction to experiments. D is a bit young for this at the moment - he just enjoys filling them up and watching them empty :) and trying to drink from them :(

Fun

It's not all about learning and what skills can be advanced. Sometimes it's about good old-fashioned fun...

I haven't hidden them...honest!

Cost:

The set costs £3.99 but make sure you shop around - weirdly Asda have it on sale at £5 (!) and on Amazon it's even more. I've also thought those retailers were two of the cheapest so that made me rethink my regular buying strategy... Anyway Boots and Tesco are 2 big retailers who sell it at it's regular price :)

Age range:

D is 22 months and loved playing with them. Iz (at 8 weeks) is a bit young to 'play' with anything but as soon as she's able to hold a toy I'd happily let her have them. 

Perfect size for little hands to fiddle with

Overall:

This may all sound a bit enthusiastic for a plastic toy but we were really impressed by just how many different things you could do with it. although we were sent it free to review I can honestly say that I'd happily have paid for it myself. And indeed I have already ordered several more as presents. It's versatility, wide age range appeal and low price make it a toy box (or bathroom!) essential.

Toddle bike: Review & Giveaway!

Oooooooo my first proper competition giveaway!!!! Want to own one of these fab toddle bikes? Keep reading...

Yes - your toddler could also look this happy ;)

You might have seen people tweeting or blogging about the "toddle bike trial 2014" recently - toddlers up and down the country are doing a mass "trial", taking them wherever they go and then blogging about it. The bikes are designed to be a stepping stone to traditional balance bikes, specially suitable for toddlers aged 1-3 years. And thanks to Jo Hockley, owner and creator, you can win your own right here right now.

Doof is already the proud owner of one - we got ours from John Lewis (only £23.95 in case you don't win this competition!) a month ago and already it is a firm favourite. D wants to take it EVERYWHERE. To the park, to the shops, to nursery.  D already has a micro scooter (lucky baby) but he's never been very enamoured by it (I suspect because it's quite heavy and tricky to steer). since getting his toddle bike that has been completely relegated to under-the-stairs-cupboard status!

Why do we love our toddle bike?

1. It is very light

The bike only weighs 0.8kg!! It is so light that Doof can easily carry it with one hand - which tbh he nearly always insists on doing - and it also means it is easy for him to manoeuvre when he's riding. And equally importantly, it means I can hook it onto the back of our double buggy and it doesn't add too much extra weight (unlike D's cumbersome heavy scooter).

He takes it everywhere

Perfect fit on our double buggy :)

2. It is brightly coloured 

What's not to love? The bright colours are attractive to kids (and to me!) and when we take it to the playground it always gets lots of admiring stares.

Proof of D's super human strength... Or the lightness of the bike

3. It is easy to clean

As its made of plastic you can just wipe it clean if needed. And there are no bits that will rust or get soggy so you don't have to worry if it gets wet.

He wanted to bike to join him in splashing in the puddle...

4. It's good for developing balance

The bike was designed as a pre-balance bike for the youngest of toddlers who are too small for the traditional balance bikes. I much prefer the idea/rationale behind balance bikes when children are learning to ride (rather than using stabilisers) and always planned on getting D a BB when he was big enough. So this ticked all the boxes. And already I can see Doof getting better at balancing, especially when he's turning. 

Yay, I turned a corner!

5. It encourages outside play

D loves riding it so much that he always asks to go outside now. Nothing more lovely than watching your toddler being active outside, knowing that all the energy they burn off is going to help them sleep better that night... :)

The playground - perfect riding conditions...

6. D looks super cute riding it

Ok so this is a biased mum reason but still... he does :) I love the way he sometimes sits on the straddle bar (very common in the smaller toddlers when they first start riding). And that even when he doesn't want to ride he still insists on carrying it himself ("do you want mummy to carry it?" "NO").

That look of concentration :)

So if any of that sounds good to you, then to be in with a chance to win your own toddle bike just enter the competition below...

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COMPETITION TIME!!

Look at http://www.toddlebike.co.uk/ and leave a comment below detailing which colour bike you'd like if you win - along with a way I can contact you (Facebook page, twitter name, email address etc).

