Eating Woes

I need to vent about one of the most frustrating topics of micro preemie moms-feeding. Randy has had a fairly decent experience in the eating department. He has always had a weak suck and according to his swallow study, he expends a HUGE amount of energy to take his bottle. Randy was diagnosed with failure to thrive in September of 2008. Despite the fact that is was due to his fragile neurological state and many surgeries, I felt an immense amount of guilt. This was the second time I felt disappointed with being able to provide nourishment for my son; the first was when I stopped nursing him due to a milk soy protein intolerance.

He had the NG tube for a month and gained a pound. We shortened the overnight feeds and her gained another pound in a month. We stopped the night feeds and he gained another pound in a month. From October to February he gained 4 pounds! Whoo hoo!!

Now we are at the end of March and he has lost four ounces this past month. He has gone from consistently drinking 24-26 ounces of milk per day to me almost forcing him to take 15 ounces. I don't know what to do?

So far the docs are not concerned; maybe I shouldn't be. But I am. I worry about everything where he is concerned. Every milestone has felt so huge; and every set back has felt so huge.

For right now I will continue to work with the OT from Help Me Grow. She has suggested switching to a different nipple; I will try that. I am open to suggestions from others.