Feeding Results

Harper's time at the feeding clinic went well today and we are very hopeful that her new routine will yield some promising results.  Here are the updates:

-Her thickened formula was not thick enough
-We are moving from 3 1/2 tsp of thickening rice to now 5 1/2 tsp
-She was having a problem arching and hitting at the bottle, so now she's going to be swaddled for feedings only
-She needs a distraction to take her mind off eating and to calm her anxiety- Sesame Street and Baby Einstein are our new friends and will be watched each time Harper eats
-Prevacid will still be given to curb reflux problems, but we might go from twice a day to three times a day

So far, the feeds we've done at home have been less stressful than the feeds yesterday. We have noticed that she does not cry as much while we're trying to get her to start her bottle, and she seems more relaxed eating. Harper still hasn't finished a bottle yet today, but she's I'm hoping she is working her way up to it.

While we were having Harper's eating evaluated, we asked the OT about her head shape. She evaluated Harper and said her shape didn't look too bad, but she needed to stretch for more mobility. The OT was nice enough to show us a couple of stretches, so we can implement those into our daily routine. On a side note, I tried to do the stretches to myself and I need to work on my own mobility as well; I could only hold those stretches for a few seconds at time.

So, our homework this weekend is to get some DVDs for Harper to watch while she eats, work on stretching as much as possible, and cheer her on while she puts down those bottles. I hope we have a good weekend; she coudld use one.