Lunch Time

Feeding Madelyn has always been a problem. Being a CDH baby I was told to expect this. While I was still pregnant I had a consultation with her surgeon Dr. Wiseman, he told me that really his part of doing the surgery was not that big a deal, the real problem with CDH babies is their feeds. And wow, was he ever right.
Madelyn has been on a mix of formula mixed with breast milk since NICU. Plain breast milk and formula is the same at .61 kcal/cc. She started off at .81kcal/cc to gain some weight back that she had lost due to surgery and being very sick. As the weeks went by she consumed less and less and the calorie intake had to be increased. She went from .81kcal/cc to .91 to 1.0 and now for the last four months at 1.1 kcal/cc. I felt like a chemisit when preparing bottles for the day. First I would express my breastmilk, freezing some and using fresh for feeding. I would then measure and add formula accordingly. And all of Madelyn's intake had to be journaled to monitor her daily calorie intake.
The problem also was that being on a ventilator from the moment you are born takes away the desire to suck and the enjoyment of having your food orally. When we got Madelyn home I was desparate to leave the bad feelings of having a sick baby behind. I was not really prepared to have a baby that didn't want to eat. For many years of my life I have struggled with weight and watching what I ate. Now I have a child that doesn't want to eat. This is a complete foreign concept to me.
I expressed my frustration one day to my Public Health Nurse. She told me to hang in there and that eventually her stomach would grow. So in the mean time I have been trying everything to get food into her.
I was given these interesting mess bags with a handle. You put food inside and your baby can enjoy whole foods without the risk of choking. Well they worked great for Madelyn. She doesn't have to put anything to far in her mouth, yet she still gets the banana. They make an awful mess, but when your baby only wants to eat bananas and in this form, I will wash 100 loads of laundry for her to take in the extra calories. Here she is below.


I also was told to make meal time a fun time. So I strip Madelyn down to her diaper for every meal and let her play with her food and her spoon. All in the hopes that some would land up in her mouth. This too was a lot of work, but it has paid off. Just these past two days. Madelyn has allowed me to feed her! I have been so happy. Not everyone knows the joy of having a baby go from not eating to wanting to eat. I actually look forward to meal time!
Feeding has been going so well that when she is in her excersaucer I put puffed wheat in her snack tray and she puts it in her mouth! I get so excitied and dance around the kitchen, she is so proud of herself.