To increase your chances of winning you can also:

- Share this blog post on Facebook and leave one EXTRA comment here to say you've done so (with your Facebook name)

- Follow both me (@mum1stdoctor2nd) and Jo (@toddlebiker) on Twitter and leave one EXTRA comment here with your Twitter name

- Tweet about the competition using the following sentence (and leave ANOTHER comment to say you have):

"I've entered a competition with @mum1stdoctor2nd & @toddlebiker to win a Toddlebike at http://tinyurl.com/nsy3cda Why don't you? Pls RT"

GOOD LUCK!!

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Competition rules:

1. The only step you MUST do is the first one. All others are optional so you can do as many or as few as you like

2. You must live in mainland UK and be over 18 to enter

3. The competition will close at 1am on Thursday 16th October 

4. The winner will be picked on the morning of Thursday 16th October via Random.org and their name will be posted on this page later that day

5. All efforts will be made to contact the winner by the contact details left in their comment(s). If there has been no response after 2 weeks a new winner will be drawn.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER!!

MISS PIMMS - with comment number 92

Why I love Etsy...

Or

Reason number one against saving your credit card details on a website...

I've always loved the sheer range of things for sale on Etsy and the fact that they are all either handmade or vintage. In fact my wedding dress even came from Etsy!

Hard to see in photo but was gorgeous in real life

It is such a nice website to browse but therein lies the danger. You find so many things you like, and when doing a 3am feed, in your sleep-deprived state you suddenly realise just how much you *need* them. And to make it even more dangerous it remembers your credit card details so to buy something all I now need to do is put it in my basket and then click "Buy". Arghhhh how easy is that? FAR too easy on an iPhone at stupid o'clock on the morning :)

But despite that I LOVE every single one of my recent purchases and because of that I thought I'd share them with you. So in case you've never looked at Etsy you can see what a wide range of great products they have. And if you're a regular Etsy-goer then they might give you some new inspiration :)

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So this is what I've bought in the last 7 weeks since Iz was born (hoping Mr MFDS doesn't read this or he might confiscate my credit cards...!)

1. Silver handprint/footprint bracelet

Tbf this was not an impulse buy - I'd wanted something like this for ages!

This was made by Sarah at LittleImpJewellery (see her Etsy shop here) and it has D's handprint and Iz' footprint on it, with their initials on the other side. It was a slight challenge (for us anyway!) to get good prints from the kids but that was part of the fun. And I love the end result :) 

Sarah was so nice to work with, happy to talk about what different options there were, what would and wouldn't work etc and in the end created a beautiful unique-to-me bracelet. I would definitely reorder from her or recommend her to anyone wanting this sort of beautiful jewellery.

Time from order to delivery: 4 weeks (but 2 weeks of that was me faffing getting prints from the kids!)

2. Star name picture & Twinkle twinkle print

So pretty

These were both by Maria from AlfieWinn (see her Etsy shop here). Another one of her designs got retweeted into my timeline and when I looked at her store I instantly fell on love with the personalised name star. And them when I looked further also the "twinkle twinkle little star" print. The quality is exceptional and both will look totally gorgeous hanging up in Iz's room (once she has one!).

Maria was so helpful, creating a special custom order when I asked for things not displayed and even though the name star is hand drawn and coloured (you can see small differences between the pictures as it obviously depends on the name size etc) it was super speedy and they were delivered only a few days later. These will definitely be my "go to" presents when a friend has a new baby. 

Time from order to delivery: 4 days 

3. Rainbow teddy

Love the colours :)

I can't remember where I first saw this teddy by Meryl at MerryPeridot (see her Etsy shop here) but it was love at first sight. Each teddy is slightly different due to the variegated wool but that just adds to their uniqueness. Again Meryl was lovely to deal with, was happy to start with whichever colours I preferred and made the teddy super quickly.

Time from order to delivery: 4 days

4. Awesome rolling pin

Need a better excuse to make cookies?!

So this is the best example of something I really don't need and never knew I wanted... until I saw it. And then I couldn't stop thinking about it. And so on the next sleep-deprived night feed it somehow ended up in my shopping basket and then checkout...

