body health > feeding-problems-for-babies-with-downs-syndrome

feeding.

If you are expressing breast milk a hand pump can become hard work, consider investing in an electric pump or enquire about borrowing one from your local special care unit, N.C.T. or La Leche League.

If you are breastfeeding but not producing enough milk for your baby’s needs, they can still benefit from however much breast milk is available and the remainder of their feeds can be made up with formula.

Breast milk can be given with a bottle or even by naso-gastric tube (a tube that goes directly into the stomach via the nose and throat) if baby tires too easily to feed on their own.

You may consider using a supplemental nurser, which is like a bottle of milk hung round mum’s neck leading to a fine tube which is taped to the breast. The milk feeds by gravity so baby doesn’t have to suck hard but is still latched on to the breast.

If you decide to give up breast feeding because your baby is not putting on enough weight and you have been advised to do so, it is worth continuing to express milk and freeze it for a few weeks more. That way, if the change to formula doesn’t give the desired weight gain, it is possible to revert back to breast feeding if you want.

Breast milk is recommended for babies as through it the mother passes on much of her own immunity to infection. This is of course even more important when the baby has a heart condition, particularly prior to surgery, but you should not feel bad if your baby is not breastfed or you are unable to breastfeed for very long.

Expressed breast milk can be placed in sterile bottles and stored in the freezer to be used later. This can be particularly useful if your baby is in hospital for a few days and around admission for surgery.

Bottle feeding

If you are using a bottle, either for formula or breast milk, make sure the hole in the teat is big enough to allow a good flow, but not too fast or baby will choke. You may also find using a premature teat helps as they are smaller and fit better into a tiny mouth.
Try rotating the bottle gently whilst the baby is feeding to help release the vacuum that builds up with sucking.
Experiment with teats (there are many different types available) and additives to find the combination that suits your baby. Adding calorie supplements not only helps with weight gain but can also thicken the milk and make it flow slower from a bottle. This in combination with a latex teat with a large hole can make it much easier for baby to feed and load up on those vital calories.
There are many different feeding systems on the market, many of which are designed to reduce colic etc. but can lend themselves very well to our babies. It is worth looking into these and asking if they have samples or starter kits which may offer better value for money – examples are the Haberman Feeder and the Playtex feeding system.

Weaning

Try adding baby rice and formula milk to vegetable and fruit puree to give a milder flavour and add extra calories.
Many children can tolerate smooth foods or solid foods but can’t tolerate the different textures together until they are quite a bit older. It takes a skill that they haven’t acquired to cope with smooth foods with lumps in.
Later on offer a wide variety of foods but do not force a young child to eat them, and do not assume they will dislike strong flavours – some parents have had most success with feeding where food has been covered in very spicy sauces. Let them choose what to eat and give them the opportunity to feed themselves even if they get covered in food, take ages and don’t eat much. It is all a valuable part of their development and if you don’t make an issue of it they won’t associate eating with stress and anxiety from you.
When they get on to feeding themselves, try to find cutlery with thicker handles that are easier to hold and offer better control.
When you are trying to encourage self feeding, try having your little one sitting in their high chair at the table with you whilst you eat. This will help develop a good attitude to eating and encourage good table manners.
Try putting your baby’s hands on their bottle, cup or cutlery and holding them there before putting them to the baby’s mouth to get them used to the coordination needed for self feeding.
When you are trying to teach how to drink from a straw, try using a juice carton as you can gently squeeze it to make the juice come up the straw into the mouth. Or else suck a thick milk shake up a straw and quickly put your finger over the top to create a vacuum, then place in the child’s mouth and slowly release the vacuum to let the milk shake out. The sucking of a straw may help with the development of the mouth muscles.

(published with permission in writing from:http://www.dhg.org.uk)