Oral Feedings

Well, we knew it would take some time, but the oral feedings are not going very well. In fact, “feeding” is too generous a term for it. Right now, it's more like “tastes”. We are happy if Caden lets us put his pacifier dipped in milk in his mouth. He is NOT impressed with anything going in his mouth. He has to get used to tasting the milk. Up until now, it's all gone through the g-tube. So he has a lot to learn. And, I think another thing that will make this transition hard is his rapid breathing. Babies have to coordinate the suck-swallow-breathe cycle and if you're breathing 80 respirations/minute (or more), it makes it a lot harder to do that. So, we definitely have our work cut out for us.

Stephanie, our feeding therapist, came on Friday to start working with Caden. Unfortunately, we had a crazy morning and Caden didn't get to nap much so when she got here he was exhausted and very uncooperative. But she was still helpful for me. She brought a special bottle that allows us to adjust the milk flow. And, she suggested for now that we have him suck on it without milk coming out of it. For now, she said just dip the tip in milk and put it in his mouth while he's having a g-tube feeding. We are just trying to get him used to the taste of it and get used to how his tongue needs to cup the bottle in order to suck. I worked with him quite a bit on Saturday afternoon with that and he was starting to do a little better taking the bottle in his mouth. But he still pushes it out for the most part. But we are trying to associate the taste of milk with the feeling of his tummy getting full so he will be more willing to accept food by mouth.

I discussed the possibility of starting solid foods with Caden's pediatrician and Stephanie. His pediatrician said it wouldn't be his first recommendation, but we were welcome to try it if we wanted to. But normally he would suggest waiting longer. Stephanie felt pretty strongly that we should wait until around 6 months. She said developmentally he is just not ready for that and we shouldn't push him to do that before he is ready. I will still talk to Caden's GI doctor about it next week, but I think for now, we will wait on any solids. We waited until 6 months for Kyler, so it would make sense to wait until then for Caden also.

Caden has had a bit of a cold. I figured he caught it from me when I was sick. He has been congested which I didn't worry about too much because he could still breathe out his nose and I could suction him to clear even more. My concern came when he started coughing. He wasn't coughing a lot, but occasionally. After about a week of this, I decided I needed to take him to the pediatrician to have him checked out to make sure his lungs sounded okay. If he gets any kind of respiratory bug, it could be very bad for him! So, I was feeling a little over-protective. But, after listening to him and doing a thorough exam, the pediatrician thought he sounded okay. He said the congestion could be related to teething but who knows. I can't feel anything in his gums so I'm not convinced that is it. But I will monitor him and see what happens. I am very relieved that his lungs sounded clear! That was my biggest concern.

Today we head to Napa Valley for some R&R. Greg's parents drove down to stay with Kyler so we could have a bit more quiet time while we are there. Caden will be coming with us because I am not comfortable leaving him with anybody overnight yet. We will be there three nights and it should be fun. Greg is going to ride his bike over there from our house (yes I know that seems crazy!) and I will drive over and meet him there. He plans on doing some riding while we are there and I will get to have a little spa time. : ) I'm definitely looking forward to that. Greg's parents have to head home on Tuesday, but my parents will be back that day in order to stay with Kyler until Wednesday when we will get home. It should be a fun trip. Hopefully Caden cooperates and sleeps well while we are there so we can all get the rest we need.

Please pray for us as we work on oral feedings. Caden is definitely not as excited about them as we are. And we are more than anxious to get rid of this feeding tube but we're going to need to be patient and that's not easy.