Swallow study (Friday, February 4)

Cayden had the first part of what they call a 'swallow study' today.  A developmental therapist and a speech therapist worked together to feed him from a bottle and observe how he did.  You wouldn't believe the information they can gather just by watching, listening with a stethoscope, and being in tune with him.  They were trying to determine what, if anything, may be able to help with his reflux issues. 

The reflux has been going on for several weeks now.  It seems I kept hearing it was something he should eventually outgrow, but he has been having some significant desatting episodes after feeding, so I guess they finally decided they needed to take action.

After their observation, the therapists determined that thickening his feeds with a gelatin additive known as "Simply Thick" should help in his case.  So they mixed up a bottle and fed the thickened breast milk to him while listening and observing again.  They also experimented with different types of bottles and nipples, finally deciding that Dr. Brown's bottles with a #2 nipple will work best for him.  It just amazes me that these people can figure out such tiny details to manipulate to give Cayden the best possible chance of doing well.

If this change in formula consistency is going to help, it's usually apparent within a day and the change should be marked for him.  They say that in a lot of cases, babies really take off and start packing on weight like crazy because they're able to tolerate their feeds so much better.

It's funny, because I keep thinking he's doing fine in the 'packing on weight' department.  He's gained two ounces every night since Wednesday, making him 5 lbs. 11 oz. as of tonight.  But I got schooled in the bigger picture today by one of the fellows on staff, Dr. Wright.  She showed me Cayden's growth chart.  At birth, his weight was in the 50th percentile (for a 25-weeker).  Since then, he has dropped down below the 10th percentile for weight.  If he had been born in the 10th percentile, they wouldn't be so concerned, but because he has dropped so far, they are.  The hope is that they can get him back up to the 50th percentile with these thickened feeds.  They said to give him the weekend and we'll talk on Monday about where things stand . . .