I have a premature 7 month baby. Doctor said i have to feed him 25 ml milk every after two hours, but baby sleeps all the time. Whenever he wakes, he sucks only about 10-15 ml. I’m afraid baby is not meeting his daily calorie intake requirements for building up fat and growing up. Anybody had experience with feeding premature babies? Any tips for taking care of premature babies? Thanks so much.
My son came home last November 1. He was born Oct. 21. Thanks.

If you are breastfeeding, it is much more difficult to determine how much he is taking. Can you hear a good transfer of milk, is he emptying at least one breast each time he feeds? If he is, and he has gained weight since you brought him home, then you have nothing to worry about.

If you are having to wake him up every two hours, then perhaps you should consider using more "cue based" feedings. This means that instead of you asking him to feed on an every 2 hour schedule, Allow a 2 hour to a 3 and a half hour window of time for him to wake up in between feedings. preterm infants need a great deal of sleep, and a two hour feeding schedule is often to strenuous for them to handle and as a result they end up losing too many calories in the attempt to feed, and they don’t fully wake up enough to take a good feeding.

Also, don’t get caught up in the amount that he has to take during EACH feeding, instead, make sure he takes a minimum amount during a 12 hour period. This means instead of 25ml every 2 hours, try aiming for a minimum of 150ml (5oz) during 12 hours. It’s not realistic to ask a preterm baby to respond the same way during each feeding.

If you are bottle feeding, then the NICU nurse that previously posted gave excellent rec’s for facilitation techniques that will help keep him awake, and allow him to have enough energy to finish his feeding.

DO NOT under any circumstance use a syringe to feed your baby…NEVER NEVER NEVER do that. It’s unsafe, and the quickest way to land your baby back in the hospital with aspiration pneumonia. I only say this in response to the poster who gave out this advice. I know people have resorted to this with feeding problems in the past, but please, please..just say no to drowning your baby!!

It sounds like he’s been home for 5 days, therefore he should have a follow up apt with his pediatrician already scheduled and happening really soon, you’ll know at that time if he did not gain weight or lost weight. If either of those two things happened, a good pediatrician should admit him to the hospital at that point for lab work and possibly IV fluids for dehydration.

Lastly, you mentioned that your baby was 7 months premature, That would mean that your baby was only 28 weeks old, but that can’t be the case because a 28 week old would be struggling to breath. If he is currently under 37weeks gestational age, then he needs extra care, especially when it comes to making sure that does not become dehydrated,or jaundice.

I could continue writing forever on this topic. I’m always alarmed by parents who end up with their preterm babies at home too soon after the delivery. The questions that you are asking should have been answered by your NICU nurses and therapist. I really hope you and your baby received good care where ever you delivered. And if not, then demand it from your health care providers.

I was wondering if anyone was interested in sampling some baby care products. Many baby care products contain mineral oil, the molecular structure of which is too large to penetrate the pores of our skin, sitting on the top layer like saran wrap. These products get wiped off over time and give little to no benefit but rather a temporary feeling of softness. Babys in particular need pure water based products that will penetrate their skin and deeply condition and hydrate with the proper ingredients. Arbonne has a great baby care line that is botanically-based and pH correct, pediatrician and dermatologist tested, non-sensitizing, non-irritating, and formulated without nut oils. They are formulated with natural ingredients like oat flour which is an emollient and an emulsifier. It’s highly absorbent and hypoallergenic. Oat flour helps to soothe and soften dry, itchy and sensitive skin. I’m curious to hear your thoughts. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to send you a free sample.

http://arbonne.com/products/

http://arbonne.com/products/baby/

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I’m going to get the baby think it over doll for health class and i don’t know what to name her and i was wondering if i should name her Bijou or Pashmenia Or Penelope So can you help with which name i should choose? And if you can give me tips on how to take care of it. It will help and is it hard to take care of one?

Oh my word. Ok so, it’s fun the first day and the night gets a little crazy but, you think you’re getting used to it until BAM! It cries off and on for 5 hours straight. It’s actually not supposed to simulate a real baby.. it’s just there to show how much you life would actually change if you did indeed have a baby. Disrupt your life a bit.

Some tips:
1. If the sensor doesn’t work on the back at first, there are also sensors on the stomach and in the groin area that you can use to scan.
2. Keep your baby naked in just a diaper and cover it with a blanket so when it cries, you’re not fiddling with it’s clothes and losing precious time.
3. Always try the bottle first, then the diaper, then try it again one more time. If neither help, it may just be fussy so you need to rock it or burp it (if you had just fed it) otherwise you lose marks.
4. You’ll soon start to recognize the different cries that it has and what each cry means.. bottle/diaper/fussy
5. When your done with it for the next few days you will hear the baby cry everywhere and freak out.. then realize that your acting a little crazy about a robot baby that you don’t have anymore. Hahaha. I almost freaked out in math class because I swore I heard it.
6. It’s a little devil and nothing like a real baby. A real baby you can give a few minutes before giving it what it wants, has smellier diapers and are a little more predictable..
7. Good luck! (:

It’s not hard.. just make sure to pay attention. This project is an easy 90-100%. As for the name, make it something that you would never use on a real child.. just for the fun of it. My friend named hers Obama. x) Penelope is really cute! (:

I found four baby rabbits in my yard, the mamma wasn’t far, she was dead though. So I brought the babies into my house to take care of them. I gave them regular milk through an eye dropper. Is it alright to give them regular milk? How many times a day should I feed them? They don’t have there eyes open yet, there really adorable. How do I keep them alive though?

1. NO! You do not feed them regular milk!

2. These are wild bunnies, and illegal for you to keep and care for. You need the proper permits to keep and care for wild animals. You need to contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator immediately. You can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm

The best info on orphaned baby bunnies is this website: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html

It states: Many people mean well when they contact HRS after discovering an "abandoned" nest of wild rabbits. Often they wish to "rehabilitate" them with some advice from others. The reality is fewer than 10% of orphaned rabbits survive a week, and the care that people attempt to provide can be illegal, unnecessary, and potentially harmful…If the mom was killed, the best thing you can do for a wild orphaned baby bunny is to get in touch with a skilled rehabilitator.

It is imperative that you get these bunnies to a licensed rehabilitator immediately! You’ve done a great job, rescuing them after the mother died, but now you need to give them to a licensed professional.

Also, do not take them to a vet – vets are for pets and most do not have the expertise to care for wild animals. Also, just like you, vets do not have the proper licenses that permit them to keep wild animals. A vet would have to find a licensed rehabilitator to take the bunnies anyway.