Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Mommy report: Feeding frustration

Just a quick post tonight... and Braska's already in bed, so she'll have to put her 2 cents in tomorrow morning.

She has decided that she does not want the bottle at all anymore. This is the kind of thing that frustrates me more than I expected. When I know she can do something and she seems to simply REFUSE to do it... that is hard for me to take. So she's getting NG for most everything now. I hope this changes soon. It's hard to see her take whole meals by bottle one day and just not take it the next.

Thoughts from any of you experienced feeding issues, especially DS related??

13 comments:

  1. Dear Braska,
    It sounds like Grammy Jan might need to come visit again and give mommy a break. Tell her to call me when she needs me.
    Love you!! Grammy Jan

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  2. Carrie (In Florida)April 18, 2007 at 6:29 AM

    RK, My question to you is,Have you tried to use different types of bottles/nipples on them. I have had that happen in my previous experiences with Kids. I know M said she was nursing well a while back and not to get to personal but it has been known that if you get a bottle top similar to you.. They will relate and begin to take the bottle, even from you. Even though my son wouldn't latch on for me, I used Platex nursers w/him and he did very well with them... It's worth a shot!
    Don't give up RK & M, Braska has had so many foreign things going on in her little life and she just needs time to adjust to the Bottle/Food thing and not be so dependant on the NG Tube.
    You are all in my daily prayers and I love reading all the update on Braska and the whole family. Keep up the Great Job!
    P.S. Sorry for the Long Comment but wanted to share my thoughts to try and help.....
    Carrie :)

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  3. Mom--that might be true...I'll be in touch. :)

    Carrie--I have 6 brands of bottles and about 3 different nipples for each one. We've tried several, and when she has seemed to like one, we stick with it. Then she stops, so we try a different one. The she has periods, like last week in the hospital, when she would take any nipple without discrimination. So I'm thinking it's either that she is stubborn (which would be no surprise considering her parents) or she just really changes her mind from one time to the next. We'll keep trying. Thanks for the comment though!

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  4. Hey RK...
    Have you tried a feeding syringe? Ali was so small when she was born that she wouldn't suck. They gave us a feeding syringe and you squirt it in the cheeks and they swallow it. It is messy as alot of it comes out. After a few days of that, Ali wanted to suck. Maybe worth a try. I have some that I didn't use if you want them. Let me know.
    Sara.

    The RL outfit is awesome. I like the hair bow!

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  5. Sara--I'm curious if that syringe is different than what we have, like specifically for feeding. I'll give you a call.

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  6. RK- Maddy did not like to eat her baby food when we first started it with her and she would eat one day and not the next, just like Braska. We soon found that if we put on Baby Einstein to distract her she would eat. I do not know if that would work for a bottle but it may be worth a try. I understand your frustration, part of you wants to be mad but then you realize she is just a baby. And part of you wishes that she was old enough that you could just tell her that she has to eat because you said so. I think that babies go through some stubborness when they start realizing that they can make some descisions, and throw fits. She will grow out of it. So maybe try distractiong her with something she likes until she learns to like eating. I don't know much just what my girls have done, we are actually trying to figure out how to get Gracie through this same eating baby food thing right now. And the bummer is that she does not like videos, so the search is on for a new trick. Good Luck! Let me know if you need a break or some company or anything, I am home. Karen K

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  7. Evan began refusing the bottle when he was about 3 months old. He would only nurse. Our speech therapist told us that around that age, sucking stops becoming a reflex and begins to be a coordinated action that the baby actually has to think about. And a lot of babies begin to refuse the bottle around that age (not just babies with DS). Not sure why he kept nursing fine, but we were thankful that he did anyway!

    All we did to get him to accept the bottle was keep trying it, and what finally got him to take it was us holding him and walking around the house while giving him the bottle, little bits at a time. Oh yeah, and we had to sing to him too. It took a few weeks but he eventually got over his hang-up. Now he sucks down eight ounces with no problem, and has been for months.

    I feel for you. I was really frustrated with that issue! Good luck!

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  8. Oh yeah, and I meant to say that it didn't matter what kind of bottle/nipple we tried...he hated them all. We eventually just stuck with the ones we had been using, which were Dr. Brown's.

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  9. Braska,RK, and M,
    you have my compasion and prayers,
    keep trying and singing, walking rocking, maybe listening to the Bible on tape. Even if Braska won't eat you can have some spititual food...and so will she.

    Love Meshi

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  10. Hello! I'm a bit late on this so maybe it's already been resolved. Everyone has terrific ideas (Jen!) and I would add, sometimes my kids wouldn't want to eat if they had stuffy noses (hard to breathe) or if they had sore throats, sometimes teething would throw them off. Hope Braska is doing better now, I know the frustration!

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  11. Karen, Jen, Meshi, and Jennifergg--Thanks for the ideas. Jen, I also don't know why she can nurse like a champ and not take the bottle...from anyone, at this point. It sure looks like a stubborn preference to me! We'll be seeing how things go as she returns to 100% feeling good. I'm glad it's not just me!

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  12. I just want to say I understand your frustrations! Georgia ate GREAT the minute we went into the hospital. Luckily they believed us that she was not eating well right up until we waked through those doors. Because you KNOW she stopped eating well again the minute we left that place.

    Hang in there.

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  13. Trixie--I think these girls just plain have a mind of their own... Aren't they going to be fun in the terrible 2s???

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Thanks for your comments! I love the feedback!