My baby girl was born prematurely at 28 weeks. Seeing her so small and frail made my husband and I worry. What could we do to make her grow up healthy and strong?
For premature babies like my girl, their sucking, swallowing and breathing coordination is still developing. This can hinder them from getting the nutrition they need just from oral feeding alone, as preemies have higher nutritional needs than full-term babies. When my baby was stable and at 32 weeks gestational age, the speech therapist assessed her feeding skills, advised us on her suitability to start oral feeding, and gave us tips to prepare her for it.
Gradually, we learned to look out for our baby's hunger cues to provide for her needs. The dietitian assessed her weight and advised us on the required nutrition to help her grow. Human breast milk is the best choice of feed for preemies like my girl. It provides the required nutrition for her to grow and develop optimally. Initially, I thought breastfeeding came intuitively, but I had issues with it.
It was painful, and that's when I thought I might be doing something incorrectly. With support from the nurses, I've learned how appropriate positioning can help me to breastfeed my baby with ease and with minimal discomfort. When our baby was almost ready to go home, I could breastfeed her on demand every two to three hourly.
During and after her feed, we also helped her to burp so as to reduce spitting up, crankiness and gassiness. When she was awake or needed some soothing, we let her suck on a pacifier or her finger. This helped to calm her down and developed her oral feeding skills.
However, it was important to look out for signs of distress such as coughing, gagging and persistent crying. Today, she is about five months corrected age. Seeing our baby grow stronger by the day makes us proud and relieved.
Recently, we noticed that she gets hungry way before her usual feeding time and has started drooling and putting her fingers into her mouth whenever she sees our food. These are signs of readiness for weaning. Hopefully, Once she is able to sit upright with support and with adequate head and neck control, we can start introducing her to solid food.
We are so excited to find out what her favourite food will be!