From ng....to oatmeal

Yes. my ng baby is starting to eat!! Ya!! This is a huge accomplishment for us and Wysdom. Wysdom has had an ng for all of his life. The first month he breastfed and bottle fed with a top up from the ng. He really breastfed well with a good suck and everyone was really impressed but he just didn't have the energy to finish all of his feeds orally, due to his AVSD.

After the first month in the hospital in Hamilton we got transferred to a hospital closer to home.(we were in the hospital for 2 months after his birth) Wysdom was put in a PICU and this led to two changes that affected his feeding. The first is that the staff and the ped's doctor took on the idea of feeding him orally no matter what. If he was tired...he was bottle fed even if he was struggling. After about a two days of this and after constant complaining...I freaked out and put a stop to it. They were telling me I had to feed him even when he couldn't breath well and was choking. Trust me it was CRAZY and my husband and I were stressed out!! Wysdom developed what I think was an oral aversion to the bottle feeding. The second thing is that a few days later he caught RSV and had to be put on an iv for a week. Needles to say his routine was ruined and he didn't really know what to do. I tried hard at home...but he just stopped taking the bottle. He would bite on it. He would try to breastfeed but couldn't get the milk out. So we continued with the ng.

So for months my husband and I been ng feeding him. I still try the bottle and breastfeeding...but he doesn't get it. He also has reflux to so it has been hard but we have managed. We have actually become quite good with using the ng and pump. It just leaves you a little bit immobile though. As well we were up all night doing feedings every three hours and his feeds run a rate of an hour. I am also pumping milk, so it has taken it's toll but I am happy that he is still getting breast milk.

So after his heart surgery about two months ago, our therapist decided it was time to give feeding a stronger focus. I was given the okay to feed him cereal. Well it has been a month and a bit since we started and he has slowly been eating cereal. First we started with rice and now have moved onto oatmeal. I add in prunes, or banana. He started with half a tsp and now we are up to half a tablespoon. He seems to enjoy it and he keeps getting better at it. It is still hard don't get me wrong, he plays a lot with his food and pushes a lot out with his tongue....but he is still getting some and I am thrilled. I know that he needs time to learn how to eat.

We have the next month or so to decide if he will be able to continue to eat or if we should go the g-tube route. I am so praying for him to eat. I am not against the g tube or anything. It's just that after heart surgery and all the complications, I am not that eager to go back into a hospital and have him put to sleep. So my next step is to keep increasing his cereal and then look to see how he is going to take in all of his milk. My feeding team comes next week...so we will see what happens and what they suggest. If anyone has any suggestions or things that worked for them I would love to hear you!!!