Having hit what would have been thirty three weeks gestation, we got the go ahead to offer Kinley a bottle if she showed the proper cues prior to feeding — including rooting, sucking motions, or opening her mouth and extending her tongue.
She had an irregular morning and had no energy to try most of the day. But, at her evening hands on, she started to cue.
Giving our 38 day old daughter her first bottle was nothing like one might picture. Not only must Kinley learn how to suck, swallow, and breath, but her parents have to learn how to feed her.
The nurse helped us lay her sideline — laying her partially on her side in mom’s lap. We touched the nipple to her lips to give her a slight taste and then pulled it away. Her eyes lit up, she squirmed a little, and seemed to lick her lips and reach out with her mouth for more.
We’d put the nipple back to her lips, count out five sucks, then tilt the bottle to stop the flow and allow her to swallow. We also had to tilt her head to the side so that she didn’t start to drown in her meal.
This arduous process was repeated several times.
And it then it became too much for her. She forgot to breath. Her heart rate dropped and alarms started going off. The nurse quickly sat her up and patted her back gently. Her levels came back up.
We laid her back down and resumed. She started to suck less between pauses and we could tell she was getting tired. We stopped.
She had managed to get down 4 mL.
While we gavaged the remaining 30 mL, she kept looking at her mom with an animated face — opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue. She could do this, she said. But, after another ten minutes or so, she gave in and fell into a deep sleep. Her exhaustion materialized as a number of quick Brady’s and scary De-Sats.
We know this chapter of her journey home will be challenging, but we are quite impressed and proud of her.