Posted by Holly
on 10/26/2009, 4:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Peigeon bottle"
174.56.131.147
Hey Rachael...sorry that you are having problems feeding the baby....everybody here has been through it. If you think about how the pigeon bottle works, it may not be possible for her to get much milk out by herself. Her jaws are not lined up, so the compression on the nipple from her gums is not allowing the milk to come out. We had a lot of luck with the haberman....we tried every single thing out there i swear!! The thing is, is that she won't be able to suck at all like a normal baby...you must use some kind of bottle that will allow you to assist her getting the milk out. A y cut regular nipple may work for her, but once you cut it to where the milk will flow, it may let too much come out at once and overwhelm her. The haberman and other assistive feeders do take some getting used too. Just think about allowing someone else to hold a glass up to your mouth and pouring in milk....it is hard to do when someone else is controlling the flow. We used the mini haberman with Kate the first six months. It is a bit smaller and more easy to use. Practice getting in a rythm with her swallowing. Its more of a pumping action than a constant squeeze. Squeeze the nipple everytime her jaw moves up (closing) this is when she is swallowing. If you squeeze it in her mouth when she is trying to breathe she will get frustrated/choked. Also, holding the nipple like you would a pencil helps too. Try practing squeezing the nipple into the sink and see how much comes out when you squeeze it. I would also suggest feeding her in a semiupright position and burping her frequently. Sorry if this is too much info....but it is something that helped me. You can also go on cleftline.org..they have several videos on there that you can watch about how to use several different cleft palate feeders. Good luck.
holly
--Previous Message--
: We used the Haberman for our daughter until we
: were able to move to a regular bottle(6-7
: months). We had to try it several ways and
: had a feeding specialist help us with
: learning how to use it. The pigeon just
: never worked because she couldn't get
: anything out ever. The y-ct dr. brown's
: nipple is what we used for the transition to
: the regular bottle. I wish I had tried it
: much earlier althought the Habmermaan was
: great for us. Also you can try cutting the
: nipple with a razor to make the hole
: bigger...we did that even with the y-cuts at
: first. It takes a lot of trial and error and
: LOTS of patience. Our daughter is 16 months
: now and using sippy cups. Best of luck to
: you, hang in there. At 9 weeks we were still
: trying to figure out so much with feeding as
: we really wanted her to learn orally too.
:
: BTW...had palate surgery at 7 months, really
: used Habmerman most of that time until just
: before the surgery.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Try using a y-cut nipple. I think we
: started
: with the y-cut preemie nipple on a Dr
: Brown's bottle at one point. The preemie
: nipples are sometimes easier and the y-cut
: allows flow when its compressed. You'll
: figure something out! I would be careful
: with the breathing and have it checked out.
: Struggling for air can cause problems
: including fatigue. Getting help for
: breathing is not necessarily and easy way
: out but a necessary step to insure safety
: and may make feeding easier. Good Luck!
:
: --Previous Message--
: This is only my second post...but we need
: help
: with feeding...I guess who doesn't right?
:
: My daughter is 9 weeks old and has a g-tube.
: We have done nothing about her airway, so
: she struggles at times, and swallows a lot
: of air. I often contemplate going back to
: teh hospital to do something about her
: breathing...but feel liek that might be the
: easy way out....
:
: anyway...she doesn't really care for the
: haberman too much, she likes the pigeon
: better - but will suck forever and a day and
: get NOTHING OUT!!! She is a control freak
: (it must be in her genes) and would prefer
: to do it at her pace so teh pigeon si th
: obvious choice - but thickened or not - she
: can't get a darn drop out. Any tips or
: hints.....
: Today I tried loosening teh collar - which
: promply led to a massive amount of
: elecare(nastiest smelling formula EVER!)
: spilling all over me. Squeezing produces
: the same results....formula all over me -
: nothing in the baby!!
:
: PLEASE HELP!!!!
:
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