Nipple Feeding

I am looking for any ideas for encouraging nipple feeding. My daughter did well with a nipple for her first four days. After many nipple & formula changes, reflux issues, and low oxygen saturation (OS) after feeding, she quit nippling almost completely. Most of her formula is via Nasogastric (NG) Tube. She gets a high calorie soy formula and the reflux is better. The doctor has mentioned Percutaneous gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement. We want her home with us, but can’t give up on nipple feeding yet. Do you have any ideas that might help her return to nippling? I know even with the PEG we can still work on nippling. Is this something she can learn? She was on Reglan, but that was discontinued because of OS.

There are lots of ways to work on it. Getting the PEG tube may actually help for a number of reasons. Most babies nipple OK with an NG tube in but some do not. Most children’s hospitals have speech therapists or OT specialists in feeding who may help.

If fatigue is an issue, it may help to try nippling only a few times a days when she is really awake. Nippling just before a feed helps. Babies can be drip-fed at night and then allowed to eat during the day. That keeps them hungry. It may also help to go back on the Reglan. After a couple of weeks of age, the babies produce more acid and the reflux hurts more, causing them not eat as well.

CP/TK 7-13-10

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