Premature Baby and Bottle Drinking

My brother was born 9 weeks early, and 30 years ago, that was WAY too early to be born. I know he was home after about 4 weeks in the hospital because my parents worked constantly with him. He wasn't allowed home until he could eat from the bottle. My mom said she would massage his gums every day through out the day. It seems that he is still learning the sucking motion and that is somthing you can do. By massaging his gums you can get an idea of his sucking and you can monitor as he get's stronger.

It takes a lot of effort for a baby to eat whether it's from a bottle or the breast. As he gets bigger he will eventually be able to finish the bottle on his own. My preemie daughter was this way until one day she ripped out her own feeding tube and she took off on her own from there.

My little guy was 13 weeks early and feedings were a challenge because you want them to gain weight but feedings would take so long they were calorie burners! Our OT had us switch over to orthodontic nipples because it seemed to work better with his mouth because his palette/arch were really high from being intubated at the beginning. We didn't make the switch until he was about 6 months but that was because that's how old he was when we finally got the suggestion - it probably wouldn't hurt to ask your OT if she thought it would help him eat more efficiently.

My son was early as well, and spent 3 weeks in the NICU. I pumped milk for them to feed him, and he could never finish the bottle. The nurses always had him finish with the tube. One way I resolved this was using the pacifier less. It seemed that he was more eager to eat if he was without it. I still worried that he wasn't eating enough, and made an appointment with the dr about it. She told me that as long as he was steadily gaining weight, that he was fine. Hang in there, Momma!