Day 54 in NICU

November 13th 2015

33 Weeks Gestational Age

&

Abby's First Bottle

I had plans to meet with Sarah the speech therapist today to evaluate her ability to swallow. I was so excited to feed Abby for the first time but nervous as it's a lot more complicated in a preemie.  The speech therapist was amazing and walked me through the whole process. Sarah monitored her breathing as she sucked and swallowed some milk. Abby is a great communicator and raises her eyes when she becomes overwhelmed. Abby did great and took 15 ml her first time! This is a lot and we were warned that not every feeding would be so successful. Speech felt comfortable with her ability to swallow and breath, so she let Dr. Su know that she was ready to start oral feedings. We get to breastfeed once a day and bottle once a day. This does not take place of her tube feedings as she is still in the learning stage. We are trying to build a positive feeding experience for Abby and not rush her so she can learn healthy boundaries. Her pacifier size also got moved up to help her develop her suck. Looking forward to feeding Abby has this will be such a bonding moment.

Sarah listening to Abby breath and swallow while she took her first bottle