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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

New baby gagging at bottle help please

15 replies

Flower3554 · 09/12/2006 04:59

Hi, I am desparately hoping someone has something new I haven't tried yet. The baby I am fostering who was born at 9am yesterday and came to me at 7.45pm last night has taken no formula at all and is in fact gagging on the bottle. Birth mum wants to breast feed and gave him 3 feeds during his brief stay in hospital. He weighed in at 8lbs 7ozs. He has had 3 very black dirty nappys which are quite loose and he also seems to have a clear sort of mucus which he coughs or sicks up from time to time. He was given his first dose of vitamin K in hospital and I was given more of this to give him once a week. I know the community midwife will visit this morning but should I be ringing the maternity unit before then. I hope someone can help.

OP posts:

heavenlyghosty · 09/12/2006 05:14

What kind of teats are they Flower? The handful of times I needed to give DD EBM from a bottle she couldn't have Avent ones ... she gagged ... in the end the NUK ones worked ... but like I say, she was breastfed so it wasn't really an issue.
Poor little mite ... if the mum wants to breastfeed why is he with a foster mum? Obviously I understand if you can't answer that.
I hope you get some help soon ... xx

mamama · 09/12/2006 05:14

I think the mucus is to be expected this soon after birth. Can you feed the baby from a little cup or off a spoon, just to get something in him? My DS had to be fed like that for a few days...

Maybe you could ring the ward just to check?

Original poster

Flower3554 · 09/12/2006 05:34

Thanks you two, I'm glad I'm not the only soul up this early.
I have just rang the ward and the nurse told me that as he was such a good weight it wont do him any harm to not feed for this long. She is phoning the community midwife to ask her to make us her first visit this morning just to put my mind at rest. I love this job but the responsability is awesome.
The teats are the ones that came with the tommee tippee bottles. I have a pack of disposable bottles so I may try making his next feed in one of those to see if it makes a difference. I should perhaps point out that he isn't crying for a bottle and the nurse told me that the painkiller given to mum during childbirth often makes babies sleepy.

OP posts:

heavenlyghosty · 09/12/2006 05:42

If he isn't crying for a feed, is there any reason why you are trying to feed him ... some babies sleep for a long time in their first couple of days before they realise they are hungry ...

heavenlyghosty · 09/12/2006 05:44

The black nappies are completely normal ... meconium ... will go to normal poo in a day or two (yellow mustardy with breastmilk ... I can't remember what formula poo is like)

Original poster

Flower3554 · 09/12/2006 06:09

Well it seemed such a long time for a new baby to go without food but you are quite right I should have left well alone. When I said he wasn't crying for a feed I should have also said he has been moving his head around with his mouth open like a little bird looking for food.
In answer to your question earlier, until social services make the decision as to whether or not he can return to his mum she has every right to try and breast feed him. If she can manage this all power to her. She was originally saying she wanted to exclusively breast feed but she has acknowledged that that was unrealistic.

OP posts:

heavenlyghosty · 09/12/2006 06:24

Poor little baby

Anyway, he is obviously in good hands at the moment

lulumama · 09/12/2006 07:20

Hi Flower..you;ve had some great advice..just to say what an amazing thing you are doing.......

kiskidee · 09/12/2006 07:55

avent bottles with mam teats (find it in boots & mothercare) worked for my friends's ds who gagged and dribbled a lot with the Avent teats.

lulumama · 09/12/2006 08:00

there are tommee tippee bottles you can get also, with a 'breast like teat' my sister swore by these when she was mixed feeding her LO...

heavenlyghosty · 09/12/2006 19:18

How is the little man today, Flower?

mamama · 09/12/2006 19:39

Just checking in to see how you're doing today...

Original poster

Flower3554 · 09/12/2006 19:50

Hi, things are just about the same. The community midwife says he is alert and not dehydrated so she is not worried at all. At the moment I am waking him every 3-4 hours and trying to get him to take anything however little. Hoping I suppose that he will get the message. According to the midwife if he took a good quantity of milk and then threw up it would probably get rid of the mucus but its catch 22 as he doesnt want to drink as the mucus makes him gag. His nappies are changing from black to a darkish brown as well.

OP posts:

mamama · 09/12/2006 19:54

Good, sounds like things are going ok then. Thanks for keeping us posted. What a wonderful job you have

Original poster

Flower3554 · 09/12/2006 20:43

Oh WOW!!! LO has just taken a whole ounce. He has never taken anywhere near that in the last 24 hours he has been with me. I tried a new tack(blush) I sang very quietly to him and he stopped fighting me and began to drink (grin). I do hope this is a corner being turned. Thanks everyone for the support and advice. Gold stars all round.

OP posts:

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