Baby Food and the Haberman

I promised pictures of our "baby food system". Here's the low down on how we are using the Medela Special Needs Feeder to offer Holly baby food: I fill the nipple only with food, insert the valve and disc, then attach this to the bottle. Keeping the whole thing upside down so the food doesn't pour out. Once the bottle is on tight, you are good to go. No leaking.



And the key to our success here is using one of those old split nipples. I've been saving them in the hopes that we could get another mile out of them.

The only downside to this so far is that the nipple only holds one ounce. It takes two of these set-ups to get down a small baby bottle. Not like I don't have a few old Habermans to spare. We've got plenty. The nipple I can squeeze to help, and the valve/disc creates the vacuum that helps too. Holly can eat this way pretty quickly, with out food coming out her nose. That totally stresses her out. All eating stops once her nose is clogged.

The new system arrived in the mail yesterday. It is called the Sassy Infant Feeder. I bought these off ebay. It holds more food and has a bottom that you can gently push up to move the food out. Holly did not take right to it and we made a bigger mess pouring the food back into the Haberman. Not sure if I will pursue this new bottle. After all, the next surgery is in two months. And after that, she should be able to eat with a spoon. Right?

Baby Whisperer Part II

Or maybe this should be the "Cleft Edition."

There are plenty of good websites that help explain feeding a child with a cleft lip and/or palate. Like this or this. Here's a few things not mentioned.

1. Yes, when your new born drinks a bottle, he/she will absolutely swallow more air. At first. Eventually, within a few days, you should see an improvement. Otherwise, try another bottle. Once Holly and I tried the Medela Special Needs Feeder, regular size, I could see that Holly was not swallowing so much extra air. And she did not need to burp so often. The other bottles we tried, including the Mini Medela bottle, just didn't work quite right for us.

2. Can I just say this one more time? It is so very important. A new Medela Special Needs Feeder nipple can increase the amount of time your new born takes to finish a bottle, ALOT. From 15 mins to an hour or longer. Now that Holly is older, 6 months, the switch is not so drastic, but still noticeable. Be aware of how old the nipple is, especially at night. Even more important if your little one is struggling with weight gain issues. You can lessen this impact, by pressing the nipple between your fingers to help "soften" before you begin using a new nipple.

3. Milk Allergies and Lactose Intolerance ARE DIFFERENT from 'extra air being swallowed." These two conditions are not cleft related. You can tell the difference! Do not let a doctor tell you otherwise. Symptons of milk allergies (like any food allergy) include gasping, wheezing, difficulty swallowing and bloated stomach.

Lactose Intolerance can cause "colic" like symptoms, inconsolable crying. For Holly, the crying would begin about 20 mins after the bottle. This can include diarrhea or constipation. Do not let a doctor tell you, because your baby doesn't have near death diarrhea, there is no problem.

4. Reflux. What can I say about that? Well, if you have the right bottle, the right formula and your little one is still unusually irritable, something else may be up. Like, Reflux. Lots of good info on the web about this too. Holly's main "signal sympton" is a cough that cause her to cry.

Eventually, your baby will drink a bottle like any other, learn to burp themselves and generally be a happy little kid. You can be the Baby Whisperer for your little one, babies really don't cry for no reason at all.

How much can you blog about a bottle?

Well, just one more thing. I have gathered that every baby and mom finds a different system that works for them. Some prefer the Mead Johnson, others the Pigeon/Dr. Brown combination. For better and worse, Holly and I are sticking it out with the Haberman.

I feel like this bottle is like that little girl in the nursery rhyme:

There was a little girl,
who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead.

And when she was good,
she was very, very good.
But when she was bad, she was horrid!

Haberman - The Plan

This is a styrofoam plate with lollipop sticks. You could use a regular bottle dryer system from the store. The key is to number each post, as well as the slot for the valve to match. Most important in the very first spot labeled NEW. Never, ever want to offer a new nipple by accident at night. Not knowing, we were up for HOURS, while Holly drank a little, got tired, not sleepy waited for her to be hungry again, drank a little etc.!!!