But check out these amazing rolling pins made by Zuzia at ValekRollingPins (see her Etsy shop here). How cool are they? You can get animals or patterns or even one personalised with your name or a message! I chose the one with dinosaurs on (everyone loves mini dinosaurs!) and can't wait to next make cookies with Doof. I also got the dog one for my dog-mad brother's birthday present. Let's just hope I manage to give it to him before he reads this...

Time from order to delivery: ordered 5 days ago and they've been dispatched. So currently somewhere between Poland and here :)

5. Knitted beret & booties

Iz modelling her hat. And her big head ;)

Funky knits were another company I first heard about on Twitter and apparently I was their first Twitter sale :) you can find their Etsy shop here. I ordered both deliberately large so they should last Iz through the winter. However her head is so big (I tell myself it's all brains...) that the '12 month' hat may well not - it fits pretty perfectly now and she's only 2 months! My advice - if you're buying a hat for your super-big-headed child then measure their head and tell the lovely owners of Funky knits what the measurement is. That way they can make sure the hat is the perfect size :)

Time from order to delivery: 4 days

6. Vintage dress

Love it. But need smaller boobs :(

This beautiful dress came from cutxpaste (see her Etsy shop here). I love it and it should've fitted perfectly... except breastfeeding has increased my bra size 3 cups ON TOP OF the increase I had with D. So will have to save this for post-BF when boob shrinkage has occurred!

Time from order to delivery: came from America - can't remember exactly but about a week

Just as an aside - be aware if you order things from abroad they can attract a customs charge (with a hefty post office "handling fee" on top). It can add another 20-30% on top of what you've already paid...

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Sneak preview - come back in a month as by then I will have opened my own Etsy shop :)

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An honest post about tongue tie

I've had so many people asking about this I thought I'd blog about it - and if this post helps just one person avoid the 7 awful weeks I had then I'm happy!

D (my first baby) had posterior tongue tie. It's only looking back now I have another (not tongue tied) baby that I can say with certainty what I can attribute to TT rather than "just being a first time mum" (I heard that line A LOT and it annoyed me then but now it annoys me even more that they were fobbing off a genuine problem as me being inexperienced). 

My lovely little man

I said this would be an honest post and here is the first confession. I have never had any training about tongue tie as a doctor. And to be honest before D was born I had a similar opinion to most doctors I know - that every parent seemed to think their baby had TT when usually they just needed more help to establish breastfeeding...

So what happened with us?

I could waffle for pages about the ins and outs of the first 6 weeks so for your sanity I have also précised it in a Summary/Bottom Line" at the end so you can just skip to there if you want :)

After birth D could not/would not/was not interested in latching. We were in hospital for 3 days and every feed was a huge battle. He couldn't get on and if, by some miracle, he did latch on he quickly 'slipped' off. He didn't seem able to keep his mouth open for long so you had a brief nanosecond to get the boob in before he clamped down with a vice-like grip (nothing like that baby in all the leaflets who just hangs around with his mouth open waiting for the photo to be taken...). Each feed was incredibly painful. I think every single midwife on the ward tried to help but nearly all of them gave up after a few minutes saying "oh he just needs to practise, it'll get better". I saw a "feeding specialist" twice and I was encouraged to hand express every 3 hours and then feed D the colostrum by syringe. I went home after 3 days but we hasn't really "established" feeding. I could just about keep him on long enough to get just about enough milk in him (so he wasn't dehydrated) but he never latched well, it always hurt and his poop was always green so he was getting way too much foremilk and not enough of the fatty hind stuff :(

This is NOT D. D could never have done this :( (nor is it me!!)

[above image from http://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/_OurServicesAZ-BreastfeedingandInfantFeedingsupport-HowdoIbreastfeed-Howtoachieveagoodlatch.aspx]

Looking back now I realise D was constantly hungry. He wanted to feed all day every day but the unbearable pain meant I just couldn't face doing it more than 3 hourly. And each feed took at least an hour. I used to cry in anticipation of a feed. I cried during the feed. And I'd cry afterwards as the pain continued for about 30 minutes post-feed due to vasospasm (not helped by him being a winter baby!).

