Today I began working with a baby with Down Syndrome.  He is 2 weeks and has
been on nipple shield and bottles (all breastmilk). Mom wants to get him to
breast as soon as possible, one reason being that he "gags" with bottle
feeding because she says he forgets to swallow. He does less of this when he
is feeding with the shield or at breast. The doc is concerned with weight
gain, though I believe he is ok given his limitations. By the way, his heart
is fine and he seems to have a lot going for him. :)

One of the major problems is that he is very sleepy and the times he has
been at the breast, whether shield or the few times at breast, he goes to
sleep very easily before a good feeding. (just too comfy there.) They have a
lot of trouble waking him or keeping him awake regardless of how he is fed.
The BAB says sleepiness for a few weeks; any word on that?

What I want from you is: are there any teats that work better if she has to
use a bottle while we are working on his becoming a breastfed baby?
(Haberman?) Would finger feeding have any advantage?  Would he benifit from
work with a speech therapist? (My experience has been that they know how to
work with bottles only.) Are we working with just a baby who has nipple
preference and we need to encourage a change of preference, or does his
having Down Syndrome present further problems of latch-on.

Milk supply is very good as are bm's and wets, and Mom is ready to reach out
for solid help.

I accessed the Archives and got a lot of good information, especially
support, and if any of you have suggestions please post them.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee
mailto:[log in to unmask]