Hi there,
I'm not sure where to post this, but I wonder if any other mamas who might have had extreme feeding problems might come here and see it. My DS was EBF for about 4 months, during which time he was not transferring milk effectively but was gaining enough for us to continue. In fact, he refused all other feeding methods. When he was 3 months, he lost close to a pound and had to be brought to emergency for IV fluids. We were told he would most likely require a g-tube, but we worked with him to try to avoid this. His suck was weak and he was chomping and basically waiting for letdowns, which is why he nursed for an hour at a time at least every two hours for those first 3 months of life. We finally were able to get him to accept bottles at 4 months, but still only able to feed him 1-2 ounces at a time. He gained weight and increased his intakes over the next 2 months although it continued to be challenging to get him to suck and not chew on the bottle nipple.
Now that he is almost a year old, it is obvious to the practitioners (as it has been to us for a long time) that he has some developmental delays. His gross motor skills are very behind, he can sit without being propped but can't get in or out of sitting by himself. He can roll and push up, but has just begun using his knees and elbows to slide along on his tummy, slightly. He is not babbling much, and has some exaggerated arm and hand movements while excited, like when he's in his highchair waiting for food, or looking around at us, etc.
We've finally had our appointment with the Neurologist who confirmed that he has low tone, in his trunk, extremities and face. He's wonderfully social though, so this is a good sign. She recommended an MRI, but we have decided to wait a few more months since I am not comfortable with having him sedated in order to have it done.
Does anyone think that his development might have been delayed because of the complete concentration on feeding for the first 4 months, including severe oral aversion to alternative feeding methods, bubble palate, possible posterior tongue tie, super sensitive gag reflex, weight loss, mild dehydration, etc. Or, is it more likely that his low tone or possible neurological problems are what led to his inefficient feeding? One possible clue is benign hypotonia since I did not walk until 18 months, and my mother's sister also didn't walk until 18 months - but we could crawl and get ourselves into sitting position and pull up. DS isn't doing any of these yet.
I have been worried sick for the past year, and it is so sad because he was my vbac baby and had a hard birth (big bruise on top of his head, I had a 4th degree tear). I worry if my birthing decisions caused damage to him - or if he is delayed because his physical development was hampered for 4 months. I am hoping for the latter and that he will catch up, but only time and lots of therapy will tell. Would you have an MRI done now, including a sleeping medication for an hour, or wait a while longer? We are in the Early Intervention system, but the waits are long and the process is slow. It's been 2 months since the first appointment, and we have two more weeks to wait until PT and OT begin. DH and I wonder if we should think of DS as having an adjusted age, much like a premie would have, of 3-4 months. I also wonder if certain neurological connections were not made during important developmental windows because we were too busy trying to get enough into him.
Thanks for reading.
I'm not sure where to post this, but I wonder if any other mamas who might have had extreme feeding problems might come here and see it. My DS was EBF for about 4 months, during which time he was not transferring milk effectively but was gaining enough for us to continue. In fact, he refused all other feeding methods. When he was 3 months, he lost close to a pound and had to be brought to emergency for IV fluids. We were told he would most likely require a g-tube, but we worked with him to try to avoid this. His suck was weak and he was chomping and basically waiting for letdowns, which is why he nursed for an hour at a time at least every two hours for those first 3 months of life. We finally were able to get him to accept bottles at 4 months, but still only able to feed him 1-2 ounces at a time. He gained weight and increased his intakes over the next 2 months although it continued to be challenging to get him to suck and not chew on the bottle nipple.
Now that he is almost a year old, it is obvious to the practitioners (as it has been to us for a long time) that he has some developmental delays. His gross motor skills are very behind, he can sit without being propped but can't get in or out of sitting by himself. He can roll and push up, but has just begun using his knees and elbows to slide along on his tummy, slightly. He is not babbling much, and has some exaggerated arm and hand movements while excited, like when he's in his highchair waiting for food, or looking around at us, etc.
We've finally had our appointment with the Neurologist who confirmed that he has low tone, in his trunk, extremities and face. He's wonderfully social though, so this is a good sign. She recommended an MRI, but we have decided to wait a few more months since I am not comfortable with having him sedated in order to have it done.
Does anyone think that his development might have been delayed because of the complete concentration on feeding for the first 4 months, including severe oral aversion to alternative feeding methods, bubble palate, possible posterior tongue tie, super sensitive gag reflex, weight loss, mild dehydration, etc. Or, is it more likely that his low tone or possible neurological problems are what led to his inefficient feeding? One possible clue is benign hypotonia since I did not walk until 18 months, and my mother's sister also didn't walk until 18 months - but we could crawl and get ourselves into sitting position and pull up. DS isn't doing any of these yet.
I have been worried sick for the past year, and it is so sad because he was my vbac baby and had a hard birth (big bruise on top of his head, I had a 4th degree tear). I worry if my birthing decisions caused damage to him - or if he is delayed because his physical development was hampered for 4 months. I am hoping for the latter and that he will catch up, but only time and lots of therapy will tell. Would you have an MRI done now, including a sleeping medication for an hour, or wait a while longer? We are in the Early Intervention system, but the waits are long and the process is slow. It's been 2 months since the first appointment, and we have two more weeks to wait until PT and OT begin. DH and I wonder if we should think of DS as having an adjusted age, much like a premie would have, of 3-4 months. I also wonder if certain neurological connections were not made during important developmental windows because we were too busy trying to get enough into him.
Thanks for reading.
I wish I could tell you more, but I can say that the first paragraph of your OP sounds just like my DD: posterior tie, oral aversions, gag reflex, reflux, weak suck/chomping, etc. She's 4 months old now, so I can't tell you much else except that we're working with a speech language pathologist religiously on the feeding issues but she is gaining weight. She also has fabulous eye contact but can't yet roll over and doesn't bear weight on her legs.
Which, I'm sure has lead to his eating issues and his sensory issues. He seeks crunchy, bold flavors...
