Teaching a Preemie How to Nurse From a Bottle

I wanted to let my readers know that my little Zarriah is up to 4 lbs.  2 ozs.  Quite a milestone for us.  My daughter is attempting to bottle feed her for the first time in this picture.  She needs to learn how to suck and keep her milk down.  This is a task that she would have learned during the last month in the womb.  Once she masters this task, we will be well on our way to gaining that last pound needed to go home. 

In addition to learning to nurse from the bottle, she also needs to maintain her body temperature outside the incubator, pass the car seat test and maintain a steady heart rate.  So we still have a few milestones to accomplish. 

The first attempt at bottle feeding was a little overwhelming for her.  We’re hoping she will relate to sucking her pacifier, which she loves, and she will get the hang of things quickly.  The hospital she’s in, is ranked as one of the best in the country for nursing preemies.  They’ve actually had a speech therapist working with my daughter and Zarriah to help with the sucking processing.  Is that not amazing?  You wonder how they can teach a baby this small to do anything, but they can. 

We’re thrilled that Zarriah is allowed to wear her own onesies and tees now, but I’m having a time finding preemie clothes.  If you know a site or store where we can find cute onesies for her, please let me know.  If you have experience with a preemie, I would love to hear from you.  Please leave me a comment.