I first saw a lactation consultant at 2 weeks, just after I got out of hospital (post mastitis bout number 1). She was amazing. Except for the bit when she said feed D whenever he looks hungry... that was so hard to do because of the pain. She suspected posterior TT but wasn't an expert so referred me to someone else. 

At this point I was in two minds. I felt something was wrong and that breastfeeding shouldn't be this hard or no one would do it! But I was naturally dubious about TT and also had my midwife and health visitor telling me it was normal to have this much pain and maybe I just had a lower pain threshold than other people... Anyway I saw the "specialist" who said he did have TT but his function was good so it probably shouldn't impact him. She offered to snip it if I wanted but said it wasn't necessary. I (obviously in my mind!) said no thanks then, if there's no need then please don't do it!

But then followed 4 more horrific weeks of pain after pain after pain. I was in agony. Even my bra touching me hurt. I was prescribed treatment for thrush as that can cause agonising pain. D wasn't gaining weight, only just going past his birth weight by 4 weeks, and by 6 weeks had fallen across 3 centiles. Breastfeeding was dominating our lives but not in a good way. And then I got mastitis again. Even more pain. Having to express every 2-3 hours - even at night, even when D was sleeping. I was exhausted. I was miserable.  I wondered why I was so bad at breastfeeding. I was at my wits end.

Super scrawny Doof. I didn't realise quite how thin his arms and legs were until I now see how "well-padded" his little sis is at the same age!!

 

So I saw the lovely lactation consultant again. She still thought there was TT and so referred me to someone else. This person, to be fair, had the benefit of seeing what had happened over the last 6 weeks - but she instantly said "posterior TT" and advised snipping it. 

The snip

D was about 7 weeks old. They swaddled him and then snipped the tie. Then unswaddled him and gave him to me for a breastfeed. That was it. He probably cried for 10-15 seconds max. 

But even that first feed post-snip... Completely different. He could actually open his mouth wide, keep it open and latch on properly. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Ten minutes post-snip. Looks pretty happy to me :)

A month later... already cultivating little chubby cheeks!

Afterwards 

Oh what a difference. I actually started to enjoy breastfeeding. It took a while to be completely pain free as my poor traumatised nipples had to heal but there was no new trauma to them. D started to put weight on properly. Our life was no longer a horrible cycle of feeding-crying-feeding-crying. And I continued breastfeeding until D was 13 months (here is my post about my thoughts when I finally stopped).

Look what I can do with my tongue now!!

Thanks mummy for fixing my feeding problems!

Breastfeeding got so easy we could do it anywhere - this was in the backseat of our hire car next to the Hoover Dam :)

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Summary 

D's main symptoms

- couldn't keep mouth open for long

- couldn't latch properly

- couldn't sustain a latch if we managed to get one

- poor weight gain

- green poop

- always hungry

My main symptoms

- pain, pain, pain

- compressed nipples after every feed

- vasospasm (you see them turn white)

- recurrent mastitis (because he wasn't managing to empty the breast properly)

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Bottom line

Do I think some midwives/health visitors are very quick to blame TT when actually the mum might just need more breastfeeding help?

Yes

Do I think there are lots of babies with mild TT who can feed fine and do not need anything doing and should not have problems blamed on their TT?

Yes

Do I think there are a small percentage of babies who do have problems latching and feeding related to TT?

Yes definitely 

Do I think this can be missed by health care professionals?

Yes (especially if it's posterior as that is much harder to spot)

Do I think all paediatricians and GPs should be experts in spotting/diagnosing TT?

No, not really. They have to be experts in pretty much everything else. But I would expect midwives or breastfeeding 'specialists' to be able to spot it and advise where to get help. Because of this my first port of call for help would be a lactation consultant, not a doctor (one of the few times you'll ever hear me say that!!)

So what should you do? If you are having the problems I had with D above then it is NOT NORMAL, it is NOT because you are a first time mum, it is NOT because "breastfeeding is supposed to hurt a bit" as my health visitor told me!! If you can afford it then see a private lactation consultant. The £200 I spent seeing one was probably the best money I have ever spent. And I more than recouped the cost by then exclusively breastfeeding until D was fully weaned :)

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If you want any information I'd recommend KELLY MOM  for brilliant, evidence-based information on everything related to breastfeeding.