cup feeding

Happy New Years everybody!

2015…I don’t really make resolutions. Last year Thomas was in NICU until late January. My goal at that time was to establish breastfeeding. I am very thankful that I can still breastfeed him. Although Thomas still has not taken to a bottle, my goal is to continue to breastfeed him for as long as possible. I believe that has helped With Thomas’ general wellbeing having had 1 cold and it’s a wonderful way to bond with each other still (maybe not so much when it’s 4am in the morning haha!)

I have good news for Thomas. As you know he has been working on cup feeding. With water it has been tricky due to its runny texture. However, thanks to a blogger friend, Gwen, for recommending a healthy fats smoothie recipe. I was really unsure how Thomas would cope with the texture and flavours. Here’s the video for you to enjoy. I am so proud of Thomas. This has been a huge achievement for him. The cup we used is a small 30 ml with a bendy material similar to his pink cup. It’s a perfect fit for his mouth and a good way for me to measure his intake. In the recipe, it is coconut cream, a banana, and either canned peaches or fruit salad. My next goal is to try the formula milk in the same cup. He continues to gain small amounts of weight. He is nearly 7 and a 1/2 kilo. He is certainly feeling a little heavier!

Wee update: Had a phone call the other day from the audiologist to say that although Thomas did well in the tests, due to his needs, he needs an additional test called CAEP (cortical auditory evoked potentials) to measure electrical responses in the auditory cortex. (Yes, I had to google that!) This type of test is similar to an EEG where they use probes to measure the activity. It measures whether specific sounds are being processed in that part of the brain. Interesting…

Also, we were not meant to see his paediatrician till March but she wants to have a meeting next week with us as well as the SLT, VNT and dietitian to discuss a ‘feeding plan’. I don’t know what this means yet, bit nervous because maybe they may suggest an NG tube, we don’t know?

I have worked so hard to be able to feed Thomas from the breast (in terms of fluid) and it is a great comfort for him as well as really nutritional. We have tried so many bottle teats and not succeeded and the cup feeding is ever so slowly being introduced. Yes, after nearly a year I finally got the ok to feed him from a cup. Picture below. It is see through so I can have more control over how much I give him and the material is soft enough so that I can squeeze it to gently mould to his lips.

Thomas is just over 7 kg and nearly 70cm in length. From what I understand, children with challenges similar to Thomas often struggle with putting on and maintaining their weight. Thomas, also, unfortunately cannot have any diary too which rules out a few fattening up tricks. I feel the feeding to be an important focus for Thomas to ensure that he has enough calories to not only grow but also have the stamina to be able to make physical progress in therapy.

With the cup feeding, Thomas is loving the water but I must admit, most of it is ending up all down his neck and front. I have to be very careful to control the amount of water as it moves so fast that Thomas does not have a fast enough reaction time to swallow so occasionally coughs. This is a concern and of course he is not getting enough fluid this way to satisfy so I am a bit worried about the summer and keeping him hydrated.

Will post an update following our meeting at the hospital during the week.