Hey ! Hetal,I really find ur tips very helpful.Will u plz help me regarding my baby.My daughter is a premmie.She was born 3 months early...that is in my sixth month.Now she is 22 month old now.....the problem with her is only and only feeding.She absolutely doesn't want to eat.she has severe food aversion.Regarding her medical checkups she has no internal problems....BUT is undeweight....she just weighs 20 lbs.so u can imagine how underweight she is.can u suggest FYI my daughter gags if i give her food with thick texture.applesauce texture is okk. I have to distract her evrytime i feed her.Plz help.any kind of ideas is welcomed.
thnx and god bless u.
Hetal replied. your daughter is 22months, and still takes feeds(i couldnt make out from the details you provided,whther night feeds means formula/milk or solids)...
right now her wght at 22months, at 20lbs, is underweight,,but can be achieved,,and many premies who were born 2months or ealier before 9months,,,,go thru this phase...its not a worry if they accept solids,certain foods or textures abit later.unless otherwise, ne serious complication has hapned during the birth or later after birth...

at first,,ne kids above 1 year, often are fussy eaters whether or not born on term or is premieee,,,the other thing why i asked about ne other complications or so,,is to know about your dd devlpmntns,,and that now she is ok having certain texture..
secondly,,as your mentioned, that she CAN eat by mouth,,,then my ques is why is it that you are offering her feeds(let me take it as solid feed) at night, with the Nasogastric tube ??
is it that she is not takin with spoon at all ? or that she doesnt like to eat at night,,which makes you feed her right into her tube, in order to get things into her stomach,,so that she grows well....
or that your dr has not yet asked you to remove that tube....
since she likes applesauce i.e.abit seedy and thin paste,,and considering her birth time,and also that she still has nb tube,,i will not ask you to graduate her until she herself starts accepting the thicker or lumpier texture,,which i expect her to start accepting by the time she is 24-28months. i understand i might be considering alot of time, but with all the info that you have provided esp about the nb tube,,i have to consider her sensitivity of tongue/muscles reflexes as well gastric refluxes...
however, giving once a while try might help,,,bt the guarantee with that will be very low ! so have alot of patience..
offer her once a while things like wholegrain/wholewheat bread soaked in milk,,,or ne of her fav fruit purees or vegies pastes/sauces,,and see if she accepts it. give her a very tiny lump that is abit mashed by your hand(and fully overcooked in cooker//not microwave),,and see how she reacts,,make the texture, thicker everyday, by mashing with fingers and see how she accepts,,

continue that and respect her preferences..at the same keep trying.
about nb tube, if at all you are feeding milk or formula or even solids,,i can understand only onething with this, is that your baby reflexes are not yet ready to accept fluids or solids totally. which means, for you things will be coming slower and you will have to be ready for that.
and whenever you graduate her to texture,,check her bowels,,and discomfort in passing them.

ask your dr, when you can stop using the nb tube and start feeding her normally..since he has seen your baby reflexes and he knows him well(atleast not virtually),,he will be the right person to guide you about her developmental milestones, with respect to responses, reflxes and refluxes..

for you the key is slow and steady wins the race,,so try to offer her varieties,,,and considering that she is preterm/premmie,,double check on her responses/allergies to various foods when introducd...

never feed her thicker textures with the tube,,might disturb her digestives..and she might not be ready for it,,feed her only by mouth, directly with spoon or even your hands whenever during the introduction of new textures,flavours or foods,,.

food taste better with hands,,many kids have accepted food that way,,,make her sit in lap,,talk to her alot,,and make her eat,,see if she eats that way,,,many babies love to eat that way,,just a lil moms touch make them feel hungry !! and then once she accepts that way, u can give her spoon to play and start with spoon..worth a try,,just saw a couple kids,,started eating that way !

so thats all i have for you, considering the info you gave me,,by 22months any baby is expected to have tastes variety of foods,fruits,vegies,diff curries,diff mild spice flavours(in your case, go very slow with spices,,might cause reflux),,and diff textures,,

so take care and a very happy new year to you..hope this year brings to you carefree motherhood and a lovely time with your ddd... Hetal replied. wat was her weight when she was 3months old(3months after her birth),,you happen to rem by chance ??
how was she with weight percentile since begnng. Hetal replied. even though born premie,,what was her after birth development ? was she able to achieve her milestones on time ?
did she pass on the milestones on time \" ??
wat was birthweight,when born..ne other complications like delay in developments,,,when was solids started ???....
you said she showed severe food aversion,,can explain abit in detail..
ne allergies she got so far ???
and finally wats her whole days schedule,,,lemme knw and will b easy for me to work out...
take care !