Feeding 101

My mom and I arrived at the hospital early this morning to get a crash course on feeding the twins.  The speech therapist Kelly was so sweet and walked us through the steps of swadling the babies with their hands by their face, positioning them in a sidelying position, inserting the bottle, and pacing them so that they don't gulp too fast.  You are also not supposed to talk to them while they are feeding because it distracts them.  She demonstrated on Tayden who took 4 mL.  I tried with Brooklyn, but she was fast asleep and had no interest in taking the bottle.  I will admit I was quite nervous, especially when burping her because she is so tiny.  She explained that the twins are on opposite ends of the preemie feeding spectrum.  Tayden has no interest in feeding and Brooklyn goes to town, but forgets to breathe.  They do keep reminding us that this is something that their brain is not yet prepared to do, and each step, however small is a step in the right direction.  When we went back this evening Tim was able to feed Brooklyn and she took a few mL.  He took to it like a pro and showed no signs of fear as usual.  I will be returning to work on Monday, so I am hoping to get a lot of last minute things done this weekend that I have been putting off for weeks.  The nursery is really coming together.  It is really crowded, but the furniture is beautiful.  Tim has spent many hours this week putting it together and it has definitely been a labor of love.