I wasn't sure where to post this... please move if there's a better forum for this question. (I realize I'm talking about bottle feeds here, but they're all breastmilk... and ultimately I am still hoping to nurse).
Quick background: my 1 month old has had a rough start in life. She was born at 36w with meconium aspiration syndrome and spent almost 4 weeks in the NICU - about 2+ weeks recovering and the remainder of the time trying to get her to eat. She still hasn't learned to eat completely on her own, and we've now come home with an NG tube. She has never taken a full feed by mouth and we've had a number of theories thrown out and then discarded. Everyone at the hospital was stumped because she has a pretty good suck (she likes the pacifier) but just can't handle the bottle- she may drink anywhere between 10-40ml (full feed was 60-80ml, depending). When I saw my ped after discharge she thought it was due to low muscle tone, and that may be a contributing factor but I'm skeptical that it is THE reason for her poor eating.
Now that I've had her home for several days and I've been the one providing 24/7 care, I feel like she doesn't like the bottle because it is painful for her to swallow. Here are a few things I've noticed:
- Even when she receives the rest of her feed through NG tube, she is still swallowing occasionally. If the milk is going directly to her stomach, why would she be swallowing?
- Last night, about 30 minutes after she had eaten, I noticed that she had some milk in her mouth. She swallowed it as soon as I noticed it.
- She often makes a hiccup-y noise, particularly when eating. She makes a gulping noise even when not eating, and it just sounds painful.
- Every once in awhile she will be sleeping peacefully and then she will suddenly cry out.
- Sometimes she'll be taking the bottle at a good rate and then she'll pull away. The cry she makes sounds like she is in pain. Once she starts like this she won't take the rest of the bottle. Lately she's been crying during the tube feeding as well, even if we're holding her in an upright position.
- She otherwise tolerates the milk very well and only spits up maybe once every day or every other day. This is usually a big, projectile-type spit up. Otherwise nothing comes out of her mouth.
However there are a few symptoms that she DOESN'T have:
- She actually does sleep well despite the occasional crying in sleep. She sleeps a lot, but her adjusted gestational age would be only 40w4d at this point.
- She doesn't have bad breath.
I'm going to try to see the ped on Monday, and we already have a referral to a GI doctor. I feel like I should insist on medication. But I'd love any input from anyone who has dealt with silent reflux. Help!
Edited by lizzylou - 4/2/11 at 12:32pm
Quick background: my 1 month old has had a rough start in life. She was born at 36w with meconium aspiration syndrome and spent almost 4 weeks in the NICU - about 2+ weeks recovering and the remainder of the time trying to get her to eat. She still hasn't learned to eat completely on her own, and we've now come home with an NG tube. She has never taken a full feed by mouth and we've had a number of theories thrown out and then discarded. Everyone at the hospital was stumped because she has a pretty good suck (she likes the pacifier) but just can't handle the bottle- she may drink anywhere between 10-40ml (full feed was 60-80ml, depending). When I saw my ped after discharge she thought it was due to low muscle tone, and that may be a contributing factor but I'm skeptical that it is THE reason for her poor eating.
Now that I've had her home for several days and I've been the one providing 24/7 care, I feel like she doesn't like the bottle because it is painful for her to swallow. Here are a few things I've noticed:
- Even when she receives the rest of her feed through NG tube, she is still swallowing occasionally. If the milk is going directly to her stomach, why would she be swallowing?
- Last night, about 30 minutes after she had eaten, I noticed that she had some milk in her mouth. She swallowed it as soon as I noticed it.
- She often makes a hiccup-y noise, particularly when eating. She makes a gulping noise even when not eating, and it just sounds painful.
- Every once in awhile she will be sleeping peacefully and then she will suddenly cry out.
- Sometimes she'll be taking the bottle at a good rate and then she'll pull away. The cry she makes sounds like she is in pain. Once she starts like this she won't take the rest of the bottle. Lately she's been crying during the tube feeding as well, even if we're holding her in an upright position.
- She otherwise tolerates the milk very well and only spits up maybe once every day or every other day. This is usually a big, projectile-type spit up. Otherwise nothing comes out of her mouth.
However there are a few symptoms that she DOESN'T have:
- She actually does sleep well despite the occasional crying in sleep. She sleeps a lot, but her adjusted gestational age would be only 40w4d at this point.
- She doesn't have bad breath.
I'm going to try to see the ped on Monday, and we already have a referral to a GI doctor. I feel like I should insist on medication. But I'd love any input from anyone who has dealt with silent reflux. Help!
Edited by lizzylou - 4/2/11 at 12:32pm
